Jadeite---The Origin of Jade

Jadeite was originally the name of a bird. The explanation of jadeite in Shuowen Jiezi by Xu Shen of the Eastern Han Dynasty is: "Jadeite is a bird with red feathers. Cui is a bird with green feathers." The note in Book of the Later Han Dynasty: Biography of Ban Gu: "Jadeite is shaped like a swallow. The male one with red feathers is called jadeite, and the female one with green feathers is called Cui." Analyzing from the meaning of the characters, the above jadeite refers to birds of red and green colors. From Ban Gu's "Fu on the Western Capital" in the Han Dynasty: "Emerald and jasper are as bright as fire, flowing and shining, hanging jade and thorns, and the night light is there." "The emerald fire is bright, and is interwoven with beautiful jade. The night light of the hanging emerald is decorated with pearls as candles" from Zhang Heng's "Fu of Western Capital". Judging from the context, the jadeite mentioned here undoubtedly refers to jade.

Jade is produced in the Union of Myanmar and the China-Myanmar border area. It was not until the mid-Qing Dynasty that it was imported into China in large quantities.

The most famous jadeite in the Qing Dynasty are "Jade Cabbage" and "Jade Watermelon".

Jade Cabbage

The Jade Cabbage is said to be the dowry of Concubine Jin, the concubine of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty. It was originally placed in the Yonghe Palace of the Forbidden City in Beijing where Concubine Jin lived. The Jadeite Cabbage is carved from a piece of jade that is half grayish white and half emerald green. The craftsman carved the green part into leaves and the grayish white part into stalks. There are also two small insects on the leaves, one is a grasshopper and the other is a katydid. This cabbage is the same size as real cabbage, and is moist and fresh. In 1948, the Jade Cabbage retreated to Taiwan with the National Army. Many people who visited the National Palace Museum in Taipei would first see this "vegetable".

Emerald Watermelon

Emerald Watermelon

The Jade Watermelon is a Qing Dynasty cultural relic, a pair in total, and is a rare national treasure. It is made of tourmaline imported in large quantities from the United States. The rind is emerald green with dark green stripes. The black seeds and red flesh inside the watermelon can still be vaguely seen. The jade watermelon was loved by Empress Dowager Cixi. After her death, it was buried with her. It was later stolen by the warlord Sun Dianying and its whereabouts are currently unknown. The two jade watermelons were each estimated to be worth at least 2.2 million taels of silver, or more than 4 million silver coins. During the Republic of China era, its estimated value was at least 6 million taels of silver, which, converted to today's purchasing power, would be at least 600 million RMB!

Song Meiling, the first lady of the Republic of China

She lived to be 106 years old and always wore jade in her later years. One of her bracelets was worth 80 million.

Someone once said that even if Liu Xiaoqing fell into decline again, she could still make a comeback with her jadeite. This is the pendant she bought in 2000, and it has appreciated more than tenfold now.

Although Fan Bingbing is young and beautiful, she still loses her elegance under the sky-high price of jadeite

Jade and Chinese Culture

Confucianism in ancient Chinese culture believes that jade has the virtue of jade. Only people who possess the virtue of jade can become gentlemen and realize their ideals in life!

One of the five virtues, benevolence, is “moisturizing and warming, which is the way of benevolence”, which means that jade brings blessings to people, has a benevolent heart and is gentle in nature. Wearing it regularly will give you a very peaceful state of mind!

The second of the Five Virtues is "Beyond the principles, one can know the inside, which is the way of righteousness." From the outside, one can see the inside of the jade to see if there are impurities. This is the loyalty of the jade!

The three of the five virtues, "The sound is pleasant, focused and heard from far away, and the one with will is square." When jade is struck, it will produce a pleasant sound that can be heard from far away, indicating that jade is intelligent and good at conveying its wisdom to those around it. Aim for all directions!

The fourth of the Five Virtues, "Unyielding but broken, is the way of courage" is to be unyielding and would rather die with honor than live in disgrace! It represents that jade has superhuman courage!

The last of the five virtues is purity, which means being sharp and honest but not jealous. It is the square of purity. When jade breaks, there will be sharp edges, but it will not hurt us when we touch it with our hands. This is different from any other substance, which shows that jade is pure and self-disciplined.

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