Among the most enigmatic objects in world art are the cong and bi—jade forms created in China over four thousand years ago whose meaning remains partially mysterious. These objects, produced by the Liangzhu culture and related Neolithic societies, represent the earliest sophisticated jade working in China and establish patterns of ritual and symbolism that would influence Chinese culture for millennia.
Discovery and Distribution
The Cong: Squaring the Circle
The cong is one of the most distinctive objects in world art—a hollow cylinder enclosed within a square outer section. The circular inner tube extends beyond the square outer section at both ends, creating a form that is simultaneously geometric and organic.
Physical characteristics: Liangzhu cong vary enormously in size, from tiny examples just a few centimeters tall to massive specimens over 50 centimeters high. The largest cong required jade blocks weighing many kilograms and represent extraordinary technical achievements.
The square outer section is not perfectly square but slightly tapered, wider at the top than the bottom. The corners are often decorated with carved faces—simplified masks that may represent deities or ancestors. These faces, composed of circles for eyes and bars for mouths, are among the earliest representational art in China.
Construction challenges: Creating a cong required solving several technical problems. The central hole had to be drilled through the entire length of the jade block—a process that might take months using hollow drills and abrasive. The square outer section had to be carved with precision, maintaining straight lines and right angles. The surface had to be polished to a smooth finish.
All this was accomplished without metal tools, using only abrasive sand and tools of wood, bone, or stone. The labor involved in a single large cong represents years of dedicated work.
The Bi: The Circle of Heaven
The bi is a flat disc of jade with a central hole. Like the cong, it varies enormously in size, from small discs that could be worn as pendants to massive specimens nearly a meter in diameter.
Physical characteristics: The bi is defined by its proportions—the width of the ring should be roughly equal to the diameter of the central hole, though actual examples vary considerably. The surface is usually plain, though some examples have carved decoration on one or both faces.
The finest Liangzhu bi are remarkably thin and perfectly circular. The central hole is precisely centered, and the surface is polished to a smooth, even finish. Achieving such precision without metal tools or measuring instruments demonstrates the skill and patience of Neolithic craftsmen.
Decoration: While most bi are plain, some carry elaborate carved designs. The most famous decorated bi come from the Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE), centuries after the Liangzhu period. These later bi often feature complex designs of dragons, phoenixes, and cosmic symbols carved in relief.
Theories of Meaning
The meaning of cong and bi has been debated for centuries:
Cosmological interpretation: The Rites of Zhou (Zhouli), a classical text compiled in the Han dynasty, states that the cong was used to worship earth and the bi to worship heaven. This interpretation connects the forms to Chinese cosmology—the square earth and round heaven. The cong's square outer section represents earth; its circular inner tube represents heaven. The bi's circular form represents heaven.
This interpretation, while influential, may be anachronistic. The Rites of Zhou was compiled millennia after the cong and bi were created, and its authors may have been projecting later ideas onto ancient objects.
Social interpretation sees cong and bi as markers of status and power. Their distribution in burials suggests they were prestige goods, owned by elites and buried with them to maintain status in the afterlife. The labor invested in their creation made them valuable commodities in social exchange.
Ritual interpretation emphasizes their religious function. The concentration of cong and bi in burial contexts suggests they played a role in funerary ritual, perhaps protecting the dead or facilitating their journey to the afterlife. The faces carved on cong may represent deities or ancestors invoked in these rituals.
Astronomical interpretation connects cong and bi to observations of the sky. The circular forms may represent the sun or moon; the square cong may relate to observations of the four directions. Some scholars have suggested that cong were used as sighting tubes for astronomical observation, though this is speculative.
Production and Distribution
The jade for Liangzhu cong and bi came from distant sources. The nearest known jade deposits are in Liaoning province, over a thousand kilometers from the Liangzhu heartland. The transportation of raw jade over such distances indicates organized trade networks and the high value placed on the material.
Production was likely concentrated at specific workshops where skilled craftsmen worked full-time. The standardization of forms suggests organized production with shared conventions, though individual pieces show variation in quality and detail.
Distribution extended far beyond the Liangzhu core region. Cong and bi appear in burials throughout eastern China, indicating widespread trade or exchange networks. The presence of Liangzhu-style jades in distant regions suggests either direct exchange or local production imitating Liangzhu models.
Later History
After the Liangzhu period, cong and bi continued to be produced and valued:
Shang and Zhou dynasties (c. 1600-256 BCE) produced bi discs, often with carved decoration. The cong form largely disappeared, though the shape remained symbolically significant.
Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE) saw a revival of interest in ancient jades. Han craftsmen produced bi discs with elaborate carved decoration, and collectors acquired genuine ancient jades as well as contemporary imitations.
Later dynasties maintained the symbolic significance of cong and bi even as their original meaning was forgotten. The forms appeared in ritual texts and were occasionally reproduced, but their Neolithic origins were unknown until modern archaeology.
Contemporary Significance
Today, cong and bi are recognized as masterpieces of Neolithic art and crucial evidence for understanding early Chinese civilization:
Archaeological study continues to reveal new information about their production, distribution, and use. Excavations at Liangzhu sites have uncovered workshops, burials, and settlements that illuminate the context of jade working.
Museum collections preserve the finest examples. The Liangzhu Museum in Hangzhou displays outstanding cong and bi; major international museums also hold important specimens.
Artistic influence continues. Contemporary artists reference cong and bi forms in their work, connecting modern practice to ancient traditions.
Cultural heritage protection has become important as looting threatens archaeological sites. The Liangzhu archaeological complex is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Conclusion
The cong and bi remain mysterious despite over a century of archaeological study. We know when and where they were made, how they were produced, and how they were used in burial. But the beliefs that motivated their creation, the rituals in which they participated, and the meanings their makers invested in their forms remain partially obscure.
This mystery is part of their power. The cong and bi connect us to people who lived four thousand years ago, who invested enormous labor in creating objects of profound significance, whose thoughts and beliefs we can glimpse but never fully recover. In their geometric precision and their enigmatic forms, they remind us of the depth of human history and the continuity of cultural tradition.
For contemporary viewers, cong and bi offer aesthetic pleasure through their perfect forms and smooth surfaces, historical education about early Chinese civilization, and philosophical reflection on the nature of meaning and the passage of time. They stand as monuments to human creativity and as reminders of how much remains to be understood about our shared past.