Cong

Cong, also written cong (Chinese: 琮), is a type of ancient Chinese jade artifact associated with the Neolithic Liangzhu culture in the Yangtze River delta. Most cong are hollow tubes with a circular inner hole surrounded by a square or rectangular outer profile, producing a characteristic circular-inside-square geometry. They are typically crafted from nephrite or other jade and finished with a highly polished surface. Many examples display incised or drilled decorative motifs along the exterior, including geometric bands and sometimes stylized ancestral or ritual patterns.

Dating and locale place cong in the Liangzhu period, roughly 3400 to 2250 BCE. They are predominantly found in graves and ritual contexts at Liangzhu sites in eastern China, especially in the Zhejiang and Jiangsu regions. The small, portable forms and the effort required to shape hard jade suggest they served ceremonial purposes for elites, rather than everyday use.

Interpretation of cong’s symbolism remains a topic of discussion. A common view is that the cong embodies cosmological ideas, with the circular inner hole representing heaven and the square outer form representing earth, possibly reflecting a ritual or commemorative function in burial practices. Cong are often discussed alongside other jade types from the period, such as bi discs, as indicators of elevated status and complex ritual belief systems in late Neolithic China.

Today, cong are key artifacts for understanding early Chinese jade craftsmanship, ritual life, and the social structure of the Liangzhu culture, and are housed in major museums worldwide.