Jade Dragon

A precious relic handed down from generation to generation, the jade dragon was carved from a whole piece of yellow-green nephrite and resembles the letter "C". With its head and tail facing each other, it forms a curve like a rainbow and looks powerful.

The concisely carved dragon head boasts fluent lines, and the mouth and jaw outlines were engraved simply. The nose is upturned, and the eyes are protruding, which look vigorous and spirited. The long mane on the back of the neck is lifelike, as if it were floating.

The dragon is hornless, and its body has no scales or decorative patterns. There is a hole in the middle of its body. If hung by a rope through the hole, the dragon maintains a horizontally balanced position.

The jade dragon was donated by Fu Zhongmo, a renowned ancient jade ware researcher and collector. It comes from the Hongshan Culture of the Neolithic Age, some 5,000-6,500 years ago. The Hongshan Culture was so named because it was discovered in 1935 at the Hongshan Site in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia.

The relics of the Hongshan Culture are mainly scattered in the southwestern quadrant of northeast China. Many jade artifacts from here have been unearthed, featuring a variety of shapes and exquisite techniques. Many are shaped like animals such as birds and tortoises.

The most noticeable are those in the shape of the dragon, which boast primitive beauty and freehand carving and demonstrate the simple and bold artistic style of ethnic groups from north China.

The C-shaped jade dragon is the oldest artifact in the shape of a dragon ever brought to light in China. Now held in the Palace Museum, it is 60 centimeters long, the largest among all artifacts of the same type.

玉龍

玉龍是一件傳世文物，用整塊黃綠色閃石玉雕琢而成，像英文字母“C”的形狀，首尾相顧、彎曲如虹、遒勁有力。龍頭雕琢簡潔流暢，嘴部用寥寥數筆陰刻線條勾勒出顎部輪廓，鼻上翹，雙目凸起，硬朗有神。頸背長鬃飄逸，瀟灑靈動。龍身光素無紋，無角無鱗，中部有孔，兩面對穿，若以繩系孔懸置，則玉龍水平平衡。

它來自著名古玉研究專家、收藏家傅忠謨先生。該玉龍屬于新石器時代紅山文化，距今約6500—5000年。紅山文化因1935年在內蒙古赤峰紅山發掘而得名，主要分布于東北地區西南部。紅山文化出土大量玉器，造型多、技藝巧，有大量動物形象，如鳥、龜等，尤以玉龍最為出名，古樸寫意，突顯北方民族質樸與豪放的風格。

C形玉龍是中國出土文物中最早的龍的形象，被稱為“中華第一龍”。故宮博物院藏玉龍，長達60厘米，在同類藏品中體量最大。