[Photo provided to China Daily]

Hongshan Culture C-Shaped Jade Dragon

Collection: Ongniud Banner Museum

Period: Neolithic era

This mysterious work of jade art was discovered in Ongniud Banner in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia autonomous region. The nose is upturned and the eyes slightly convex. The mane gives the impression of a creature in flight. The design is simple and elegant; the jade, fine and smooth.

A similar jade piece was discovered in the village of Sanxing Tala in Chifeng. Known as the "First Dragon of China", it is regarded as the archetypal ancient depiction of a dragon. Both jade dragons were discovered near the city of Chifeng. It was here, in the Liaohe River Basin that the Hongshan Culture originated around 5,000 years ago.

The image of the jade dragon-boar has become a symbol of the Hongshan Culture.

Yet, the boar and dragon-shaped pottery of Hongshan is predated by that of the Xinglongwa (6200-5400 BC), a Neolithic culture in northeastern China. And images of dragons and tigers made from shells have been found in graves of the Yangshao Culture.

These cultures flourished in areas geographically far apart. Yet all three present a common image of the dragon, as a combination of parts of several different creatures.

The dragon is the symbol of the Chinese nation: Every aspect of the life of every Chinese person is like a scale on the dragon's body. Together, these scales shape Chinese civilization.

The curled jade rings resembling a baby in the womb, appear to be the earliest form of a dragon.