EASTERN HAN DYNASTY (AD 25-220)

These miniature jade figures are known as weng zhong, named after Ruan Wenzhong, a mythical giant who helped the previous Qin Empire defend its borders. Such jade figures were believed to be worn as talisman to ward off evil spirts. A similar miniature jade figure was unearthed from an Eastern Han tomb in Hanjiang Ganquan in Yangzhou city, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Jades Unearthed in China- 7 – Jiangsu, Shanghai, Beijing, 2005, p. 153 (fig. 1).