A gemstone that is highly valued for its unique color and even more unique quality, jade has been used by Chinese to make decorative items for thousands of years. The practice of carving jade began as early as the Neolithic period, and lasted through all stages of China's history into the present day. The intricate link between jade and Chinese culture manifested itself in almost all aspects of the life of Chinese: custom, mannerism, literature, philosophy, art, and spiritual beliefs. Until very recently, elaborately-made jade items were one of the things used by the Chinese upper class to symbolize their status and wealth. In Beijing, go on a private tour with a Beijing tour operator to discover exquisite jade works in the city's exciting local shops.
Jade in all its varieties is endowed with an amazingly soft, warm appearance that gives a mystical quality to its incredible hardness. On the smooth, hard surface, the rich color looks to have a touch of purity and ephemeral beauty that seems to have been accidentally captured in eternity. Ever since its discovery inside raw stone, Chinese fell in love with this unique gem and gave it a high status among other gems. One of Chinese' ancient beliefs is jade not only represents the highest form of beauty, but symbolizes all that is desirable about a virtuous human being. "The wise have likened jade to virtue", so said Confucius, the most influential ancient Chinese philosopher.
In the Neolithic period, Chinese discovered jade probably when they tried to make stone into tool. Antiques found in two pre-historic Chinese cultures, Liangzu and Hongshan, included an impressive variety of jade items used for different purposes. Jade had already been mined for many thousand years before one of the oldest historical recorded appeared about 3,000 years ago that gave a detailed description of this practice. Jade items unearthed in ancient burial sites indicate that since the beginning the possession of jade was an exclusive privilege of the rich and the ruling class.
In later times, as Chinese society became more and more complex, and the skills of artisans to make decorative works were greatly improved, jade works became a popular form of art. According to historical account, during the Zhou dynasty one of the most popular practices among the upper class people was wearing different jade ornaments to show one's taste in art and knowledge of jade. In the Song dynasty, the fashion of jade advanced to a new level. Creative artisans from this period invented many different types of jade works to meet people's demand to appreciate the beauty of jade in new ways. Ming and Qing dynasties saw a peak of the development of jade art. New design repeatedly appeared during this time.
The enormous influence of jade on Chinese culture even extends to language. "Yu", the Chinese character for jade, is now used to refer to many different types of gemstones that have a similar appearance to jade. But in fact there are only two varieties of gemstones that can be classified as jade - nephrite and jadeite.
Nephrite - All jade works made in China before 1800s were believed to be nephrite. Called "soft jade" in Chinese, it measures 5.5 - 6.0 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, somewhat softer than jadeite which measures 6.5 - 7.0. Nephrites with different colors are put into different classes, the highest class being "mutton fat", which shows a cream, white color. Other main colors include white, gray, green, dark green, yellow, and black. The Khotan region in Xinjiang province produced the most famous nephrite. But due to overexploitation, the reserve there was depleted.
Jadeite - Jadeite is a more valuable type of jade than nephrite because of its rarity and wider range of colors. Introduced from Burma to China in the 19th century, it quickly rose to replace nephrite as the favorite gem of the ruling class. Of the over 20 different colors it shows, emerald green is the most loved.
The local shops of Beijing offer spectacular traditional jade works that are made by some of the best artisans in China. Find a Beijing guide to help you shop for these products, and you can avoid buying fake items from dishonest jade dealers.
Jade in all its varieties is endowed with an amazingly soft, warm appearance that gives a mystical quality to its incredible hardness. On the smooth, hard surface, the rich color looks to have a touch of purity and ephemeral beauty that seems to have been accidentally captured in eternity. Ever since its discovery inside raw stone, Chinese fell in love with this unique gem and gave it a high status among other gems. One of Chinese' ancient beliefs is jade not only represents the highest form of beauty, but symbolizes all that is desirable about a virtuous human being. "The wise have likened jade to virtue", so said Confucius, the most influential ancient Chinese philosopher.
In the Neolithic period, Chinese discovered jade probably when they tried to make stone into tool. Antiques found in two pre-historic Chinese cultures, Liangzu and Hongshan, included an impressive variety of jade items used for different purposes. Jade had already been mined for many thousand years before one of the oldest historical recorded appeared about 3,000 years ago that gave a detailed description of this practice. Jade items unearthed in ancient burial sites indicate that since the beginning the possession of jade was an exclusive privilege of the rich and the ruling class.
In later times, as Chinese society became more and more complex, and the skills of artisans to make decorative works were greatly improved, jade works became a popular form of art. According to historical account, during the Zhou dynasty one of the most popular practices among the upper class people was wearing different jade ornaments to show one's taste in art and knowledge of jade. In the Song dynasty, the fashion of jade advanced to a new level. Creative artisans from this period invented many different types of jade works to meet people's demand to appreciate the beauty of jade in new ways. Ming and Qing dynasties saw a peak of the development of jade art. New design repeatedly appeared during this time.
The enormous influence of jade on Chinese culture even extends to language. "Yu", the Chinese character for jade, is now used to refer to many different types of gemstones that have a similar appearance to jade. But in fact there are only two varieties of gemstones that can be classified as jade - nephrite and jadeite.
Nephrite - All jade works made in China before 1800s were believed to be nephrite. Called "soft jade" in Chinese, it measures 5.5 - 6.0 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, somewhat softer than jadeite which measures 6.5 - 7.0. Nephrites with different colors are put into different classes, the highest class being "mutton fat", which shows a cream, white color. Other main colors include white, gray, green, dark green, yellow, and black. The Khotan region in Xinjiang province produced the most famous nephrite. But due to overexploitation, the reserve there was depleted.
Jadeite - Jadeite is a more valuable type of jade than nephrite because of its rarity and wider range of colors. Introduced from Burma to China in the 19th century, it quickly rose to replace nephrite as the favorite gem of the ruling class. Of the over 20 different colors it shows, emerald green is the most loved.
The local shops of Beijing offer spectacular traditional jade works that are made by some of the best artisans in China. Find a Beijing guide to help you shop for these products, and you can avoid buying fake items from dishonest jade dealers.
About the Author:
Author A. Lao studies Chinese culture and history. He assists a personal shopping assistant who brings customers to special Chinese stores. Sometimes he plans Beijing China tours.
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