As the pre-Qin classic Zuo Zhuan said: "Yu He is a vassal of Tushan, holding jade and silk in various countries." Jade met the princes in Tushan, and the ambassadors who attended insisted on jade. Why did the princes take jade instead of other objects? It can be seen that jade was already a symbol of power at that time According to archaeological excavations, jade knives originated from stone knives in the Neolithic Age, but in the late Neolithic Age, jade knives were out of practical use and became a symbol of scepter. Although the seven-hole jade knife has the shape of a war weapon, from the exquisite degree of its decoration, it should be separated from the possibility of being used as a war weapon, and more likely to be a symbol of etiquette scepter.
Some scholars believe that the jade knife has yellow oozing locally, and that it is blood that seeps into the jade. After a long baptism, it has become the color we see now. Why is the jade knife stained with blood? Since it is not used in war, people will naturally associate it with murder. On this basis, they think that the seven-hole jade knife is not a symbol of the ceremonial scepter, but a torture device for killing people. We still can't fully understand the criminal law of Xia Dynasty, but according to the records of ancient documents, we can know a little.
Before the establishment of Xia, Dayu thought that in his time, virtue had begun to decline, and it was no longer comparable to Yao and Shun, so he began to carry out corporal punishment. His son overthrew the abdication system, inherited his father's power and established the Xia Dynasty. Xia's punishment continued to increase on the basis of Dayu's death penalty. There were quite a few criminal laws in the Xia Dynasty. According to Zheng Xuan's comment on "Zhou Li Autumn Lawsuit Punishment", "The summer penalty is 200 yuan, the knee is 300 yuan, the palace is 500 yuan, and the ink is 1000 yuan." Great monarch, funeral, palace, nose and ink are all ancient criminal names. Yao monarch is the punishment of beheading, mourning is the punishment of gouging out people's kneecaps, palace is the punishment of castrating men's genitals, Jing is the punishment of cutting off their noses, and ink is the punishment of tattooing and smearing ink on their faces. It can be seen that the criminal laws of Xia Dynasty are not only various, but also very cruel. One of the greatest innovations is the death penalty.
It is difficult to know the specific details of the execution of the death penalty in the Xia Dynasty. But the seven-hole jade knife has the function of decapitation tool. Its length is 65 centimeters. If it is used as an ornament, it looks a bit long, with seven small holes drilled on it, which expresses what kind of aesthetic interest, and it is difficult to explain clearly. If it is used as a tool for execution, its length and seven small holes can be explained clearly. To kill with a knife, the length of the knife must be longer than the width of the human head. In addition, the seven holes in the knife may be used to tie the rope. During the execution, pulling up the jade knife with a movable rope can play a role of temporary stability, pressing people under the knife, then pressing the jade knife, and finally achieving the purpose of Buddhism. This seven-hole jade knife has been used as an instrument of torture for killing people year after year. Although it has to be cleaned and wiped after each execution, there is still some blood on the knife, which slowly seeps into the jade. After thousands of years of preservation, it finally evolves into the yellow mud we see now.