X. JADE CARVINGS OF FISHES, QUADRUPEDS 

 AND HUMAN FIGURES IN THE GRAVE 



We have seen that among the jade amulets placed on the corpse 

 to prevent its decay the fish occurs on the eye and lip-amulets. But 

 there are also instances of large separate carvings representing fishes 

 which have no relation to the body, but have been placed in the coffin 

 for other reasons. 



On Plate XLI two mortuary jade fishes unearthed from graves of the 

 Han period are figured. The one in Fig. i is a marvellous carving of 

 exceedingly fine workmanship, all details having been brought out with 

 patient care. It represents the full figure of a fish, both sides being 

 carved alike, 20 cm long, 1 1 cm wide, and 2 cm thick, of a dark spinach- 

 green jade. A small piece has been chipped off from the tail-fin. There 

 is a small eye in the dorsal fin and a larger one below in the tail-fin. It 

 is therefore likely that the object was suspended somewhere in the 

 coffin; it is too large and too heavy (it weighs impounds) to have 

 served for a girdle-ornament. In this way, — with comparatively 

 large bearded head and short body, — the Chinese represent a huge 

 sea-fish called ngao (Giles No. 100). Such large and fine jade carvings 

 are likely to have had a religious significance, and the following passage 

 may throw some light on this subject. 



"In the Han Palace Kun ming ch'ih a piece of jade was carved into 

 the figure of a fish. Whenever a thunderstorm with rain took place, 

 the fish constantly roared, its dorsal fin and its tail being in motion. 

 At the time of the Han, they offered sacrifices to this fish in their prayers 

 for rain which were always fulfilled." l 



In Fig. 2 of the same Plate XLI, a fragment, perhaps only the half 

 of the original figure, is represented carved in the shape of a fish of 

 leaf -green jade clouded with white specks, on the lower face covered 

 with a thick layer of hardened loess. It is 11.5 cm long, 4.2 cm wide, 

 and 9 mm thick. 2 



While the religious symbolism formerly connected with the fish has 

 almost disappeared it continues as a favorite ornament, and jade girdle 

 pendants in the shape of fishes are still much in use. Fig. 3 of the same 



1 Si king tsa ki, quoted in P'ei w$n yiin fu, Ch. 100 A, p. 6 a. 



2 In the July number of the Journal of the Anthropological Society of Tokyo (Vol. 

 XXVII, 191 1), there is an article by Prof. S. Tsuboi describing some interesting 

 figures of animals of chipped flint, one of them representing a well-formed fish 

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