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，重達五噸。所用玉料采自新疆，為一整塊和田玉。玉料運抵京城后，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。揚州當時以擅作大件玉雕聞名于世，故將玉料沿大運河送抵揚州，依樣雕刻完成后運回京城，前后耗時十余年。玉山被安放在樂壽堂中，至今二百余年未曾移動。
整座玉山展示了神助焚山、開山鑿石、疏通水路等11個場景，共有持斧、構架、拉繩等53個人物。大禹在玉山正面中部，他高舉大錘，仿佛馬上要鑿開一塊頑石。玉山背面雕刻有乾隆皇帝御題詩文，歌頌了大禹治水的功績，講述了變玉石為玉山的過程，抒發了皇帝對平定西北、統一疆土后穩定發展的感慨。
大禹治水玉山既是中國古代玉雕工藝的登峰造極之作，也是中華民族齊心協力、不畏艱難的精神象征。
