Comprehensive Annotated Dictionary for Jade,
Jade-like Stones
and Other Important Stones of China

By Frank Doonan

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1.0 –What is jade?

1.1 – What is meant by jade in the west?

The Western definition of jade evolved with the development of the science of mineralogy and the classification of rocks and minerals. In general jade has never been highly prized in western cultures after the Neolithic period. In recent history the highest grade of jadeite, called ‘imperial jade’, became fashionable among the wealthy in the West to a limited extent. The modern definition of jade in the West includes two rocks, nephrite jade and jadeite.

Nephrite jade is a very fine interlocking fibrous aggregate of minerals from the actinolite-tremolite series. It does not often occur with other minerals except as inclusions in jadeite.

The rock jadeite is a very fine interlocking crystalline aggregate dominated by the mineral jadeite, but also can include other minerals. A similar related dark green mineral called chosmochlor occurs in blends with jadeite and other associated minerals in Myanmar. Jadeite and chosmochlor form two pure end members of the jadeite-chosmochor mineral series. Rocks containing the darker green mineral chosmochlor are not considered as desirable as jadeite. Chosmorchlor tends to be darker and more opaque than jadeite, and it most often has a grainy appearance.

The Western system of classification of rocks and minerals is very helpful in accurately defining the physical and chemical properties, and their geologic origins. Even though the concepts of what is jade and the other associated stones evolved differently in the West from the East, the resulting distinction among most rocks and minerals is similar.

1.2 – What is meant by jade in China?

What is China? China is a place where silk is silk, porcelain is porcelain, jade is not jade.

The special place jade occupied in Chinese culture evolved because of its rarity and unique properties of toughness and beauty. The earliest uses of jade articles found in China are simple tools like axes and agricultural implements, and jewelry. With the advent of the Jade Age about ~5000 BC most jade artifacts became ceremonial, ritual and hierarchical articles. The skills of the carvers of China evolved quickly, and very early in Chinese history the quality of the carvings produced in the Neolithic cultures was the best in the world.

Because of these unique properties the culture of the Jade Age of China from ~5000 BC to ~1600 BC became centered on nephrite jade, which became known as the ‘Stone of Heaven’.

A unique geologic situation exists in China that sets the stage for placing nephrite jade at the center of Chinese culture. Most of the deposits of massive varieties of nephrite and other related stones like jadeite occur in or near China. The quality of the stone in these locations is superior to those found in other places in the world. The best nephrite is found in Xinjiang Province and the best jadeite in Myanmar. Large deposits of nephrite and jadeite occur in nearby Siberia, but the quality is inferior. Large deposits of high-quality massive serpentine, aventurine, agalmatolites and other rocks suitable for carving occur in several locations around China.

Though some nephrite jade and jadeite from Siberia was used in China for carving beginning in the nineteenth century, these stones were never used extensively in carvings. Taiwan nephrite, though attractive, is inferior in quality and generally more brittle than Chinese nephrite. Canadian nephrite is now being imported into Taiwan and mainland China. These stones also are inferior to Chinese nephrite, and all were inferior to the ‘Stone of Heaven’, mutton fat jade.

The imperial jadeite of Myanmar is the highest-quality jadeite in the world. It became fashionable in China among the wealthy in the late Qing Dynasty and later in the West, but it never achieved the status and position of nephrite jade.

The terms defined here are almost exclusively used for Chinese nephrite jade, related jade-like rocks and beautiful stones from China, and Myanmar jadeite.

1.21 – The definition of jade.

玉yù, 玉石yùshì: (I) Jade, jade-like stones, other stones and materials with special jade-like properties, and special stones with unique properties and uses. (II) Nephrite jade was defined very early in Chinese history as the most desirable of all stones, and the subtle colored white ‘Stone of Heaven’, was the feudal king’s and the emperor’s because of its special properties of toughness, subtle beauty and silky feel. Very early in Chinese history the language began to reflect a hierarchy of order that was reflected in all things, and nephrite jade was the standard by which the heirarchy of all stones developed. Aclassification system developed and assigned different stones, organic materials with jade-like qualities and names. Nephrite jade maintained its royal supremacy and had it’s own names, but it would have not been always synonymous with the use of the terms玉yù or 玉石 yùshì. (III) Today in China玉yù or 玉石 yùshì is used as a general term to include nephrite, jade-like stones and other beautiful or special stones based on the commercial market. Commonly misused as the specific name of jade-like stones. (IV) Some references refer to it as nephrite jade. (IV) Translated as jade and used for the general term for nephrite and jadeite.

