Jade Jar of Dushan

The Jade Jar of Dushan, now kept at Beihai Park in Beijing, was made in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) and was China's earliest large-scale jade-carved article.

The giant jade jar was carved out of a single, large piece of a colorful, dark jade stone and was only used for containing and storing wine. Oceanic dragons and animals weaving in and out of sea waves were carved on all sides with figures and designs vivid in shape and great and tremendous in momentum. The jar is five meters in circumference, weighs 3.5 tons and can hold 1.5 tons of alcoholic drinks.

It is believed the giant jade jar was transported to Qionghua Island by Kublai Khan, founder of the Yuan Dynasty, in 1286 and used to store wine for entertaining the meritorious generals and ministers in founding the empire.

The Jade Jar of Dushan was quite different from jade articles that featured the slim and fragile style of the Song Dynasty (960-1279) but demonstrated the straightforward spirit of the country's exploitation in the Yuan. It was the earliest large-scale jade carving craftwork in China that marked a milestone in the development of Chinese jade crafts.

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