Jade

Jade, Jadeite or Nephrite "flank stone" Chemical Formula: NaAlSi₂O₆ (Jadeite); Ca₂(Mg, Fe)₅Si₈O₂₂(OH)₂ (Nephrite) Discovery: ~6000 BCE, China (Earliest Known); 1863 CE, France (Formally)

Category: Inosilicate Mineral Crystal System: Monoclinic Crystal Habit: Intergrown grainy/fine fibrous aggregate Fracture: Splintery Mohs Scale: 6–7

Jade is a mineral mostly known for its green varieties, though it appears naturally in most other colours as well, including yellow, blue, purple, red-orange, black and white. Many different rocks and minerals have been marketed as jade, including serpentine, green quartz, vesuvianite (californite), and others. Gemmologists, however, usually restrict the name to just jadeite and nephrite, both characteristically forming very tough, fine-grained rocks, due to the 1863 discovery by French mineralogist Alexis Damour that what at the time was being called jade was in fact two distinct mineral species. Nephrite (amphibole calcium and magnesium silicate) is a tremolite and/or actinolite-rich rock and is much more common than jadeite (pyroxene sodium and aluminum silicate). Jade is well known for its use and cultural importance in East, South, and South-East Asia, the Pacific Islands, and the Americas.

In Ancient China, 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 suits. It had a status-value exceeding that of gold or silver and 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 pipes, due to the belief that breathing through jade would bestow longevity upon smokers who used such a pipe. Jade was used for the finest objects and cult figures, and for grave furnishings for high-ranking members of the imperial family. Jade holds a significant place in the Chinese culture as it is believed to be a bridge between heaven and hell. This belief stems from the antiquity associated with the gem as well as the virtues of righteousness and knowledge it symbolizes. Jade's virtues, such as fine texture, immense toughness and high hardness, contribute to the high lustre and transparency, as well as the durability to withstand a high polish. The Chinese believe that the wearer of jade will be constantly reminded of the strength in resilience and toughness that build one's character. Thus by wearing jade, one is more virtuous by living these values. There is also a popular belief that jade protects the wearer from disasters and guides his/her fortune. For example, jade would break in the eve of a bad event as a warning to the wearer. However, a jade ornament will appear more brilliant and transparent if good fortune lies ahead.

The key known sources of nephrite jade in China for utilitarian and ceremonial jade items during Neolithic times were the now-depleted deposits in the Ningshao area in the Yangtze River Delta (Liangzhu culture 3400-2250 BCE) and in an area of the Liaoning province and Inner Mongolia (Hongshan culture 4700-2200 BCE). Dushan Jade was being mined as early as 6000 BCE. In the Yin Ruins of the Shang Dynasty (1600-1050 BCE) in Anyang, Dushan Jade ornaments were unearthed in the tomb of the Shang kings. From the earliest 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 rivers flowing from the Kuen-Lun mountain range eastward into the Takla-Makan desert area. The river jade collection is concentrated in the Yarkand, the Yurungkash (White Jade) and Karakash (Black or Green Jade) Rivers. From the Kingdom of Khotan, on the southern leg of the Silk Road, yearly tribute payments consisting of the most precious white jade or Hetian Jade were made to the Chinese Imperial court and there worked into objets d'art by skilled artisans.

In the Western world, the term jade today is used for two different rocks, jadeite and nephrite. However, in China, traditionally there were four "great jades." Hetian jade (nephrite; Xinjiang province), Xiuyan jade (serpentine, or false jade; Xiuyan, Liaoning province), Dushan jade (rock mixture of anorthite, zoisite and hornblende; Nanyang, Henan province) and turquoise (Yun, Hubei province). Hetian jade, or nephrite, was the finest and most valuable, so-called "mutton fat" for its marbled white consistency. During the Han Dynasty in China, c. 206 BCE - 220 CE, only the Imperial family could own Hetian jade artifacts and ornaments. Jadeite, with its bright emerald-green, pink, lavender, orange and brown colours was only imported from Myanmar to China after about 1800. The vivid green semi-transluscent variety became known as Feicui (翡翠) or Kingfisher (feathers) jade, now known as jadeite-jade. It quickly became almost as popular as nephrite and a favourite of Qing Dynasty's nouveau riche, while scholars still had strong attachment to nephrite which they deemed to be the symbol of a nobleman.

