Jade carving appeared first in the Shang and Zhou dynasties about 3,000 years ago when it had become a separate profession and excavations have shown the fine workmanship of that time. The materials used included all kinds of hard stones, such as jadeite, nephrite, red agate, white agate, crystal, amethyst, coral, ruby and sapphire. It is a special skill to exploit the natural color of a piece of jade to create an effective design. So the most expensive ones are not those of one single color, but those of multiple colors, the carving skillfully enhancing the different colors in an object. The Han scholar, Xu Shen, described that: "Jade is the fairest of stones. It is endowed with five virtues. Charity is typified by its luster, bright yet warm; rectitude by its translucency, revealing the color and markings within; wisdom by the purity and penetrating quality of its note when the stone is struck; courage, in that it may be broken, but cannot be bent; equity, in that it has sharp angles, which yet injure none."

Attributes Jade has been blessed by nature with many fine attributes - jade is solid in texture, beautiful in color, comfortable to the touch, and produces a pleasant sound when tapped. These qualities matched the ethical standards and codes of conduct of the ancient people and were hence personified. Confucius (551-479 BC) concluded that jade had 11 virtues, such as benevolence (being smooth and lustrous), fidelity (the feel never irritates the skin), polite etiquette (there was an order of wearing), and sincerity (a flaw in jade never hides itself). The Confucian culture advocated that a gentleman should define his manners and conduct in accordance with the virtues of jade.

For a long time, wearing jade ornaments was in vogue. Ornaments were either a single piece of jade or comprised of as many as nine pieces strung together. People used the ornaments to symbolize their social status. The ornaments were carved with auspicious designs and words that wished good luck and happy lives. Wearing jade ornaments was most popular during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Those who did not wear them were considered improperly dressed, and houses without jade decorations were not considered homes. For poor and ordinary people who could not afford real jade, they would put up a few couplets that said something like "the hall shines with gold and jade." For women, jade bracelets took up most space in their jewelry boxes. Bracelets received as engagement and wedding gifts were as precious as today's diamond wedding rings. The Chinese describe a good marriage as a "gold and jade marriage."

Myths

Jade has not only been idealized and personified, but also mythologized, particularly in ancient times when jade vessels were dedicated to rituals and divination purposes. The ancients believed that jade was formed where phoenixes had landed and where there were accumulations of the essence of yang. Proper panning was conducted during moon-lit nights by naked women. It was believed that only by using yin (women were philosophized as yin) to absorb yang could pure jade, the essence of the earth and sky, be obtained. This belief influenced the Chinese for many centuries.

The ancient Chinese also believed that jade staved off corrosion and evil spirits. Many jade burial objects have been found in tombs that date as far back as the Zhou Dynasty (11th Century BC). The Zhou people began using flat pieces of jade to cover corpses. In the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220) this custom developed even further. Flat and square jade pieces were sewn by gold thread into burial suites for rulers so that their physical beings would never vanish. In 1971, the tombs of Prince Jing of the Western Han Dynasty and his wife were excavated, yielding two jade suits. However, the bodies inside had vanished a long time ago.

Myths about jade faded with the passage of time. However, many people today still believe that wearing jade is good for one's health. Face massagers made of jade have been used since the Qing Dynasty. There are also jade pillows and seat mats. Plum Blossom Jade produced in Henan Province is black in color and has many blue, red, white, yellow and green dots, just like plum blossoms. Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty named this jade a state treasure. Modern tests show that it contains trace elements needed by the human body.

The ancient Chinese valued jade very much, as evidenced by the extensive use of the material. The unearthed artifacts of the Hongshan Culture (5,000 to 6,000 years ago) fall into two broad categories: pottery and jade. The jade ware of the period includes ornaments, ritual artifacts, and divination vessels. Ritual jade battle axes and hatchets symbolized power. Divination vessels were carved in the shape of small animals, such as birds and silkworms. The totem jade of the Hongshan people is a pig with a dragon's head.

Jade was dominant in China prior to the Bronze Age. The original ancient pictographic character for jade was composed of three horizontal pieces of jade stringed by a central, vertical stroke. Later a dot was added to the character to stand for the word, jade. The one without the dot changed pronunciation, and the three horizontal jade pieces became simply three horizontal lines. This character now stands to mean "king" or "monarch" in Chinese.

Value The earth's crust contains over 1,000 kinds of stones, but only about a dozen belong to the jade family. Limited by undeveloped quarrying skills, ancient jade output was very small; therefore, the price of jade was high. Some believe the most valuable piece of ancient jade ware is a flat, round jade ornament named "heshi bi" from the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC). The ornament is admired not only for its high quality jade, but also for the story behind it. Legend has it that a man named He from the State of Chu had obtained a piece of jade at Mount Jing in present-day Hubei Province and presented it to King Li. The King was insulted and had the man's left foot amputated. When King Wu succeeded the throne, the man presented the jade to the throne again. The same thing happened, and this time he lost his right foot. When King Wen was enthroned, the man went back to Mount Jing with the jade, full of sorrow. King Wen sent someone to tell him that his jade was precious and was named Heshi Bi -- He Family's Jade. Han Dynasty historian Sima Qi wrote in his book, The Records of a Historian, that the jade was later obtained by the ruler of the State of Zhao. When the ruler of Qin heard about it, he offered to trade 15 of his walled towns for the jade. The ruler of Zhao then sent a minister to take the jade over to Qin, which was stronger than the State of Zhao. When the minister found that the ruler of Qin was not really serious about the trade, the minister managed to bring the jade back to Zhao, relying on his resourcefulness and bravery. The idea that someone may have been willing to give away 15 towns in exchange for a piece of jade reflects the great value the Chinese place on jade.

An old Chinese saying, "Gold has a price, but jade does not," so in traditional Chinese literature, gold and jade are often mentioned together and are seen as symbols of wealth. Even today the price of high quality jade is no less than a piece of gold of the same weight, and it has stepped down from its ancient sacred altar and has come into the lives of ordinary people.