Exotic Jades

The Essence of Chinese Jade Artifacts Should Be Rediscovered

© 2006 by Ming Chen, all rights reserved.
The Chinese is a nation who has shown a great appreciation on jade. The jade history in China can be traced back as long as eight thousand years in the Xinlungwa Culture. The extent the Chinese cherishes jade can be realized by the way the Chinese compares the quality of gentleman to that of jade.

According to the Book of the Analysis of Chinese Characters( Shuo Wen Chieh Tzu) of Hsu Shen in Eastern Han dynasty( c. 100 B.C.), a classic definition of jade’s lasting appeal has been presented as follows:

Jade is a stone of beauty which can be revealed in its five virtues: its luster produces a feeling of warmth, the virtue of humaneness; its translucence enables one to comprehend its inner markings, revealing the virtue of morality; its purity ensures the austere virtue which injures no one.

It is a greatest happiness to enjoy a jade object of good quality by watching its color, listening its sound, touching its surface and reasoning its vein.

Jade artifacts identification has been practices widely and in great detail on the identifying the age and the genuineness of jade objects. The appreciation of jade artifacts should not be only on the historical aspect. More appreciation should be placed on the aesthetics the jade artifact presents. The elegance of Chinese jade will be rediscovered if jade enjoyment can be matched with the final purpose to establish a harmony society by following the virtues of jade. > Home