Go On A Private Tour In Beijing With A Beijing Guide To Shop For Gorgeous, Unique Chinese Jade Works
A gemstone that is highly valued for its unique color and even more unique quality, jade has been used by Chinese to make decorative items for thousands of years. The practice of carving jade began as early as the Neolithic period, and lasted through all stages of China's history into the present day. The intricate link between jade and Chinese culture manifested itself in almost all aspects of the life of Chinese: custom, mannerism, literature, philosophy, art, and spiritual beliefs. Until very recently, elaborately-made jade items were one of the things used by the Chinese upper class to symbolize their status and wealth. In Beijing, go on a private tour with a Beijing tour operator to discover exquisite jade works in the city's exciting local shops.
Jade in all its varieties is endowed with an amazingly soft, warm appearance that gives a mystical quality to its incredible hardness. On the smooth, hard surface, the rich color looks to have a touch of purity and ephemeral beauty that seems to have been accidentally captured in eternity. Ever since its discovery inside raw stone, Chinese fell in love with this unique gem and gave it a high status among other gems. One of Chinese' ancient beliefs is jade not only represents the highest form of beauty, but symbolizes all that is desirable about a virtuous human being. "The wise have likened jade to virtue", so said Confucius, the most influential ancient Chinese philosopher.
The discovery of jade in the Neolithic period is believed to be a result of the ancient stone-tool making practice. On the sites of two pre-historic Chinese cultures, Liangzu and Hongshan, archaeologists found a large variety of jade artifacts used for different purposes. According to one historical account written 3,000 years ago, the mining of jade had already been practiced for several thousand years by that time. Jade works unearthed from ancient burial sites confirmed that early on the ownership of jade was considered an exclusive privilege of the ruling class.
In later dynasties, as Chinese society became more complex, technology more developed, and the skill of artisans improved to such a level that enabled the creation of more exquisite artifact, jade works became a popular form of art. During the Zhou dynasty, people from the upper class liked to wear different jade ornaments to show their taste in art and knowledge of jade. In the Song dynasty, owning jade was so popular that artisans created a new variety of jade works to satisfy people's desire to appreciate the beauty of jade in new ways. During the Ming and Qing dynasty, the development of jade work reached a height. Wealthy people from this period were known to fill their houses with beautiful jade items.
The enormous influence of jade on Chinese culture even extends to language. "Yu", the Chinese character for jade, is now used to refer to many different types of gemstones that have a similar appearance to jade. But in fact there are only two varieties of gemstones that can be classified as jade - nephrite and jadeite.
Nephrite - All jade works made in China before 1800s were believed to be nephrite. Called "soft jade" in Chinese, it measures 5.5 - 6.0 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, somewhat softer than jadeite which measures 6.5 - 7.0. Nephrites with different colors are put into different classes, the highest class being "mutton fat", which shows a cream, white color. Other main colors include white, gray, green, dark green, yellow, and black. The Khotan region in Xinjiang province produced the most famous nephrite. But due to overexploitation, the reserve there was depleted.
Jadeite - Jadeite is a rarer and more precious type of jade than nephrite. After introduced from Burma to China in the 19th century, it immediately captured the attention of the ruling class with its exquisite beauty and wide range of colors and became their favorite. It shows over 20 different colors, emerald green being the most admired.
The local shops of Beijing offer spectacular traditional jade works that are made by some of the best artisans in China. Find a Beijing guide to help you shop for these products, and you can avoid buying fake items from dishonest jade dealers.
Jade in all its varieties is endowed with an amazingly soft, warm appearance that gives a mystical quality to its incredible hardness. On the smooth, hard surface, the rich color looks to have a touch of purity and ephemeral beauty that seems to have been accidentally captured in eternity. Ever since its discovery inside raw stone, Chinese fell in love with this unique gem and gave it a high status among other gems. One of Chinese' ancient beliefs is jade not only represents the highest form of beauty, but symbolizes all that is desirable about a virtuous human being. "The wise have likened jade to virtue", so said Confucius, the most influential ancient Chinese philosopher.
The discovery of jade in the Neolithic period is believed to be a result of the ancient stone-tool making practice. On the sites of two pre-historic Chinese cultures, Liangzu and Hongshan, archaeologists found a large variety of jade artifacts used for different purposes. According to one historical account written 3,000 years ago, the mining of jade had already been practiced for several thousand years by that time. Jade works unearthed from ancient burial sites confirmed that early on the ownership of jade was considered an exclusive privilege of the ruling class.
In later dynasties, as Chinese society became more complex, technology more developed, and the skill of artisans improved to such a level that enabled the creation of more exquisite artifact, jade works became a popular form of art. During the Zhou dynasty, people from the upper class liked to wear different jade ornaments to show their taste in art and knowledge of jade. In the Song dynasty, owning jade was so popular that artisans created a new variety of jade works to satisfy people's desire to appreciate the beauty of jade in new ways. During the Ming and Qing dynasty, the development of jade work reached a height. Wealthy people from this period were known to fill their houses with beautiful jade items.
The enormous influence of jade on Chinese culture even extends to language. "Yu", the Chinese character for jade, is now used to refer to many different types of gemstones that have a similar appearance to jade. But in fact there are only two varieties of gemstones that can be classified as jade - nephrite and jadeite.
Nephrite - All jade works made in China before 1800s were believed to be nephrite. Called "soft jade" in Chinese, it measures 5.5 - 6.0 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, somewhat softer than jadeite which measures 6.5 - 7.0. Nephrites with different colors are put into different classes, the highest class being "mutton fat", which shows a cream, white color. Other main colors include white, gray, green, dark green, yellow, and black. The Khotan region in Xinjiang province produced the most famous nephrite. But due to overexploitation, the reserve there was depleted.
Jadeite - Jadeite is a rarer and more precious type of jade than nephrite. After introduced from Burma to China in the 19th century, it immediately captured the attention of the ruling class with its exquisite beauty and wide range of colors and became their favorite. It shows over 20 different colors, emerald green being the most admired.
The local shops of Beijing offer spectacular traditional jade works that are made by some of the best artisans in China. Find a Beijing guide to help you shop for these products, and you can avoid buying fake items from dishonest jade dealers.
About the Author:
A. Lao writes about Chinese arts and crafts. He now works with a personal shopping assistant who brings visitors to great Chinese shops. Sometimes he personally tailors Beijing China tours.
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