Editing Nephrite (section)

===Prehistoric and historic China===
{{unreferenced section|date=November 2022}}
{{multiple image
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 | image1 = 'Mutton fat' jade for sale at Khotan Jade Market.jpg
 | caption1 = "Mutton fat" jade for sale at [[Hotan]] Jade Market
 | image2 = Large mutton fat jade displayed in Hotan Cultural Museum lobby.jpg
 | caption2 = Large "mutton fat" nephrite jade displayed in [[Hotan Cultural Museum]] lobby.
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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]] in [[Inner Mongolia]] ([[Hongshan culture]] 4700–2200 BC). Jade was used to create many utilitarian and ceremonial objects, ranging from indoor decorative items to [[jade burial suit]]s. Jade was considered the "imperial gem." From about the earliest [[Chinese dynasties]] until present, the jade deposits in most use were from the region of [[Khotan]] in the Western Chinese province of [[Xinjiang]] (jade deposits from other areas of China, such as [[Lantian County|Lantian]], [[Shaanxi]], were also in great demand). There, white and greenish nephrite jade is found in small quarries and as pebbles and boulders in the rivers flowing from the [[Kuen-Lun mountain range]] northward into the [[Takla-Makan desert]] area. River jade collection was concentrated in the [[Yarkand River|Yarkand]], and the White Jade ([[Yurungkash River|Yurungkash]]) and Black Jade ([[Karakash River|Karakash]]) Rivers in Khotan. 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 transformed into {{lang|fr|[[objets d'art]]}} by skilled artisans, as jade was considered more valuable than [[gold]] or [[silver]].