Today, it is estimated that Myanmar is the origin of upwards of 70% of the world's supply of high-quality jadeite. The jadeite deposits found in Kachinland, in Myanmar's northern regions, contain the highest quality jadeite in the world, considered precious by sources in China going as far back as the 10th century. Jadeite in Myanmar is primarily found in the "Jade Tract" located in Lonkin Township in Kachin State in northern Myanmar. Present-day extraction of jade in this region occurs at the Phakant-gyi, Maw Se Za, Tin Tin, and Khansee mines. Khansee is also the only mine that produces Maw Sit Sit, a type of jade. Mines at Tawmao and Hweka are mostly exhausted. Jade from Myanmar has been divided into five groups according to the main mineral constituent of the respective sample: (1) jadeitites with kosmochlor and clinoamphibole, (2) jadeitites with clinoamphibole, (3) albite-bearing jadeitites, (4) almost pure jadeitites and (5) omphacitites.

In Japan, jade bracelets were considered symbols of wealth and power. Jade balls and ornaments were revered as objects of prestige because of their beauty and value. Leaders also used jade in rituals, and examples of use in Japan can be traced back to the middle Jomon period, about 5000 BCE. XRF analysis results have revealed that all jade used in Japan since the Jomon period is from Itoigawa. The jade culture that blossomed in ancient Japan centred around green jade, and other colours were not used. It has been theorized that the reason for this is that it was believed the colour green enabled the reproduction of fertility, life, and the soul of the earth. From the Jomon period to the Kofun period, finished products and rough stones of jade were widely distributed, not only in neighbouring areas of Itoigawa but also to Kyushu/Okinawa in the west, Aomori and Hokkaido in the north, and even to the Korean Peninsula beyond the sea. During the Kofun period, c.300-538 CE, ceremonial jade magatama beads were buried in various burial mounds and at the center of temple towers such as the Asuka-dera Temple.

Jade culture in Japan declined sharply and eventually disappeared completely during the Nara period, so much so that people came to believe jade was not natural to Japan. It is unclear why the jade culture, which lasted about 6000 years, disappeared, but there are opinions calling for a connection with the introduction of Buddhism, similar to the situation in Korea. Centuries later, in 1935 (Showa 10), jade was rediscovered in Itoigawa, about 1200 years after it had been forgotten. In 2016 (Heisei 28), the Japanese Society of Mineral Sciences selected jade as the "national stone of Japan."

The use of jade and other greenstone was a long-term tradition in Korea, c. 850 BCE-668 CE. Jade was found in small numbers of pit-houses and burials. During the 4th and early 6th centuries of Baekje, Gaya and Silla, many jade magatama were excavated from the ancient tombs, which are considered to be the tombs of influential people. The craft production of magatama beads and tubular "jades" using materials such as jade, microcline, jasper, etc., in southern Korea originates from the Middle Mumun Pottery Period (c. 850–550 BCE). However, no jade-producing area has been found on the Korean Peninsula, and all the jade excavated from the Korean Peninsula originates in Itoigawa. This, along with the fact that jade magatama are only otherwise found in Japan, indicates that trade relations existed between the Japanese Islands and Korean Peninsula at that time. Jade magatama are found on some of the gold crowns of Silla royalty (c. 300/400–668 CE) and sumptuous elite burials of the Korean Three Kingdoms. Around the 5th century CE, the prevalence of jade magatama increased in Korea, while in Japan the number of iron products increased dramatically. It is thus theorized that jade-made magatama found in South Korea were obtained from Japan in bulk in exchange for iron products.

