Mila Nazarali

May 18, 2015

The Bi: A Look At Ritual And Protection
Four thousand years ago in ancient China, it was not diamonds
that were considered the most valuable stone: it was jade. One of the
best and most numerous representations of jade from ancient China
was the bi, also known as the pi. A bi is a flat, perforated jade disk,
thought to have originated in China during the Neolithic period (10,000
BCE to 2,000 BCE), and was used in Chinese burials until 1911. The
Metropolitan Museum of Art houses multiple bi, and although any of
them could provide equally meaningful insight into Chinese culture, the
bi discussed in this paper is used because it is the only one currently
on view (Gallery 207, number 1986.112). The bi represents Chinese
beliefs and ideals present in the Neolithic Period, and the eternal truth
of the protection of ritual.
The bi reflects Chinese attitudes towards jade. This bi is 8 3/8
inches in diameter, and is made out of nephrite jade. Jade was, and
still is, extremely significant to Chinese culture; Confucius, a Chinese
philosopher of the 6th century BCE, writes, The wise have likened jade
to virtue.1 Jade was correlated with wisdom and virtue, so it was
clearly vital to Chinese culture, and the importance of jade is visible on
the artifacts themselves. According to James Watt, a historian for the

1 Jade. Jade, Jadeite, Nephrite. Web. 18 May 2015.

Metropolitan Museum of Art,

Liang-Chu artifacts were made with astonishing precision and
care. The extraordinarily fine lines of the incised decoration and
the high gloss of the polish surfaces were technical feats
requiring the highest level of skill and patience. Few of the jades
recovered in archaeological excavations show signs of wear. 2
The very presence of jade artifacts today from thousands of years ago
is a testament to the time and effort put into making them. The fact
that they show hardly any signs of wear, and were intricately designed
and carved, is further evidence of how vital jade was to Chinese
society. The bi reflects the importance of jade through its frequent
usage. Watt also writes, The richest burials contained astonishing
numbers of them [the bi]- sometimes as many as twenty to thirty.3
Jade, along with wisdom and virtue, was correlated with wealth: the
wealthier one was, the more jade they possessed. This means that the
bi was extremely desirable and was treated with immense care,
thereby reflecting Chinese attitudes towards jade.
The bi also reflects Chinese ideas about death and the afterlife.
Classical texts surviving from the late Warring States period, when
China was divided into multiple kingdoms that entered frequent and
bloody wars, state that the bi was a symbol of heaven, and that the
tsung, a square tube with a circular bore, was a symbol of the earth.
2 Watt, James C. Y., and N.Y. York. The Arts of Ancient China. New York:
Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1990. Print.

3 Watt, James C. Y., and N.Y. York. The Arts of Ancient China. New York:
Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1990. Print.

Although the tsung had almost disappeared by the 4th century BCE,
the bi was used in burials until the last dynastic period of China in
1911.4 During a time when so many people were being killed in the
constant fighting, the ideas about heaven and the afterlife would have
been increasingly important to people. The bi corresponded to the
early Chinese cosmological concept that heaven is round5, and
therefore could have reassured people about the circular, never-ending
nature of heaven. Therefore, the bi reflected Chinese beliefs about
heaven.
The bi originated in China during the Neolithic period. The Neolithic
period began in China around 10,000 BCE, and ended with the
beginning of the Bronze Age about 8,000 years later, when metallurgy
became widespread. According to a historian writing for the
Department of Asian Art at the Met, the Neolithic period was
characterized by the development of settled communities that relied
primarily on farming and domestic animals rather than hunting and
gathering.6 As a result of this new focus on agriculture and settlement
instead of the nomadic lifestyle, people had more leisure time to work
on objects that were not necessarily vital to their survival any longer.
According to The Arts of Ancient China, by Maxwell Hearn and Wen
Fong, Harder than steel, but too brittle to be used for functional
4 Ibid., 1990.
5 Ibid., 1990
6 "Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History." Neolithic Period in China. Web. 12 May
2015.

implements, jade was sublimely impractical. It was painstakingly

worked by the Neolithic artisan into ceremonial object by a slow
process of abrasion using sand or quartz grit.7 Jade did not serve any
clear function, so the presence of jade in so many different places
shows this new cultures willingness to settle down and the new
emphasis on beauty rather than the older emphasis on practicality.
The technique of abrasion is evident on this particular Bi; according to
the Met, and also evident on the artwork itself, there are traces of saw
and drill marks across the otherwise smooth surface that provide a
textbook study of early Chinese lapidary techniques.8 The saw and drill
marks are evidence of the labor and effort that went into the bi, labor
that was only allowed by the new emphasis on settling down and
farming that was characteristic of the Neolithic period.
The eternal truth of the importance of ritual was present in the
Neolithic period in China. Chinas written history began with the Shang
dynasty, and the earliest examples of Chinese script can be found on
oracle bones. Oracle bones were tortoise shells or cattle bones that
ancient Chinese priests used to answer questions about the future by
interpreting cracks formed by heating or punching holes in the bones.
Inscribed on one oracle bone is, Grandfather Ding is harming the
7 Hearn, Maxwell K., and Wen Fong. The Arts of Ancient China. New
York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1974.
8 "Ritual Object (Bi) | China | Neolithic Period, Liangzhu Culture (ca. 3200
2000 B.C.)." Ritual Object (Bi). Web. 12 May 2015.

