About Jade
WHAT:
Jade is generally classified into soft jade (nephrite) and hard jade (jadeite). Soft jade or nephrite is formed by stralite minerals. Since China only had the soft jade until jadeite was imported from Burma during the Qing dynasty (1271-1368), jade traditionally refers to the soft jade. Chinese also classify jade into Mountain jade and River jade. During the Qing Dyasty, Hetian river jade from Xinjiang province was the most prized.
Jade is prized for its hardness, glassy luster, and rich translucent colors. What makes jade even more valuable is the craftsmanship behind a jade carving which should possess an elegant and harmonious design as well as a smooth finish.
Colors:
White, Green, Yellow and Purple. White and green jade are prized especially for jewelry, however, white and green colors vary in a wide range. Mutton fat white and crisp grass green colors hold the most value.
HOW is it used? Jade has been used since ancient times as either weapons, tools, funerary offerings or items of adornment and ceremony. For the Chinese, jade carries symbolic (i.e. Bi Disc found in burial sites symbolized immortality) rather than utilitarian meaning.
Jade is hard and extremely difficult to carve or shape. Chiseling or chipping jade is not as effective as wearing jade down by abrasion with tools and hard sand pastes- this is a process that requires immense patience. Even with modern machinery equipped with diamond-tipped burrs, grinding and shaping jade can be extremely labor-intensive. Yet jade appeared in Chinese culture several thousand years before metal tools existed. Neolithic jade artisans worked with bamboo, bone, and stone tools, using a drilling or bow action to abrade the jade with sand. Because the process was so labor-intensive and time-consuming, jades reflected the ability of a ruling elite to command resources, and therefore came to symbolize power, status, and prestige.
WHEN: Ancient, Neolithic times to present day.
WHERE: Jade can come from Burma, Central America, Brazil, Canada, Japan, India, Siberia, Finland, Tanzania, and elsewhere. Jades from China generally come from Russia, Burma or within its borders. Hetian Jade from Xinjiang province is highly prized by the Chinese. Very green and translucent jadeite is also extremely valuable.
WHY:
Many scholars believe that the history of jade is as long as the Chinese civilization (over 6000 years). Chinese culture has always revered jade because it symbolizes beauty, nobility, perfection, constancy, power, and immortality. This love affair with jade continues to the present day. LINK TO JADE SECTION
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