About the History and Culture of Jade

Among the many types of jewelry, jade is the one that has been popular in China the longest and is the most loved by people. Why do so many people in China have a special liking for jade?

Among the numerous types of jewelry and jade, only jade has cultural roots in China. Chinese people like jade just as Westerners like gemstones. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, a British envoy came to meet Emperor Qianlong with state gifts. In return, Emperor Qianlong gave him a jade artifact made of Hetian jade. After receiving this jade artifact, the British envoy was very puzzled. Why did the Chinese regard this very ordinary white stone as a treasure? History is often so absurd and interesting.

Several years later, another Western envoy came to pay a visit to the Empress Dowager Cixi. He gave her a diamond the size of a pigeon egg. The Empress Dowager Cixi, who loved jewelry, waved her hand disdainfully at such a transparent and colorless stone that was emitting a fiery glow. She picked up a piece of jade and said, "This is a good thing." Chinese people like jade, and it is difficult for them to understand the role of gems in the minds of Westerners. It is even more difficult for Westerners to understand the status of jade in the minds of Chinese people.

Jade is a unique Chinese culture with a history of eight thousand years. Chinese people love jade to the core, and have a mysterious awe for jade in their hearts. Chinese people believe that "wearing gold shows wealth, and wearing jade ensures safety."

So, for a natural stone to become jade, it must possess the five virtues, namely benevolence, righteousness, wisdom, courage and purity. Jade refers to a beautiful stone that is naturally formed, has beautiful colors, a fine and tough texture, and stable chemical properties. There are many types of jade. In the traditional sense, "jade" mainly refers to nephrite and jadeite. Soft jade is the Hetian white jade, Hetian jasper, black jade, etc. that we are familiar with, while jadeite produced in Myanmar belongs to jadeite.

Jade represents beauty in Chinese culture. There are more than 500 Chinese characters with the character "玉" (jade) on the side, which is commonly referred to as the character "王" (king), or more accurately, the character "斜玉" (jade). These characters are all related to beautiful jade, such as: 琳, 莹, 珏, etc. The character "宝" (jewelry) is a combination of the characters "玉" (jade) and "家" (home). When jade is privatized, it becomes a gem.

There is also the often-mentioned word "rui". Auspicious snow indicates a good harvest, and the character "rui" has a slanted "yu" radical. In ancient Chinese culture, jade means trust, because the earliest Chinese used jade not for wearing, but for sacrifice. Our ancestors used jade to worship heaven and earth, praying that God would bless us with a good harvest and good weather. At this time, a good snow fell, which was called auspicious snow. Simply put, God kept his word and it snowed nicely.

The characters with the character "玉" next to them all represent beauty and credit. There are many Chinese idioms with the word "玉" in them, such as "golden boy and jade girl", "a perfect match made in heaven", "pile of gold and jade", "fine clothes and delicious food"; to describe a woman as beautiful as a flower and as graceful as a jade, and a man as handsome as a jade tree and as handsome as a jade crown, etc.; in ancient China, many literati and scholars also liked to use jade to express feelings, such as "If friends and relatives in Luoyang ask me, I'll tell them my heart is as pure as ice in a jade pot", which means homesickness; "Why should the Qiang flute blame the willows, as the spring breeze does not reach the Yumen Pass" and "On a moonlit night under the Twenty-Four Bridges, where does the jade beauty teach to play the flute?"

These are some of the manifestations of jade culture in Chinese literature, Chinese civilization, and Chinese history. Chinese jade culture is profound and extensive. It is inextricably linked to our literature, health preservation, and health care, and it can be said that it has penetrated into every corner of our lives. Jade is alive. Whether we wear it or collect it, we should treat it with love and respect.

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