Used in characters for the attributes of treasure, rare, beauty, precious, nobility, excellence, wealth and wisdom. Some of the characters that were used to describe jade, other stones and materials and the attributes of jade in the past. Used as a part of characters and with other characters to describe varieties and grades of nephrite jade, attributes of jade, jade-like stones, other beautiful stones suitable for carving and gemstones, and other stones and materials with special uses. Used as a part of the character for special organic materials, such as pearls, coral and ivory.

Over time many of these characters evolved into words with many meanings not related to their traditional meanings of the past.

1.22 – The evolution of the meaning of jade characters and words.

The character玉yù became the basis for a large vocabulary of characters and words related to jade and the attributes of jade as the Chinese language evolved. Some characters were used differently at different times and places with a different meaning and pronunciation. Different characters and variations on the characters are grouped under the same pronunciation and definition when references site them as the same. Even though they have a common heritage, many different kingdoms, dynasties and individual authors used their own variations on these characters. Some may have been used only once by one author. At various times in history many books were destroyed eg. during the Qin Dynasty, and much of the meaning of many characters was lost. Some of the meanings of older characters are preserved in Classical Chinese literature. For many words, all we know today is simply that it was a name or attribute of jade or another stone like jade or associated with jade or the culture of China.

Many Classical characters were used in poetic and literary works to refer to the special attributes of jade and express them in human virtues like loyalty, beauty, wisdom and perseverance. Translations of these excerpts from these works are included in section 9.0 to help understand the meaning of the characters and how they were used.

The earliest characters for jade and related subjects from the Late Neolithic were simple characters. In the Shang, Zhou, and Qin Dynasties, when complex characters evolved as combinations of two or more characters, jade words still mostly consisted of one character. In later dynasties, place names of cities, mountains, kingdoms and regions using two or more characters became common. Names for artifacts took on two or more characters. During this period the Chinese coined words describing jade, other stones and materials from other countries. Many of the later Chinese words consisting of two, three or more characters are found in 吴大澂wúdàchéng’s study of jade published in the Qing Dynasty (4).

In the Neolithic Periods a number of different stones including nephrite, quartz rocks 00
and serpentine were carved for tools, weapons, ceremonial and decorative purposes. Small amounts of nephrite jade were found and used by the early Neolithic Chinese Cultures. There are two known sources of nephrite in eastern China. One is near Xiuyan in Liaoning Province and the other is near Taihujan and Maoshan in Jurong county of Jiangsu Province. Another possible source in eastern China is near the Heilongjiang River at the northernmost edge of China. The two possible locations in central China for a source of small amounts nephrite jade are Yuzhong County in Gansu Province and Wenchuan County in Sichuan Province. A fifth location farther west in Golmud region of Qinghai Province is a possible source. It is interesting to note that the locations in central and western China in Gansu, Sichuan and Qinghai Provinces are near or on the old Jade Road trading route from western Xinjiang Province, which later became the Silk Road.

Over 4,000 years ago the Jade Road began China’s first extra-regional organized trade bringing this most prized stone to China from Western Xinjiang Province and later evolved into what today is called the Silk Road today. At about the same time nephrite jade from Xinjiang is found in Mesopotamia (?), extending the jade road a considerable distance to the west. By the time of the Zhou Dynasty the concept of jade had evolved to represent the ‘Stone of Heaven’ almost exclusively limited to the prized white mutton fat nephrite from southwestern region of Xinjiang. Other colors and grades of jade were also prized for use by the nobles and royal family.

Local regions continued to promote their jade-like stones as ‘jade’ throughout China’s history, as in the legendary story of the和氏璧 héshì bì. In the First Dictionary some jade-like stones described as jade because of their special attributes were not nephrite jade. But the evidence shows that almost all the important ceremonial, funerary and personal carvings of the royal court and the highest government officials after the Zhou Dynasty were nephrite jade.

·0.0 – INTRODUCTION
·1.0 –What is jade
·10.0 – BIBLIOGRAPHY