After all, this is not clear in a few words.
1. Compare the jade picking time.
There are two comparable points here, that is, the time and duration of jade picking. About1.20 thousand years ago, the primitive residents in southern Liaoning began to make chopping tools with serpentine. More than 7000 years ago, a finely ground colored stone chisel appeared in Xinle culture, and a colored stone jade chisel appeared in Hemudu. 6000-4000 years ago, the ancestors of Luonaoer in Xinjiang used Hetian jade to grind a non-porous stone axe. In the next 4000 years, our ancestors never stopped dealing with jade. The earliest use of jade abroad was the Siberian primitive culture from 3000 BC to 2000 BC. They used nephrite to make tools and disks, but they disappeared and never appeared again. In ancient Japan, jade beads appeared in the middle period of rope writing (2900-2300 BC), jasper tubes appeared in the yayoi period (300 BC-300 AD), and the jade processing technology declined or even disappeared in the ancient grave period (300 AD-440 AD). Indian jades began in 1000 BC and tended to disappear in 900 AD. Although there may be some errors in picking jade due to different detection methods, it is certain that China is one of the earliest countries to use jade, and it is also the country that has used jade for the longest time.
2. Compare jade quality with jade color.
The color of jade produced in overseas jade producing areas is monotonous. For example, jadeite is the main jadeite in Japan and India, and its nephrite is also dark green. European nephrite is blue-green, and the jade produced near Lake Baikal has ink spots. The primitive culture of Kongtong produces white nephrite, while in China, besides cyan, blue and ink, there are yellow nephrite, among which white jade with suet is the best. Japan's jadeite and jasper, Maori jasper and Indian Maya jadeite all lack a warm and glittering feeling, while China's Hetian jade is delicate and meticulous. Therefore, hetian jade is not as good as foreign jade in quality and color.
3. Compare jade cutting tools.
The rotary tool used to cut jade in China may have started from Hongshan Culture and Liangzhu culture in primitive society, and then gradually developed into a "water stool". What tools do Japan, Siberia, India and Maya use to cut jade? Japanese scholars infer from the current method of attacking jade that ancient Japanese jade was also polished with rotating tools, and there is no other proof material. In India, a picture of a jade worker operating a rotating tool in the19th century has been passed down to this day. It is estimated that an old jade worker pushes and pulls the bowstring with his right hand to drive the round weight to rotate, and his left hand holds the jade to ponder, which is inconvenient and inefficient. The jade carving tool in this picture is three centuries later than the water stool described in Tiangong Kaiwu, and its structure and transmission device are far behind the water stool. Undeniably, the rotary jade cutting tools in ancient China were the most advanced and perfect at that time.
4. Contrast grinding skills.
China ancient jade craft has a history of more than 7,000 years, and has accumulated rich and valuable experience. In this respect, Japanese, European, Maori, Maya and Arabian jade grinding skills are far behind. Here, it is necessary to make a concrete analysis of the grinding skills of Moore jade. We admit that the jade carving technique in the Tang Dynasty has reached a very high level, and it has had a great influence on the jade carving technique in late Qing Dynasty and modern China. In his poems, Gan Long spoke highly of jade carvings. He said: "Puhua Kunshan spread to India", "Xi Kun has a high rate of jade production, and good craftsmen make it a carving capital", praising its jade as "thin as paper" or comparing it to "cicada wings". He also praised himself for his exquisite carving: "The leaves are thick and thick, and the mud is seamless", "There is no axe to cut" and "Exquisite carving is fantastic", but he mistakenly thought that jade was made of "water mill", which is puzzling. From the existing Mughal jade articles, it is found that some tires are as thin as paper, but some tires are as thick as porcelain. Suzhou imitation "Fan Zuo" also has thin tires, among which chrysanthemum petals are as thin as cicadas and translucent, which shows that Suzhou jade workers have the ability to grind jade very thin. So why were there many jades with thick tires in ancient China? This is related to the rarity and high price of jade materials. If it is too thin, first, it will be labor-consuming, second, it will make the jade material wear too much, and third, it will damage the aesthetic feeling of jade, give people insecurity and be easily confused with glass. Therefore, the treatment of jade does not advocate thin tires. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the jade industry accepted the two characteristics of Ranunculaceae plant pattern and gemstone inlay of Handustan jade, and developed it into "imitation", which showed that jade workers in China gave full play to their strengths and abandoned thin tires and Arabic shapes that were not in line with our national tradition.
5. Compare the functions of jade.
Ancient jade articles in China are closely related to many aspects of social life, and their five social functions have already been introduced. Europeans believe that. Nephrite hanging around the waist has the effect of curing kidney disease. This is naturally a superstitious understanding, but the jade tools in its primitive society still have certain practical value; Japanese people's understanding of jade and jade articles is more complicated than that of Europeans. They believe that jade has the functions of "charm, treasure and sacrifice" in addition to decorative functions. Arabian jade articles are generally limited to daily jade articles, bottles and pots; Indian Maya jade is not only used for daily life and decoration, but also related to the litigation function and sacrifice of God. In a word, the social functions of jades in the above countries are not as extensive as those of ancient jades in China.
6. Comparison of jade shapes.
China ancient jade carving system is quite rich. The shapes of ancient jade articles abroad are roughly as follows: ancient Japanese jade articles are limited to beads, pipes, hooks, combs and abstract animals, and artifacts are rare; Maori jade only sees statues, ornaments and axes; In the Neolithic age in Siberia, there were only tools and appliances such as axes, chisels and boards, and their shapes were relatively simple. Arabian jade articles are mainly utensils, which are unique and unique, but the types are relatively simple; There are a little more kinds of Maya jade articles in India than in the above places, including tools, beads, pipes, pieces, reliefs of figures and elephant trunk jade. However, compared with the types of ancient jade articles in China, Mayan jade articles are rather monotonous.
7. Compare jade patterns.
The decorative patterns of ancient jade articles in China are diverse, including geometry, animals, plants, figures, paintings, synthesis and so on. However, jade articles from Japan, Europe, Siberia and Maori mostly appear in the form of light elements or simple geometric patterns, and are rarely decorated. Among them, Maya and Arabian jade decorative patterns have their own styles, such as the leaves of lotus leaves and the patterns of "Hundred Xiang Lian" and "Clematis". Indian Maya jade ornamentation is characterized by figures, but it is eclipsed by China ancient jade ornamentation, especially the painting patterns on China ancient jade, which is unique in the history of jade carving in the world.