Fengjian (封建), a well-known, basal political system and culture in ancient China, has a long history. Similarly, jade culture also has a very long history in China and is thus an important part of Chinese cultural heritage with many significant Chinese traits. However, the use and origin of jadeware has been something of a riddle. This paper scientifically reveals how jadeware was used and also the origin of Fengjian via simulated experiments and use of unearthed archaeological jadeware to rebuild the basic method of hou-qi. The jade instruments utilized for hou-qi, through which the ancient Chinese determined seasonal temperatures by monitoring changes in earth-air pressure. They were thus used to monitor the solar terms and make so-called lv-calendars to guide farming times. The present author, by studying the function and use of jadeware artifacts (cong, bi, mao, gui, etc.), has determined that the Chinese Fengjian culture originated from hou-qi at least 9,200 years ago. Fengjian involved sealing soil and using jadeware to build lvs in palaces to monitor earth-air and thus create lv-calendars. Under Fengjian setting, the Eight Trigrams model was the theoretical basis of I Ching. Therefore, to begin with, Fengjian was a kind of technology and method underlying hou-qi. It was the prehistorical practice of hou-qi and Fengjian that laid the foundation of Chinese culture and pioneered Chinese civilization. They have thus had a strong influence on Chinese ideology, politics, religion, philosophy, and life-style.
| Published in | International Journal of Archaeology (Volume 13, Issue 1) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ija.20251301.14 |
| Page(s) | 37-55 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Fengjian, Feudalism, Jadeware, Hou-qi, I Ching, Eight Trigrams
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APA Style
Li, H. (2025). The Origin of Fengjian — Sealing Soil to Build lv: Evidence from Jade Instruments Used to Monitor Earth-air. International Journal of Archaeology, 13(1), 37-55. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20251301.14
ACS Style
Li, H. The Origin of Fengjian — Sealing Soil to Build lv: Evidence from Jade Instruments Used to Monitor Earth-air. Int. J. Archaeol. 2025, 13(1), 37-55. doi: 10.11648/j.ija.20251301.14
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ija.20251301.14,
author = {Hongshou Li},
title = {The Origin of Fengjian — Sealing Soil to Build lv: Evidence from Jade Instruments Used to Monitor Earth-air
},
journal = {International Journal of Archaeology},
volume = {13},
number = {1},
pages = {37-55},
doi = {10.11648/j.ija.20251301.14},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20251301.14},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ija.20251301.14},
abstract = {Fengjian (封建), a well-known, basal political system and culture in ancient China, has a long history. Similarly, jade culture also has a very long history in China and is thus an important part of Chinese cultural heritage with many significant Chinese traits. However, the use and origin of jadeware has been something of a riddle. This paper scientifically reveals how jadeware was used and also the origin of Fengjian via simulated experiments and use of unearthed archaeological jadeware to rebuild the basic method of hou-qi. The jade instruments utilized for hou-qi, through which the ancient Chinese determined seasonal temperatures by monitoring changes in earth-air pressure. They were thus used to monitor the solar terms and make so-called lv-calendars to guide farming times. The present author, by studying the function and use of jadeware artifacts (cong, bi, mao, gui, etc.), has determined that the Chinese Fengjian culture originated from hou-qi at least 9,200 years ago. Fengjian involved sealing soil and using jadeware to build lvs in palaces to monitor earth-air and thus create lv-calendars. Under Fengjian setting, the Eight Trigrams model was the theoretical basis of I Ching. Therefore, to begin with, Fengjian was a kind of technology and method underlying hou-qi. It was the prehistorical practice of hou-qi and Fengjian that laid the foundation of Chinese culture and pioneered Chinese civilization. They have thus had a strong influence on Chinese ideology, politics, religion, philosophy, and life-style.
},
year = {2025}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - The Origin of Fengjian — Sealing Soil to Build lv: Evidence from Jade Instruments Used to Monitor Earth-air AU - Hongshou Li Y1 - 2025/04/10 PY - 2025 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20251301.14 DO - 10.11648/j.ija.20251301.14 T2 - International Journal of Archaeology JF - International Journal of Archaeology JO - International Journal of Archaeology SP - 37 EP - 55 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2330-7595 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20251301.14 AB - Fengjian (封建), a well-known, basal political system and culture in ancient China, has a long history. Similarly, jade culture also has a very long history in China and is thus an important part of Chinese cultural heritage with many significant Chinese traits. However, the use and origin of jadeware has been something of a riddle. This paper scientifically reveals how jadeware was used and also the origin of Fengjian via simulated experiments and use of unearthed archaeological jadeware to rebuild the basic method of hou-qi. The jade instruments utilized for hou-qi, through which the ancient Chinese determined seasonal temperatures by monitoring changes in earth-air pressure. They were thus used to monitor the solar terms and make so-called lv-calendars to guide farming times. The present author, by studying the function and use of jadeware artifacts (cong, bi, mao, gui, etc.), has determined that the Chinese Fengjian culture originated from hou-qi at least 9,200 years ago. Fengjian involved sealing soil and using jadeware to build lvs in palaces to monitor earth-air and thus create lv-calendars. Under Fengjian setting, the Eight Trigrams model was the theoretical basis of I Ching. Therefore, to begin with, Fengjian was a kind of technology and method underlying hou-qi. It was the prehistorical practice of hou-qi and Fengjian that laid the foundation of Chinese culture and pioneered Chinese civilization. They have thus had a strong influence on Chinese ideology, politics, religion, philosophy, and life-style. VL - 13 IS - 1 ER -
Dunhuang Grottoes Monitoring Center, Dunhuang Academy, Dunhuang, China
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