A spectacular jade carving may hold the clue to an early society that predates what many historians believed to be China’s oldest, writes Alastair Sooke. A grimacing figure wearing an elaborate ...

The emblem－a human-shaped deity riding on an animal mask motif－is ubiquitous on jade items buried in the Liangzhu Culture tombs. Worship of this deity never ceased in its 1,000-year history.

Liangzhu and Ancient China: The 5,000-Year Civilization Demonstrated by Jades exhibition kicked off at the Palace Museum in Beijing on Tuesday. This is the first exhibition of Liangzhu jade relics ...

The ruins there are from the ancient city of Yin, the capital of the Shang dynasty, which ruled between about 1600 B.C. to 1046 B.C. — the earliest dynasty ever recorded in China.

Now that China is edging towards a modern incarnation of the “silk road” it is worth remembering how this emblem of the ancient world actually came into being.

China’s Greatest Treasures is on BBC World News on Sat 12 Oct at 03:30 and 16:30 and on Sun 13 Oct at 01:30; 10:30 and 22:30 GMT. Alastair Sooke is The Telegraph’s Chief Art Critic.