Chinese Jade Culture

Jade has a long history in China for around four thousands years. In ancient times, just as today, jade was used for personal adornment. Rings, bracelets, pendants, beads, and other personal ornaments all caved from jade appear very early in history. The ring disk - a symbol of heaven - is worn as a talisman even today. Jade bracelets believed to offer protection against rheumatism are still worn in some parts of China. Jade has long been treasured in China as the gemstone associated with royalty. Due to jade's extreme hardness, it possibly may have once been used to craft tools and weapons early in history. However, jade is also very brittle, and the early jade artifacts that have been uncovered appear to have had symbolic purposes as opposed to

practical ones. Knives, daggers, and scepters crafted from jade were used in religious or military ceremonies in China. Similarly, the Maori of New Zealand used clubs of jade to represent authority. Jade is prized for its hardness, glassy luster, and rich translucent colors. Colours range from white to green, and there are also red, yellow and lavender jades. When pricing jade the overall colour is the most important factor, though attention is also paid to the translucency, texture, and also to pattern in the stone. Certain patterns, such as the one called "moss in snow", are highly valued. For the Chinese, jade had been the physical manifestation of spiritual virtue, the embodiment of all that is most desirable. Jade historically comes from two

distinct minerals jadeite and nephrite, today it is jadeite jade that is considered the genuine article, commanding much higher prices than nephrite because it comes in far more vivid green colors and has a finer translucency. Jade of one type or another can be found in Burma, China, Central America, Brazil, Canada, Japan, India, Siberia, Finland, Tanzania, and elsewhere; in the United Sates, it occurs in California as well as in the northeast and southwest of the country. In China, a clear emerald-green stone is prized above all other types of jade. Jadeite jade produced in Burma, which is now known as Myanmar.Jade is often sold by the piece rather than priced per carat.