Cong tube
A Cong tube ( Chinese 琮 , Pinyin cóng , Jyutping cung 4 ) is a tubular object that is square on the outside and circular on the inside. The size is between 12 and 85 cm. It was made from jade for various purposes in ancient China . Cong tubes, also called cones, are described in ancient Chinese texts as a badge of rank and used as ritual objects in the Liangzhu culture (3,300 - 2,300 BC) of Neolithic China. More recent Congs finds are dated from the Shang and Zhou periods of ancient China. The largest places where the Cong tubes were found are graves of high-ranking deceased, where they were found along with Bi disks . They probably symbolize the earth. In the China of the Song era in the 12th - 13th centuries, there was increased interest in Congs in the art and cultural world of that time, which is also reflected in the formal language of the following centuries in Chinese ceramic and stoneware as well as metalwork .