A cong ( Chinese language Romanization For Standard Mandarin EFEO Gwoyeu Romatzyh Hanyu Pinyin Latinxua Sinwenz Lessing-Othmer Mandarin Phonetic Symbols II Postal System Pinyin Tongyong Pinyin Wade-Giles Yale For Standard Cantonese Barnett-Chao Hong Kong Government Jyutping Meyer-Wempe Sidney Lau Yale For Min Nan (Taiwanese) Presbyterian Church in Taiwan Wade... Wade-Giles ts'ung) is a form of A selection of antique, hand-crafted Chinese jadeite jade buttons An ornamental stone, jade is a name applied to two different silicate minerals. Nephrite is a form of the amphibole, actinolite (a mineral that also includes a form of asbestos). The second, the mineral jadeite, is a pyroxene. Nephrite has... jade artifact from ancient China. The earliest cong were produced by the Liangzhu culture ( (35th century BC - 34th century BC - 33rd century BC - other centuries) (5th millennium BC - 4th millennium BC - 3rd millennium BC) Events Stage IIIa2 of the Naqada culture in Egypt (dated in 1998) Significant persons Ur-Nina first king of Lagash in Mesopotamia (c.3375 BC). Ötzi the Iceman lived c... 3400- (Redirected from 2250 BC) (24th century BC - 23rd century BC - 22nd century BC - other centuries) (4th millennium BC - 3rd millennium BC - 2nd millennium BC) Events 2334 - 2279 BC (short chronology) Sargon of Akkads conquest of Mesopotamia 2217 - 2193 BC - Nomadic invasions of Akkad 2205 BC - Foundation of the Xia... 2250 BC); later examples date mainly from the History of China series The Three August Ones and the Five Emperors Xia Dynasty Shang Dynasty Zhou Dynasty Spring and Autumn Period Warring States Period Qin Dynasty Western Han Dynasty Xin Dynasty Eastern Han Dynasty Three Kingdoms Jin Dynasty Sixteen Kingdoms Southern and Northern Dynasties Sui Dynasty Tang Dynasty Zhou... Shang and Alternative meaning: Zhou Dynasty (690 CE - 705 CE) History of China series The Three August Ones and the Five Emperors Xia Dynasty Shang Dynasty Zhou Dynasty Spring and Autumn Period Warring States Period Qin Dynasty Western Han Dynasty Xin Dynasty Eastern Han Dynasty Three Kingdoms Jin Dynasty Sixteen Kingdoms Southern... Zhou dynasties.

In form, a cong is a tube with a circular inner section and squarish outer section. The outer surface is divided vertically or horizontally such that the whole defines a hollow cylinder embedded in a partial rectangular block. Proportions vary - a cong may be squat or taller than it is wide. The outer faces are sometimes decorated with masklike faces, which may be related to the taotie designs found on later bronze vessels.

Although generally considered to be a ritual object of some sort, the original function and meaning of the cong are unknown. Later writings speak of the the cong as symbolizing the earth, while the bi represents the heavens.