Xinjiang exhibition traces civilization's arc

A handful of beads, agates and jade pendants unearthed from a Warring States Period (475-221 BC) noble tomb in Central China's Henan province, with their exquisite craftsmanship and refined aesthetics, almost belie their age of more than 2,000 years.

This set of ornaments from the collection of the National Museum of China is composed of jade discs, loops and huang (arch-shaped pendants), agate accessories, and glass beads with concentric circle patterns that look like dragonflies' compound eyes — therefore known as "dragonfly eye beads". They were found in a burial pit of a high-ranking tomb in Guwei village in Huixian county, Henan.

Tong Chunyan, research librarian at the museum, says these ornaments were either the tomb owner's personal belongings or ritual items placed to express grief, a practice rooted in the ancient belief of "serving the dead as if they were still living".

The variety of patterns and crafting techniques, along with the fine materials themselves — dragonfly eye beads originated in ancient Egypt and the Mediterranean — pointed to cultural exchange between China and the West, she adds.

These artifacts, rearranged based on years of research rather than shown in their original layout in the tomb chamber, are now on display at the exhibition Beads and Jade: A Narrative Through Time at the Xinjiang Museum in Urumqi, capital of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Launched on July 17, the exhibition features some 600 pieces or sets of treasured adornments from the collection of the National Museum of China. The oldest item — a shell ornament with two perforations excavated from the Xianrendong archaeological site in Wannian county, East China's Jiangxi province — dates back 9,000 to 12,000 years to the late Paleolithic to early Neolithic periods.

Tong, who curated the exhibition, notes that ornaments have adorned human life since the late Paleolithic period — even before people had secured a stable food supply — and they still do today.

"They are more than adornments; they are 'living fossils' of civilization," she says. "Through them, we can trace early belief systems and the evolution of aesthetics and human intellect over time. In this sense, ornaments offer a microcosmic history, a lens through which we can interpret the broader arc of civilization."

The exhibition is organized chronologically in three sections. The first looks at how beadwork and jade were used in beliefs and rituals from prehistoric times to the Warring States Period, evolving from spiritual objects linked to harvest, fertility, protection and divine authority, and symbols of social hierarchy, to measures of wealth and value. "In early rituals and sacrifices, they met both spiritual and ceremonial needs, carrying a deep sense of ritual," Tong says.

The second section covers the Qin (221-206 BC) to Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties, showcasing the exchange and integration between Central Plains styles and those of Xiyu (Western Regions) — encompassing today's Xinjiang and parts of Central Asia — the steppe farther west, and in the south.