Feb., 1912. Jade. 291 



is stated to be yellow, yellow being the color of Earth, and the empress 

 is mysteriously connected with the deity Earth. 1 Also the number of 

 twenty plaques in this girdle refers to the female element as an even 

 number, and relates to Earth too, as being 4X5, five being the number 



Fig. 194. 

 Jade Court-Girdle of the T'ang Dynasty, sent as tribute from Khotan (from Ku yii t'u p'u). 



of Earth. Besides, in the legend to the illustration, the girdle is styled 

 court-girdle of Hu-mien which in all probability is a woman's name. 



From an historical viewpoint, the most interesting of these girdles 

 is that in Fig. 194 called "Jade court-girdle with the disk of the natural 

 moon." It is remarked in the text that the Emperor T'ai-tsung (627- 



1 Therefore, under the T'ang, the empresses claim the right to participate in the 

 great thanks-offerings to Earth (Chavannes, Le T'ai Chan, pp. 185, 206). 



