Ritual Disk (Bi), Neolithic, Liangzhu culture (3200–2200 B.C.E.). Jade (nephrite). Outer Diameter: 21 cm; Inner Diameter: 4.5 cm. Gift of J. Watson Webb, B.A. 1907, and Electra Havemeyer Webb, 1940.160 © Yale University Art Gallery 

Found in some of China’s earliest cultures and often placed on or alongside the deceased during burials, circular disks, or bi, originally symbolized the sky revolving around a central axis, referring to the belief that the heavens were divine. Over time, however, such disks became more decorative than symbolic in function.