Jade Carving Yu the Great Harnesses the Floods

Yu the Great Harnesses the Floods is the largest single jade carving in the collection of the Palace Museum. It is more than two meters high and nearly one meter wide and weighs five tons.

It was carved from a whole piece of Hetian nephrite mined from Xinjiang. After the jade material arrived in Beijing, Emperor Qianlong ordered a jade carving themed "Yu the Great Harnesses the Floods". He entrusted someone to draw the blueprint for the jade carving, according to which wax and wood molds were made.

Because Yangzhou was noted for making large jade carvings at that time, the material was floated to Yangzhou via the Grand Canal and transported back to the capital after the carving was completed. It took more than 10 years to complete the project. The jade carving has since been housed in the Hall of Joyful Longevity for over 200 years.

The entire jade carving depicts 11 scenes such as setting the mountains on fire with the help of gods, chiseling the mountains, and dredging the waterways, involving a total of 53 figures holding axes, building frames, and pulling ropes. Yu the Great stands in the center, holding a sledgehammer high as if to strike a hard stone.

The back of the jade carving was engraved with a poem by Emperor Qianlong to praise the achievements of Yu the Great in harnessing the floods, describe the process of making the jade carving, and express his feelings about the country's stable development after pacifying the northwestern border areas.

Yu the Great Harnesses the Floods represents the pinnacle of ancient Chinese jade carving and symbolizes the unity and hardworking spirit of the Chinese nation.

大禹治水玉山

大禹治水玉山是故宮博物院所藏最大的單體玉雕，通高兩米多，寬近一米，重達(dá)五噸。所用玉料采自新疆，為一整塊和田玉。玉料運(yùn)抵京城后，乾隆皇帝欽定以《大禹治水圖》為題材，命人繪制玉山圖紙，再依圖紙分別做出蠟樣和木樣。揚(yáng)州當(dāng)時(shí)以擅作大件玉雕聞名于世，故將玉料沿大運(yùn)河送抵揚(yáng)州，依樣雕刻完成后運(yùn)回京城，前后耗時(shí)十余年。玉山被安放在樂(lè)壽堂中，至今二百余年未曾移動(dòng)。

整座玉山展示了神助焚山、開(kāi)山鑿石、疏通水路等11個(gè)場(chǎng)景，共有持斧、構(gòu)架、拉繩等53個(gè)人物。大禹在玉山正面中部，他高舉大錘，仿佛馬上要鑿開(kāi)一塊頑石。玉山背面雕刻有乾隆皇帝御題詩(shī)文，歌頌了大禹治水的功績(jī)，講述了變玉石為玉山的過(guò)程，抒發(fā)了皇帝對(duì)平定西北、統(tǒng)一疆土后穩(wěn)定發(fā)展的感慨。

大禹治水玉山既是中國(guó)古代玉雕工藝的登峰造極之作，也是中華民族齊心協(xié)力、不畏艱難的精神象征。