Huang (jade) explained

A huang (璜) is a Chinese arc-shaped jade artifact that was used as a pendant.^[1]

Huang arcs were used in a jade pei ornament set (組玉佩),^[2] which would be worn from the belt. The pendant set would emit a faint pleasant sound as the wearer walked, in line with the customs of Confucian etiquette.^[3] The number of huang arcs in a set of jade pendants is not always the same. It is suggested that the amount in a set may have indicated the social status of the person.^[4]

At the ends of a huang, there were often abstract heads of animals carved into the jade. During the Eastern Zhou period, block-shaped tiger-like ends were often used in the huang, but these would develop into more-abstract notches.^[1]

See also

• Bi (jade)

Notes and References

1. Rawson, Jessica (2002). Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing. Art Media Resources. pp. 266-267.
2. Web site: Art in Quest of Heaven and Truth-Chinese Jades through the Ages: The Virtue of Jade . National Palace Museum . 30 July 2017.
3. Rastelli, S., editor (2008). China At the Court of the Emperors: Unknown Masterpieces from Han Tradition to Tang Elegance (25–907). Florence: Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi. p. 301. Cited in Web site: Jade pei pendant . Ben Janssens Oriental Art . 25 July 2019.
4. Book: Yu . Ming . Chinese Jade . 2011 . Cambridge. Cambridge University Press . 978-0-521-18684-1 . Updated . 57–59.