king. It is not Grandfather Ding who is harming the king.9 There was
clearly a method to divining answers. For each inscription there is a
matching inverse, showing that the ritual of stating one answer, then
the opposite, was integral to the process and therefore to the society.
The bi itself served a ritual function as well: although the exact
function of the bi has been lost over the course of history, it certainly
had a significant purpose for the people of the Neolithic period. The
Metropolitan Museum of Art states,
As late as the Han dynasty (206 B.C.220 A.D.), jade disks
performed a ritual function in aristocratic burials, where they
were placed above the head, below the feet, and on the chest of
the deceased. 10
The frequent use of jade disks in burials implies that they were
intended to help guide the soul to the afterlife. The ritual usage of the
bi helped protect the soul on its journey, showing the protective nature
of ritual. The use of the bi also shows the importance of ritual. The bi
was entirely divorced from any useful purpose; its entire function was
ritual. Jade was treated with the utmost care, so for ancient people to
have spent so much time on an object that had no utilitarian purpose
shows the importance of ritual to them, and the protective nature they
believed it held.
The protection that ritual provides is present even today. The area
9 "The Oracle Texts." Indiana University. Web. 12 May 2015.
10 "Ritual Object (Bi) | China | Neolithic Period, Liangzhu Culture (ca. 3200
2000 B.C.)." Ritual Object (Bi). Web. 12 May 2015.

where ritual has the most major influence is sports. Many athletes
believe that continuing with the same routine or ritual every time
before a game will protect them and allow them to win. Paradoxically,
oftentimes as athletes increase in skill and should therefore need less
luck and protection during a game, their need for a pre-game ritual
intensifies. Cristiano Ronaldo, 2008 World Soccer Player of the Year,
refuses to play in a game unless he has gotten a haircut right before
going to the field.11 Brian Urlacher, middle-linebacker for the Chicago
Bears, eats exactly two Girl Scout cookies before every game.12 Brian
Dawkins, former NFL American football safety, had an extremely
intense pregame ritual. He has been captured on video on multiple
occasions pacing back and forth across the field while holding a
football. When he has completed this to his satisfaction, he throws the
football on the ground and walks in increasingly tighter circles around
it. He then bends over and sits in a squat for a few minutes while
intensely gazing at the football.13 All players have said that they
believe performing these routines and rituals allows them to perform at
their highest level. They believe that the ritual provides them with
protection and luck, and will prevent anything bad from happening.
According to Dr. Sean McCann, Performance Services USOC sports
11 "World Cup 2014: 8 Weirdest Pregame Rituals And Superstitions."

International Business Times. 17 June 2014. Web. 18 May 2015.

12 10 Weirdest Pre-Game Rituals of All Time." Bleacher Report. Web. 18 May
2015.
13 "The 10 Most Interesting Rituals in Sports - EXACT Sports." EXACT Sports.
6 Oct. 2011.

psychologist,
Pre-competitive routines have been studied by sport
psychologists for a long time, and there is good evidencethat
routines increase consistency of an athletes thinking, feelings,
and pre-sport behavior. Because of these effects, routines also
produce more consistent sport behavior. This produces better
results.14
Ritual can physically make someone a better athlete, because the
ritual protects the mind and allows athletes to relax, every if it does
not directly improve the athletes performance. Even the fans have
fervent beliefs in the power of ritual. A popular Budweiser
advertisement shows fans performing various pre-game rituals. One
fan arranges the Budweiser cans in the fridge to the shape of the Colts
team logo, another fan is angry at her husband for washing her jersey.
Fans are pictured spinning the remote nervously, tapping their feet in a
specific unified pattern, and touching their teams logo before entering
the garage. The advertisement ends with a screen that says, Its only
weird if it doesnt work.15 There are other, very similar
advertisements by various companies for various products, and all play
on the same belief: that ritual has a protective element. The reason
these commercials are so popular is that people truly do believe that
rituals will protect them and their team. The fans are not actually
performing themselves, so their relaxation has no real effect on how
the teams play, but there is a powerful belief that the opposite is true.
14 McCann, Sean. Routines, Rituals, and Performing Under Pressur, Olympic
Coach Volume 20 Edition II. Print.
15 Bud Light- Superstitions TV 60 Sec. Youtube. Web 18 May 2015.

The eternal truth that ritual helps to protect is present today in the 21st
century, and is clearly visible in the rituals of sports teams and their
fans.
In conclusion, the bi represents Chinese beliefs and attitudes
present in the Neolithic period, and the eternal truth of the protection
of ritual. The bi allows us to see how much has changed between the
Neolithic period in China and modern day, but it also helps us
understand that many of the things that are embedded in our society
today began far before we did. Even when we do things that might be
considered weird or superstitious by some, people having been
practicing ritual with the belief that it can protect them for thousands
of years. It is certainly a reassuring thought that we are not alone, and
even more reassuring that an idea that is important and central to a
society can outlive its generation and survive through the millennia.
The bi is, in the end, a testament to human nature, of our desire both
to maintain the ideals of the past in ourselves, and to preserve them
for the future.