The Story of Empress Dowager Cixi and Jade

In fact, in the early days, jade was not precious, its value was not high, and it was not valued by the world. The reason why Cixi loved jadeite was that she believed that compared with Hetian jade, jadeite was more vivid and transparent, had a glassy luster and a moist texture. Wearing it for a long time could beautify the skin and improve one's temperament. Therefore, the reason why jadeite was so popular was probably because it was favored by Empress Dowager Cixi alone.

In 1793, when a British envoy named Macartney came to visit Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty with gifts from the British Empire, Qianlong, who loved precious jade, gave him a finely crafted white jade ruyi in return. At that time, Macartney might not have quite understood why an object originally used to scratch people's itch would be revered as a beloved treasure by the Chinese. In his eyes, this thing was just a worthless white stone.

Once, a man presented a piece of green jade from Myanmar to the Empress Dowager Cixi. Facing this moist and green little object, Cixi's eyes suddenly lit up, and she couldn't wait to shout out, "Good stuff! Reward!" Afterwards, the presenter received a valuable reward. This green gemstone from Myanmar is "jadeite".

Empress Dowager Cixi's love for jadeite reached an almost crazy level. Various jadeite and jade items can be seen everywhere in the Changchun Palace where she lived. Jade covered bowls are used for drinking tea, and jade chopsticks are used for eating. She wears a jade hairpin in her hair, a jade ring on her finger, and a jade cabbage in her hand. Because of Empress Dowager Cixi's special admiration for jadeite, this famous specialty from Myanmar suddenly became worth a hundred times more and became famous throughout the Qing Dynasty. The princes and nobles of the Qing Dynasty all felt extremely honored to be able to obtain one or two jade objects with good water content.

According to legend, Empress Dowager Cixi had a jewelry room in the Summer Palace, which was surrounded by sandalwood square cabinets filled with glass brocade boxes of various sizes. Those exquisite boxes wrapped in embroidered satin were filled with all kinds of jewels, including gold, silver, gems, pearls, agate, jade, etc., too numerous to count. Among these thousands of treasures, her favorite was a pair of jade watermelons.

It is said that this pair of jade watermelons are carved very beautifully. Cixi loved it like a treasure! Even if I placed it in the most solid cupboard, I still felt uneasy, so later, I added a mechanical lock. If you want to open this lock, you must insert the key into the lock core and turn it left 5 times. If you turn it in the wrong direction, or turn it one circle more or half a circle less, it will not open at all. In order to ensure the safety of the pair of jade watermelons, Cixi specially sent several trusted eunuchs, three people in a shift, to guard the jewelry room day and night. Whenever she was happy, Cixi would ask the eunuchs to take out the jade watermelons and play with them in her hands. She would often boast to others, "This pair of jade watermelons! You can only find this pair in the whole world."

Empress Dowager Cixi, a woman who once held great power but received mostly negative evaluations in history, it is undeniable that she promoted the commercialization of jade, which played an indelible role in bringing jade from the ranks of the rich and powerful into the homes of ordinary people. Jade has developed to where it is today, becoming a well-known and popular jade variety.

The beauty of jade is pure, peaceful, gentle and refreshing. No matter what form it is presented in, its unique beauty will make people fall in love with it at first sight. Perhaps only those who love jade will understand why they love jade so much when there are so many gems in the world and all of them are dazzling.

fcgc66

fcpf18