Ancient Chinese Jade
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The history of Chinese jade is as old as its civilization. Chinese Jade objects includes all the beautiful carved objects that have been produced in China from the Neolithic period. The Chinese Jades has been an important part in all the periods of history. It is described as the most precious gems and it has a deep historical significance in Chinese culture.
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The Carved jade has played a significant role in its politics, philosophy, economic and religious beliefs. Chinese believe that jade posses the power to link the relationship between man and the spiritual world and it is one of the closest forms of Yin and Yang. It is also associated with the religious and cultural beliefs of Chinese. Chinese considers it as a stone of immortality and it is use for worship and burial purposes. Ancient Chinese believe that Jade posses the power to preserve the dead body from decaying but it cannot prevent the living from dying.
Chinese believe that jade has the capability to perform miracles. It has the power to cure every kind of illness and it has a strong relation with life and immortality. It is even believed that Jade becomes an important part of the life of its owner. The color of the Jade changes according to the fortune of its owner. The color tends to get darker shade when its possessor is in the bad fortune and lighter Color shows the good fortune. It is also believe that the breaking of jade protects its possessor from disastrous event.
Jade appears in different forms with different patterns. Jades of the Neolithic period are simple and unornamented. In contrast to this, the Han, Zhou and Shang jades are characterized with heavy decorations of animals and other fine decorative pieces. The ancient Chinese carved Jades into birds and beasts and worshipped them as gods. Painting and sculpture were also an important part of jade carving in ancient China. It is also carved on hair ornaments and jewelries with intricate details and meaningful symbols. Jade is so precious that it is referred as "the stone of heaven" in ancient Chinese civilization.
Even today, Chinese considers jade as a precious object that promotes good health, protection and good luck. Jades in Chinese culture symbolize beauty, purity and grace. It is considered as a valuable possession and the high-ranking officials are buried with Jade articles in Han dynasty. Chinese jade has been a beautiful part of idioms and phrases to denote beautiful things or people. Jade is known as "Yu" in Chinese language and it literally means "royal gem".
Jade is an integral part of the Chinese society for more than 6000 years. Chinese envy jade not only for its beauty and luster but also for its deep cultural significance. They considered it as a scared stone and it represents the embodiment of perfection, constancy, immortality and nobility. It remains as an eternal symbol of ancient Chinese culture.
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