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The Most Precious of Precious Stones   by Lenith Hinaloc

THE little Chinese girl ran merrily down the street after her friends under the watchful eye of her fond grandmother. Suddenly she stumbled and fell headlong. Grandmother rushed over anxiously to aid the crying child, but, finding no serious harm, she comforted the girl and sent her off again to play. One curious circumstance attended this familiar incident: the grandmother seemed to derive immense satisfaction from the fact that the two little green bangles worn by the youngster, one on each wrist, had been shattered beyond repair.

Why her satisfaction? Well, the little ornaments were of jade, and she herself had seen to it that the little granddaughter wore them for protection. Indeed, many Chinese believe that if a person wears jade and is involved in any sort of accident, the jade will be broken but its wearer will enjoy protection. No wonder, then, that grandmother noted this apparent confirmation of her superstition with that “I told you so” attitude!

This story helps us to understand why, for the Chinese, jade is “the quintessence of heaven and earth,” “the most precious of precious stones”–even surpassing diamonds.

The Chinese came to think of jade as being of supernatural origin, and hence as something that might be used to promote intercourse with heaven and propitiate the heavenly powers. Traditionally they associate it with their five cardinal virtues: charity, modesty, courage, justice and wisdom. Philosophers taught that jade, swallowed under the right conditions, would confer the ability to live for thousands of years, the power of rendering oneself invisible, and the ability to fly.

There are, of course, few who continue to hold to such beliefs, but they do serve to indicate the high esteem in which jade was held for centuries among the Orientals. But aside from the superstitions attaching to jade, it is, in fact, a most beautiful stone. In most parts of southeast Asia if you observe Chinese or Vietnamese ladies dressed in their best, you will seldom see them without a jade ornament somewhere about their persons.

There are two separate stones that go by this name: nephrite, a Silicate of calcium and magnesium, and jadeite or Chinese jade, a silicate of sodium and aluminum. Interestingly, that name “nephrite,” from the Greek word for kidney, reflects the idea that ground-up jade is a cure for kidney ills. The difference between jadeite and nephrite is really of importance only to collectors. On the whole, jadeite is more brilliant and takes a higher polish, while nephrite looks more oily than glossy.

Although China has long been the emporium for art objects fashioned in jade, this material in its natural state is seldom found in China. It was imported from other lands, notably Turkestan. But now nephrite comes mainly from New Zealand, and jadeite is found chiefly in Japan, Burma and California. Jade is often found in riverbeds where it has been washed down from the mountains. It is also quarried from mountains, but the Chinese have a preference for riverbed jade.

Usually we think of jade as having a bright spinach-green color. However, it comes in a variety of colors ranging from pure white, through yellow, red, and blue to black.

Identifying Genuine Jade

Since there are many stones that bear a strong resemblance to jade, how can we know when we have the real thing? If you wanted to buy a piece of jade and avoid the imitations that are passed off as genuine, the easiest way would be to have an expert determine the question. Two things in particular make jade unique: its density and its hardness. Its density or specific gravity refers to the ratio of its weight to an equal volume of water. Jadeite has a specific gravity of 3.4 or slightly less, nephrite of about 3.0. Thus a piece of nephrite weighing three ounces would be of the same volume as one ounce of water.

Hardness determinations are based on the simple principle that a harder material will scratch a softer one, and never vice versa. So, to test a piece of jade we would need, for example, a topaz. If it made no impression on the stone, then it must be genuine jade.

Something simpler is to take a steel penknife or pin and scratch or prick the stone. It is impossible to make any impression on the real jade in this way, but most imitations, such as soapstone, would be marked. Of course, it is not advisable to go around indiscriminately scratching or pricking other people’s art objects. If, however, you really have reason to apply this test, there is often an inconspicuous place, say, at the back or on the base of an object, where you can try it out, and if it is genuine jade no harm can be done. Glass, also, can be treated to look very much like jade, but a piece of glass would weigh considerably less than jade of the same bulk.

The price of jade varies tremendously. More is involved than just the intrinsic value of a piece. Color, shape, quality and especially age and history play important roles. In 1960 a piece of carved Chinese jade was sold at auction for over $16,000. In 1860 a British expedition to Peking sacked the Emperor’s Summer Palace and carried off many of his magnificent jades. If one sees an object today marked “from the Summer Palace, Peking,” then one can be assured of excellent quality, if the tag is telling the truth.

Prices vary around the world, too. In Hong Kong a jade can be obtained for as little as $4. But in Europe and America higher prices usually prevail. A foremost jade manufacturer of Hong Kong is quoted as saying that if a stone is too dark, say, moss green, or too light, with much yellow tint, that is the sign of an inferior stone. The quality jade, said he, is lush green, vibrant, with a lot of shine in it. It must not be mottled; rather, almost translucent.

The Working of Jade

The working of jade is a long, slow, laborious task–one at which the Chinese are the acknowledged masters. In one Peking workshop craftsmen worked continuously day and night in shifts and still took many years to complete one piece. For two centuries at least their methods have continued unchanged. But how do they go about the job?

The first thing we must know about the matter is that jade is not carved. Rather, it is drilled and ground. Boulders of jade are cut into pieces of suitable size by means of a saw. Because of the hardness of jade its surface must be kept constantly coated with a moistened abrasive of some material harder than itself. Thus, in fact, the abrasive does the cutting and not the saw.

Boulders are sawn first from the top, and then from the bottom, but such is the skill of the workmen that the place where the two cuts merge is practically invisible. From this point the method to be employed depends on the object being made. Holes are made with a primitive, hand-operated diamond drill. A hollow steel tube is used for shaping the inside of vases; abrasive and water are again introduced and the tube is rotated until the desired depth is reached. Then the unwanted section down the center of the vase is given a smart tap to make it come away. If an unnoticed flaw in the jade causes the center trunk to break short of the desired place, the stump remaining will have to be drilled away.

Some vases are fashioned with a handle on the side, and from this handle another ring of jade may hang, looking rather like an earring on a pierced ear. That ring was originally one piece with the vase and was drilled away by the craftsman until it hung free. Entire chains of such rings are sometimes made from one stone.

Bowls are hollowed out by making a series of parallel, vertical cuts close together down into the solid piece of jade, leaving a series of raised leaves that are then chipped away. The bowl is finished by being ground with shaped disks of steel and the usual abrasive. Final polishing is accomplished with revolving disks of wood or leather and a special powder.

Uses of Jade

A piece of greenish-white jade weighing 640 pounds having been brought into Peking, Emperor Ch’ien Lung ordered it to be fashioned into a representation of a mountain landscape. The job was completed in 1874–a beautiful work of art, a mountain with streams, trees, pavilions, bamboo groves, peopled with literary scholars of the fourth century. Even larger scenes were reproduced by the Peking craftsmen. However, this particular one may be viewed by Westerners, for it now stands in the Walker Art Gallery, Minneapolis–probably the largest piece of worked jade in the United States.

Countless other objects have been fashioned out of jade–thrones, beds, pillows, screens, chopsticks, teapots, plates, books (with writing inscribed in gold on jade plaques covered with brocade and stored in sandalwood boxes), statues of Buddha and other prominent persons, flowers, combs, chessmen, fans, toys, opium pipes and various items of jewelry. At one time jade was even used for making tools, but the advent of metal made for more effective tools.

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