From the Liaohe River to Taihu Lake: A Preliminary Exploration of the Jade Road in Prehistoric Eastern China

The material source of jades from the prehistoric around Taihu Lake area, represented by the Liangzhu Culture, has always been debated. Although the previous views tend to be obtaining raw materials locally, no key evidence has been found so far. By combing the excavation sites of the jade dragons, jade turtles and jade Cong,  which are typical jade artifacts of the Hongshan Culture, Dawenkou Culture and Liangzhu Culture, and taking the characteristics of the overall material of jades excavated from prehistoric sites in downstream of Yangtze River as the starting point, this paper combines the research results of scholars on the cultural exchanges between the prehistoric Liaodong peninsula, the Haidai region and the Taihu Lake Rim; and concludes that the prehistoric jade production in the area around Taihu Lake, represented by the Liangzhu Culture, had the possibility of remotely sourced material; and at the same time, there was a north to south transmission channel of Xiuyan (area) jade material in prehistoric eastern China, which was part of the upper-level exchanges between Yanliao, Haidai, and Taihu Lake; and that the waterway assumed an important role in the material and cultural exchanges between the north and the south of China.