Stones of Heaven

Feb 13
2 min read

Updated: Mar 13

A set of white Chinese jade stones also known as the “Ceremonial Jades” or the “Six Ritual Jades.” The stones are carved from the purest white “muttonfat” jade and are named Bi , Cong, Gui, Zhang, Huang, and Hu (Tiger). The Bi stone stands for Heaven and has the shape of a flat disk with an opening in the middle. The Cong stone has a squarish shape and is formed like a receptacle. It stands for Earth. The other four stones represent the four directions and/or the four seasons.

Possession of white muttonfat jade was limited to the royal family. It seems that the handling of the Ritual Jades was restricted to the ruler of a state, respectively the emperor in imperial times. Only a few officials were aware of the secret ceremony involving the Ritual Set. The OC contends that the Chinese emperor—a.k.a the “Son of Heaven”—was required to perform the special jade rites on an annual basis for the purpose of strengthening his Heavenly Mandate—that is, his right to rule over others. In this way, the emperor served as the intermediary between Heaven and Earth, at times described as the “one who joins the two.”

This is reminiscent of the membrane-function of Hecate, the Goddess of Crossroads, in the Chaldean Oracles, who connects the intelligible world with the physical.

Given its association with Heaven, the Bi stone was considered the most valuable of the Six Ritual Jades. Reverence for it went so far that in a war, the vanquished had to surrender their Bi-Disks to the victor as tokens of their capitulation—a signal that their link to Heaven was broken. Bi disks and the square Cong receptacles have been dated as far back as 5,000 BC. The earliest finds of ornamental jade with divine markings date as far back as 7,000 BC. Per the OC, the right to renew an emperor’s heavenly mandate, and thus handle the Royal Jades, was appropriated by the Mongol khans who conquered China/Asia (until they were overthrown by the Hongwu emperor, founder of the Ming dynasty).