Sculpting a civilization

"In China, jade pieces have been discovered among the remains of many Neolithic cultures, but only those found in Shijiahe culture had a far-reaching influence on the cultures that followed," says Cheng Mingqian, curator of the exhibition. "The patterns from Shijiahe culture have been found on artifacts made from stone, bronze and jade in other ancient cultures."

The exhibition consists of three parts: various types of jadeware from Shijiahe culture, the exquisite craftsmanship and advanced techniques of jade making, and the influence of Shijiahe jade culture on others.

In the third section, jade figurines and the faces of deities are juxtaposed with bronze figurines from Sanxingdui culture in Guanghan, Sichuan province, a civilization known for its enigmatic bronzes. Both the jade and bronze figurines share some similarities: they all have bulging eyes and big ears, which means they could see and hear over a long distance, representing a kind of superpower, says Fang Qin, director of the Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology.

"The bulging eyes and big ears are how prehistoric people imagined their deities and ancestors. The artifacts are believed to have been used in ritual ceremonies to communicate with the gods," adds Fang, who has been conducting archaeological research on Shijiahe culture for decades.