Abstract:Decorative jade, with its diverse categories, is a kind of common jade objects favored by the nobles of the Zhou Dynasty. With the increasing richness of archaeological materials, we can find that the nobles of the Zhou Dynasty showed significant gender differences in the use of certain decorative jade, including trapezoidal chained pendants, jade silkworms and jade "she". Trapezoidal chained pendants are a special group of jade pieces that string beads of different materials into a number of strands, and then bundled at one or both ends of the trapezoidal plate decoration. They are mainly discovered in the tombs of female nobles. Jade silkworm is a kind of jade carved into the shape of silkworm. Due to the size limitation, such objects are usually combined with decorative jade such as hair accessories, jade pieces, wrist ornaments, etc. The major users of such wearing are still female nobles. Only a few male nobles use jade silkworm as decorative jade components. Different from the first two types of jade objects, jade "she", which may be used as a hook and string tool, is more commonly found in male tombs. The causes of gender differences in jade are complex and diverse, but are fundamentally affected by the characteristics and uses of jade objects. Female jade ornaments are more inclined to show decorativeness, while males are less likely to try bold combinations, which is why the more specially shaped trapezoidal chained pendants are more favored by females. As an indispensable bow shooting tool in rituals and actual combats, "she" is mainly worn by males as a matter of course, so is jade "she". According to literature records, most activities related to silkworms are presided over or participated in by females, and the mulberry bush, as the habitat of silkworms, is also an important place for people to pray to the God for children, which may be the reason for the close connection between jade silkworms and women. As for the situation where trapezoidal chained pendants or jade "she" are buried together in the tombs of husband and wife, it is unlikely to be coincidental. The decorative jade that appears in the tombs of the relatively vulnerable gender may well be tokens presented by the opposite sex, serving as the spiritual bailment and symbol of the relationships of both parties. Archaeological materials and documentary records are evidence of such a hypothesis.