Editing Jade (section)

====Prehistoric and historic China====
{{Main|Chinese jade}}
[[File:Jade Drinking Vessel at Nanyue King Museum.jpg|thumb|Jade Drinking Vessel in Rhino Horn Shape, [[Han dynasty#Western Han|Western Han]]/[[Nanyue]] (202 BC{{snd}}111 BC)]]
During [[Neolithic]] times, the key known sources of nephrite jade in China for utilitarian and [[ceremonial]] jade items were the now-depleted deposits in the Ningshao area in the [[Yangtze River Delta]] ([[Liangzhu culture]] 3400–2250 BC) and in an area of the [[Liaoning province]] and [[Inner Mongolia]] ([[Hongshan culture]] 4700–2200 BC).<ref>Liu, Li 2003:3–15</ref> [[Mount Du|Dushan Jade]] (a rock composed largely of anorthite feldspar and zoisite) was being mined as early as 6000 BC. In the Yin Ruins of the Shang Dynasty (1600 to 1050 BC) in Anyang, Dushan Jade ornaments were unearthed in the tomb of the Shang kings.

Jade was considered to be the "imperial gem" and was used to create many utilitarian and ceremonial objects, from indoor decorative items to [[jade burial suit]]s.  From the earliest [[Dynasties in Chinese history|Chinese dynasties]] to the present, the jade deposits most used were not only those of [[Khotan]] in the Western Chinese province of [[Xinjiang]] but other parts of China as well, such as Lantian, [[Shaanxi]]. There, white and greenish nephrite jade is found in small quarries and as pebbles and boulders in the [[river]]s flowing from the [[Kuen-Lun mountain range]] eastward into the [[Takla-Makan desert]] area. The river jade collection is concentrated in the [[Yarkand River|Yarkand]], the White Jade ([[Yurungkash River|Yurungkash]]) and Black Jade ([[Karakash River|Karakash]]) Rivers. From the [[Kingdom of Khotan]], on the southern leg of the [[Silk Road]], yearly tribute payments consisting of the most precious white jade were made to the Chinese Imperial court and there worked into ''objets d'art'' by skilled artisans as jade had a status-value exceeding that of [[gold]] or [[silver]]. Jade became a favourite material for the crafting of Chinese scholars' objects, such as rests for calligraphy brushes, as well as the mouthpieces of some [[opium pipe]]s, due to the belief that breathing through jade would bestow longevity upon smokers who used such a pipe.<ref>Martin, Steven. ''The Art of Opium Antiques''. Silkworm Books, Chiang Mai, 2007</ref>

Jadeite, with its bright emerald-green, lavender, pink, [[Orange (colour)|orange]], yellow, red, black, white, near-colorless and brown colors was imported from [[Myanmar|Burma]] to China in quantity only after about 1800. The vivid white to green variety became known as ''fei cui'' (翡翠) or kingfisher jade, due to its resemblance to the feathers of the kingfisher bird.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hansford |first1=S. Howard |title=Jade and the kingfisher |journal=Oriental Art |date=1948 |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=11–17}}</ref> That definition was later expanded to include all other colors that the rock is found in.<ref name="Kunz">{{cite news|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25628880 |title=The Cabinet • Talks with Experts • VI. Mr. George F. Kunz on art works in jade and other hard stones |first=George |last=Kunz |work=[[The Art Amateur]] |date=December 1888 |jstor=25628880 |access-date=December 5, 2023}}</ref><ref name="Lotus Gemology"/> It quickly became almost as popular as nephrite and a favorite of Qing Dynasty's aristocracy, while scholars still had strong attachment to nephrite (white jade, or Hetian jade), which they deemed to be the symbol of a nobleman.

In the history of the art of the Chinese empire, jade has had a special significance, comparable with that of gold and [[diamond]]s in the West.<ref name=gem>[http://www.gemstone.org/gem-by-gem/english/jade.html Jade]. Gemstone.org</ref> Jade was used for the finest objects and cult figures, and for grave furnishings for high-ranking members of the imperial family.<ref name=gem/> Due to that significance and the rising middle class in China, in 2010 the finest jade when found in nuggets of "mutton fat" jade – so-named for its marbled white consistency – could sell for $3,000 an ounce, a tenfold increase from a decade previously.<ref name="Andrew Jabobs">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/21/world/asia/21jade.html?_r=2&hp& |title=Jade From China's West Surpasses Gold in Value |first=Andrew |last=Jacobs |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=September 20, 2010 |location=[[New York, NY|New York]] |issn=0362-4331 |access-date=October 13, 2012}}</ref>

The Chinese character 玉<ref>[[:zh:玉]]{{Circular reference|date=December 2024}}</ref> (yù) is used to denote the several types of stone known in English as "jade" (e.g. 玉器, jadewares), such as [[jadeite]] (硬玉, 'hard jade', another name for 翡翠) and [[nephrite]] (軟玉, 'soft jade'). While still in use, the terms "hard jade" and "soft jade" resulted from a mistranslation by a Japanese geologist, and should be avoided.<ref name="Shi">{{cite journal |last1=Shi |first1=Guanghai |title="软 玉 "一 词 由 来 、争 议 及 去 "软 "建 议 [Origin and controversy of the term "软玉 (Ruan Yu soft jade)" and a proposal to remove the word "软 (Ruan soft)" from "Ruan Yu"] |journal=Earth Science Frontiers |date=2019 |volume=26 |issue=3 |pages=163–170 |doi=10.13745/j.esf.sf.2019.5.25 |url=https://www.earthsciencefrontiers.net.cn/CN/10.13745/j.esf.sf.2019.5.25 |access-date=5 December 2023}}</ref>

But because of the value added culturally to jades throughout Chinese history, the word has also come to refer more generally to precious or ornamental stones,<ref>[http://www.gia.edu/cs/Satellite?blobcol=gfile&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobheadername1=Content-Disposition&blobheadername2=MDT-Type&blobheadername3=Content-Type&blobheadervalue1=attachment%3B+filename%3DGG-Gem-News-International&blobheadervalue2=abinary%3B+charset%3DUTF-8&blobheadervalue3=application%2Funknown&blobkey=id&blobtable=GIA_DocumentFile&blobwhere=1355958258903&ssbinary=true Gem News], [[Gems & Gemology]]{{page needed|date=October 2016}}</ref> and is very common in more symbolic usage as in phrases like 拋磚引玉/抛砖引玉 (lit. "casting a brick (i.e. the speaker's own words) to draw a jade (i.e. pearls of wisdom from the other party)"), 玉容 (a beautiful face; "jade countenance"), and 玉立 (slim and graceful; "jade standing upright"). The character has a similar range of meanings when appearing as a radical as parts of other characters.