The oldest object in the exhibition is a jade bird carving from the Hung-shan Culture and made about 5,500 to 5,000 years ago in the late Neolithic period. Neolithic inhabitants of eastern China believed in a mystical bird that brought the life of heavenly spirits to humanity. As a result, they carved images of this mystical bird from fine jade as a means of communication between people and the gods.

In their struggle to survive the challenges of Nature, ancient ancestors in East Asia came to understand the rise and fall of all things and the flow of the seasons as being ultimately dependent on the movement of the sun (t'ai-yang; "great yang") in the sky. This "yang" element of the Sun's heat and light became known as the primordial source of life called the "original essence." Continually waxing and waning in the perceived universe, the trail of the sun across the sky became known as the "Yellow Path," a form that gave rise to the round pi disc. In the late Liang-chu Culture of the Neolithic period, the round pi disc and square ts'ung tube had already formed a complementary relationship. Further research, however, is still necessary to determine whether this is the square ts'ung tube mentioned in ancient documents as ritual objects for ceremonies to the spirits. The jade ts'ung tube from the Liang-chu Culture on exhibit in Vienna measures 47.2 centimeters tall, and its outer surface is divided into seventeen levels. A total of 68 simplified spirit-ancestor mask designs were engraved onto the surface, including a "secret code" used in communication between the shaman and the spirits appearing on one of the vertical grooves. As a result, this renowned object is also very important for the study of ancient religious beliefs in East Asia.

Many inhabitants of ancient East Asia apparently revered various spirit animals, which is why both natural and mythical animal forms were used to decorate religious artworks in jade and bronze in Chinese civilization from the late Neolithic period and down through the Shang, Chou, and Han dynasties--spanning a period of more than five thousand years (roughly from 7,000 to 1,800 years ago). Both birds and land animals appearing in real and imaginary scenes were rendered in a great variety of forms, but the most mysterious and magical of all the spirit animals was called the "dragon."

The bodies of decorated bronze containers used to hold sacrificial offerings during ceremonies were often cast with high-relief, sculpted forms of "dragons" showing two sides of their bodies splayed forth from a common head. The background surrounding these main motifs was frequently filled with angular or curving lines that form a design known as a "cloud pattern" or "cloud and thunder pattern," which symbolized the primordial forces constantly at work in the universe. Mysterious animal designs and cloud patterns symbolizing the forces of life represent two of the most native forms of decoration and artistic motif in Chinese civilization.

At times we also find that the handles of bronze vessels are cast into the shape of spirit dragons apparently bellowing with mouths agape on the heads of mystical birds, a motif also commonly found in jade carvings. This form has been interpreted as the spirit dragon using its primordial force to protect the mystical bird, the bodies of both dragon and bird decorated with winding cloud patterns. By the Eastern Chou to Ch'in and Han dynasties (about 2,770 to 1,800 years ago), the cloud pattern symbolizing the working of primordial forces and the “dragon-phoenix” motif that evolved from the notion of spirit animals had become quite popular. The idea of the "Four Spirit" animals of the green dragon, white tiger, red phoenix, and black tortoise representing the directions of east, west, south, and north also gradually emerged in conjunction with notions of the universe and the “Yellow Path.” Round mirrors and round pi discs decorated with patterns of the Four Spirit animals perhaps represent a microcosm with the basic elements of the universe. Here a jade pi disc carved with the characters for “eternal” and “happiness” further conveys the earthly desires of people at the time.

By the Han dynasty, about 2,200 to 1,800 years ago, many of the diverse peoples in antiquity had already become synthesized into a whole, forming the main group of Chinese people known as "Han Chinese." The notion of "revering the heavens and honoring the ancestors" also became one of the fundamental cornerstones of Chinese civilization at this time.

Over the course of several millennia in Chinese culture, the dragon-phoenix motif has enjoyed an ancient and unbroken history. Its origins can be traced back to the reverence for animals in high antiquity, and in later ages it became a symbol reserved for the supreme esteem of the imperial clan.

Testifying to this tradition, and on display in the Vienna exhibition, is a Yüan dynasty phoenix-handle washer-cup, a globular vase with dragon decoration in underglaze blue from the Yung-lo reign of the Ming dynasty, and a dish with dragon and phoenix motif carved in lacquer. Throughout much of Chinese history, the emperor often wore a "dragon robe" and sat on the "dragon throne." In the portraits of Emperors Hsüan-tsung and Kao-tsung on display here are coiled dragons on the chest and shoulder areas of the robes they are seen wearing, and Hsüan-tsung is even shown sitting on a throne carved with dragon décor.