COLLECTION NAME:
National Palace English
Record
Work ID:
M01C00156
Title:
Jadeite bakchoy with grasshoppers
Creation Date:
Qing Dynasty
Start Year Date:
A.D.1644
End Year Date:
A.D.1911
Dynasty:
63 Qing Dynasty (A.D. 1644~1911)
Creation Place:
China
Measurements:
Length: 18.7cm; Width: 9.1cm; Thickness: 5.07cm
Material:
Jade
Type:
Jades and Other Precious Stones
Subject:
Vegetable
Repository:
The National Palace Museum, Taipei
Description:
This jadeite bakchoy originally decorated the Yonghe Palace, where the consort Jin resided in the late Qing Dynasty. Perhaps the jadeite was part of the dowry. One half of the jadeite bakchoy is carved of grayish white jade, and the other half of green jadeite. The jade artisans deftly exploited the variation of jade's natural color to render a naturalistic bakchoy, in which the leaves twist naturally and the veins are distinctive. On the top end, two grasshoppers, conventionally known as "weaving lady" or "guaguaer," crawl on the bakchoy leaves. These insects are noisy and highly reproductive. According to Shijing Zhounan, there is a poem named after grasshopper, and it blesses people to have many descendents. Moreover, Bakchoy symbolizes innocence because of Chinese verbal pun. Hence, carving the insects on the bakchoy allude to having many descendents and being upright.
ImageV ID:
M01C00156AS003
Rights:
Lee & Lee Communications