Jade Clothes Sewn with GoldenThreads.Consummate Skills of AncientChinese
2 min readAs a symbol of class,jade suits were used asgarments for deceased emperors and nobility in HanDynasty(206BC-220AD).which fitted to the wearer’sshape.The emperor wore the garment sewn withgolden thread,and kings and princess wore silverones.while other officials and nobles had ones sewnwith copper threads,which were called Jade ClothesSewn with Silver Thread,and Jade Clothes Sewnwith Copper Threads,respectively.
People in Han Dynasty believed that jade had absorbed the essence of mountains,so jadewas put on the dead body of the deceased to preserve the body for the after life.Therefore,jade suit played an important role in jade articles.Up to now,over twenty jade suits have beendiscovered in China,among which the Jade Clothes Sewn with Golden Threads of Liu Sheng,Duke Zhongshan in Han Dynasty is the earliest and finest.
This 188 cm long Jade Clothes Sewn with Golden Threads was unearthed in the Tomb ofthe Duke Zhongshan,in Mancheng County,Hebei Province,north of China in 1968.Composedof six parts,the hood,coat,sleeves,gloves,trousers and shoots,with altogether 2,498 pieces ofjade and 1,100 grams of gold threads,the jade suit has eye covers,nose stopples and covers forthe reproductive organ and the anus.The whole suit was rimmed with red threads and the ironrim on the trouser legs was particularly for fixation.The face cover was carved with holes in theform of eves,nose and mouth.The suit is broader in the chest and back,and bulging in the hips,completely fit to the various parts of the body.
The jade suit was delicately designed,with jade slices orderly lined and harmoniouslycolored.reflecting the excellent techniques of the craftsmen and the extravagant lives of thenobles.This jade suit is now collected by the Antique Research Center of Hebei Province
According to an ancient Chinese belief,if a man had put on clothes made of jade piecessewn together with gold threads when he died,his remains would never go rotten.
In 1968,Chinese archaeologists working in Mancheng,Hebei Province,found such clothesin a tomb buried with the remains of Liu Sheng,a prince of Western Han Dynasty,and those ofhis wife,Dou Pass.Only a few teeth and a pile of bones were left of the remains while the jadeclothes remained intact.
Liu’s clothes were made of a total of 2,498 pieces of jade,sewn together with lengths ofthread that is 96 percent gold,4 to 5 cm in length and 0.35-0.5 mm in diameter.There werealso soft and sturdy gold threads 0.08-0.13 mm in diameter.It cost about 1,100 grams of gold.Judging from the technology of today,it takes an entire decade for an artisan to finish makingsuch piece of jade clothes.
