238 Field Museum of Natural History — Anth., Vol. X. 



Figure 145 is styled by Wu "girdle-pendant with designs of aquatic 

 plants, of white jade with russet specks." The word tsao is a generic 

 term for aquatic plants and is mentioned as early as in the Shu king. 



The jade piece in Fig. 146 is grouped by Wu in this class, though he 

 expressly states that this is not a girdle -ornament. He simply calls 

 it "jade with dragon-design, made of green jade with clay spots all 

 over," and adds: "To judge from its make-up, it is very old, but it 



is not known what part of 

 the body it was to adorn." 

 The ornament differs in 

 technique and design from 

 those discussed previously; 

 it is relief -work on a rectan- 

 gular plaque, divided into 

 two sections, the upper one 

 occupied by a bird's head, 

 the lower one by a dragon's 

 head. There is in fact no 

 connection between the two 

 in the mere technical com- 

 position, and the cloud-pat- 

 tern is wanting here. But 

 on the other hand, there is 

 room for consideration 

 whether, in this case too, a 

 spiritual relation between 

 the two creatures may be 

 intended. 



As the last of his series 

 of personal ornaments Wu 

 Ta-ch'eng illustrates a piece 

 of curious shape, almost like an escutcheon, labeled "girdle-pendant 

 with cloud patterns" (yiin wen p'ei), the groups of small spirals 

 being understood under the latter (Fig. 147). The lower face is plain; 

 there is a five-sided perforation in the centre. The object is made of a 

 white jade with black stripes. The colloquial name for it, says Wu, is 

 "girdle-pendant in the shape of a chicken's heart (chi sin p'ei), but it 

 is a subject not yet investigated." In Chapter VIII we shall meet a 

 series of ornaments for burial purposes, to which the same term is 

 applied in Si-ngan fu. 



Two jade implements with which to loosen knots (hi or chuei) are 

 figured by Wu Ta-ch'eng and here reproduced in Figs. 148 and 149, 



Fig. 145. 



Girdle-Pendant, with Designs of Aquatic 



Plants, of White Jade with 



Russet Spots. 



ft 



