The alchemy of gold and jade across dynasties

In a dimly lit gallery, two jeweled crowns face one another, their gold surfaces glimmering in the darkness.

One, a ceremonial crown belonging to an empress of the Sui Dynasty (581-618), blossoms into 13 delicate floral sprays crafted from 10 different materials, its extravagance reflecting the wealth, sophistication and artistic refinement of southern China's agrarian civilization.

Opposite stands the crown of a Xiongnu tribal leader from the Warring States Period (475-221 BC). Topped with a golden eagle with a turquoise beak, it embodies the stark power of the northern steppe.

The rulers who wore them lived centuries apart, but their crowns now meet in a single exhibition, united by two materials that have shaped Chinese civilization for millennia: gold and jade.

The pairing has become one of the most striking moments in Golden and Jade Brilliance: Diverse and Splendid China, an exhibition at the Inner Mongolia Museum in Hohhot that runs through Aug 31.

"The way they face each other across the gallery perfectly echoes this year's Museum Day theme — 'Museums Uniting a Divided World'," says Zheng Chengyan, the exhibition's curator and deputy director of the museum.

Bringing together 386 artifacts from 58 museums and cultural institutions across China, the exhibition, which opened on May 18 for International Museum Day, traces nearly 9,000 years through jade carvings, bronze ware and gold objects, exploring how Chinese civilization emerged, evolved and flourished across vast regions and different cultural traditions.

"Gold symbolizes power and eternity, while jade embodies virtue and belief," Zheng says. "Together, they reflect how material culture shaped Chinese ideas of power, morality and the cosmos."

The exhibition argues that the histories of gold and jade did not develop separately, but gradually became intertwined as political authority and ethical ideals grew increasingly connected over time.

Upon entering the gallery, visitors first encounter three jade relics from the Hongshan culture of northeastern China, dating roughly from 6,500 to 5,000 years ago: a jade pig-dragon, a C-shaped yellow jade dragon and a jade human figure.

The pig-dragon, with the head of a pig and the coiled body of a dragon, was likely used in rituals seeking harmony and good harvests. The C-shaped jade represents one of the earliest dragon forms in Chinese art. The standing figure, just over seven inches tall, is believed to depict a praying shaman.

Nearby artifacts from the Liangzhu culture in Zhejiang province and Lingjiatan culture in Anhui province, both in the Yangtze River Delta, suggest that early societies across the country, despite regional differences, were already developing shared concepts of rituals and civilization.

"By the late Hongshan period, six major jade cultures had emerged," Zheng says. "What they shared was reverence for heaven, ancestors and nature."

Advances in metallurgy ushered China into the Bronze Age. During this period, the Chinese word for "gold" often referred not to precious metal, but to bronze ritual vessels.

Among the highlights are a gold-masked bronze human head from Sanxingdui, dating to the Shang Dynasty (c. 16th to 11th century BC), and the monumental "Zeng Zhong You Fu Hu", meaning Vessel Hu of You Fu, the second son of the Zeng family, a ritual bronze vessel from the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC).

"From the moment metal objects began to flourish, jade never lost its sacred role," Zheng says.

Beginning in the Xia Dynasty (c.21st-16th century BC), jade and bronze were frequently used together in elaborate ritual systems that regulated rank, conduct and political authority.

By the Warring States and Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) periods, gold and jade had evolved from parallel traditions into a shared artistic language. Gold-and-jade objects became symbols of imperial grandeur and cosmopolitan culture.

At the center of the third section stands a replica of a Han Dynasty jade burial suit sewn with gold wire.

Fashioned from hundreds of polished jade plaques linked by gold threads, the suit was designed to preserve the body after death. Though the practice emerged earlier, it reached its height during the Han Dynasty.

"It was a cultural milestone and represents the ideas of immortality and eternity embedded in gold-and-jade culture," Zheng explains.

Alongside the suit are funerary objects excavated from ancient tombs, including hoof-shaped ingots from the tomb of the Marquis of Haihun in Jiangxi province, as well as jade mouthpieces and burial plugs used in funerary rites. Though the dethroned ruler only held the title of emperor for 27 days, his tomb has yielded a remarkable wealth of artifacts, historical clues and enduring legends.

One object deliberately breaks the exhibition's chronology: a jade cicada from the tomb of a Khitan princess of the Liao Dynasty (916-1125). Though jade burial customs originated in the Han Chinese heartland, Zheng says, they later spread to frontier cultures as well.

After the Han Dynasty, trade along the Silk Road flourished, bringing northern horsemen and Central Asian merchants into closer contact with China. Nowhere was that exchange more visible than in what is now Inner Mongolia, long situated between the agrarian civilizations of Central China and the nomadic cultures of the steppe.

That fusion defines the exhibition's fourth section, devoted to the period from the Wei and Jin dynasties (220-420) through the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties.

"When people think of the Yuan Dynasty, they immediately think of blue-and-white porcelain," Zheng says. "But nomadic peoples were also deeply devoted to gold ornaments."

The exhibition features numerous gold ornaments used on horseback, including saddles, stirrups and bridles.

In jade carving, nomadic influence appeared most clearly in the motifs known as "spring water" and "autumn mountain", scenes derived from seasonal royal hunts. One Yuan Dynasty jade belt ornament depicts an eagle attacking a swan, a reference to spring falconry expeditions once practiced by steppe rulers.

Over time, such imagery spread far beyond the grasslands, eventually appearing even in decorative ornaments atop Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) officials' hats.

By the Ming and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, the meaning of jade had broadened further, while colorful gemstones began appearing throughout the gallery.

"Those gemstones came to China through the Maritime Silk Road, bearing witness to the exchanges made possible by Zheng He's voyages," Zheng Chengyan says.

By this period, the fusion of gold and jade craftsmanship had reached its artistic peak. No longer merely precious materials, gold and jade had evolved into enduring symbols of beauty, prosperity, integrity, and moral virtue.

The exhibition closes with objects from the modern era: medals from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, whose designs deliberately combined gold and jade in homage to ancient Chinese traditions.

Zhou Huiwen, director of the Changsha Museum, whose institution loaned artifacts to the exhibition, says she is struck by both the refinement of the objects and how deeply the symbolism of gold and jade still resonates in China today.

"They have always represented status and the pursuit of a better life," she says.

Wang Ziyi, deputy director of the Xi'an Museum, says the most astonishing object for him is the jade pig-dragon.

"It's remarkable that people so many thousands of years ago could already combine the image of a dragon with that of a pig," Wang says.

"Gold and jade objects in ancient China took many different forms, and this exhibition reflects the richness and diversity of Chinese civilization."

China has an old saying: qi yi zai dao — "objects carry the way".

Gold and jade, the exhibition suggests, are more than precious materials or decorative crafts. One is forged by human hands; the other shaped by nature. One dazzles sharply; the other glows with quiet restraint.

Together, they form two sides of Chinese civilization.

Near the exit, the exhibition offers one final reflection: the union of gold and jade embodies an Eastern philosophy that values harmony, order and continuity. Though silent, their voices still echo across millennia.

Yuan Hui contributed to this story.