Followings are respective descriptions. Every dynasty has its own popular characteristics. Basically to say, it is from simplicity to sophistication. The earlier the era, the simpler the styling and the later the era, the more the modeling, which is an unchanged fact and needs to make comparisons for verification from the practical examples listed in this book. It refers to those patterns carved upon the surface of jade articles.
Popular patterns differ from one dynasty to another.
For instance, the surface patterns with the figures of gods, human beings and beast are popular during Liang Che Culture, bird patterns in Shang and Chou dynasties, and integral patterns of dragons and phoenixes in the West Han era of the Warring States period, etc. For example, every piece of jade articles is carved and polished with a round tooling during the Red Mountain Culture era, whose identical characteristic is apparent. The lines are on and off during the Liang Che Culture period as the tools used for engraving are extremely sharp and thin. Other individual engraving techniques and features are like the double-ditch line in Shang dynasty, slant carving style in Chou dynasty and relief engraving in Chun Chiu period, etc. It is due to the so-called cultural stratums termed by geologists.