After the state of Silla united the Korean Peninsula in 668, the widespread popularisation of death rituals related to Buddhism resulted in the decline of the use of jade ornaments in burials as prestigious mortuary goods.

Philippine jade artifacts, made from white and green nephrite and dating as far back as 2000–1500 BC, have been discovered at a number of archeological excavations in the Philippines since the 1930s. The artifacts have been both tools like chisels, and ornaments such as lingling-o earrings, bracelets and beads. The green nephrite has been traced to a deposit near the modern Hualien City in eastern Taiwan. The source of the white nephrite is unknown. The jade was worked in the Philippines, especially in Batanes, Luzon, and Palawan. Some was also processed in Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, and Cambodia. Carved nephrite jade was the main commodity trade during the historical Maritime Jade Road, an extensive trading network connecting multiple areas in Southeast and East Asia, one of the largest sea-based trade networks of a single geological material in the prehistoric world. It was in existence for at least 3,000 years, where its peak production was from 2000 BCE-500 CE, and is far older than the Silk Road in mainland Eurasia or the Maritime Silk Road. It began to wane during its final centuries from 500-1000 CE.

Nephrite jade in New Zealand is known as pounamu in the Māori language (often called "greenstone" in New Zealand English), and plays an important role in Māori culture. It is can be called kawakawa, kahurangi, īnanga, and other names depending on colour. It is considered a taonga, or treasure, and therefore protected under the Treaty of Waitangi, and the exploitation of it is restricted and closely monitored. It is found only in the South Island of New Zealand, known as Te Wai Pounamu in Māori—"The [land of] Greenstone Water", or Te Wahi Pounamu—"The Place of Greenstone." Pounamu taonga increase in mana (prestige) as they pass from one generation to another. The most prized taonga are those with known histories going back many generations. These are believed to have their own mana and were often given as gifts to seal important agreements. Tools, weapons and ornaments were made of the stone; in particular adzes, the 'mere' (short club), and the hei-tiki (neck pendant). Nephrite jewellery of Maori design is widely popular with locals and tourists, although some of the jade used for these is now imported from British Columbia and elsewhere. Functional pounamu tools were widely worn for both practical and ornamental reasons and continued to be worn as purely ornamental pendants even after they were no longer used as tools.

The use of jade in Mesoamerica for symbolic and ideological ritual was highly influenced by its rarity and value among pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures, such as the Olmec, the Maya, and the various peoples in the Valley of Mexico. Jade's extreme durability made fine-grained or fibrous jadeite and nephrite highly useful for Mesoamerican technology. It was often worked or carved as ornamental stones, a medium upon which glyphs were inscribed, or shaped into figurines, weapons, and other objects. Many jade artifacts crafted by later Mesoamerican civilizations appear cut from simple jade axes, implying that the earliest jadeite trade was based in utilitarian function. Next to emery, jade was the hardest mineral known to ancient Mesoamerica. In the absence of metal tools, ancient craftsmen used tools themselves made of jade, leather strops, string saws to cut and carve jade, and reeds or other hard materials to drill holes. Working the raw stone into a finished piece was a very labour-intensive process, often requiring repeated physical movement to shape the jade. It would take many hours of work to create even a single jade bead. Craftsmen employed lapidary techniques such as pecking, percussion, grinding, sawing, drilling, and incising to shape and decorate jade. Several of these techniques were thought to imbue pieces with religious or symbolic meaning. For instance, drilling holes into jade was thought to give a piece "life," or animate, a carving. Jade was shaped into a variety of objects including, but not limited to, figurines, celts, ear spools, and teeth inlays (small decorative pieces inserted into the incisors). Mosaic pieces of various sizes were used to decorate belts and pectoral coverings. Jade sculpture often depicted deities, people, shamanic transformations, animals and plants, and various abstract forms. Sculptures varied in size from single beads, used for jewelry and other decorations, to large carvings, such as the 4.42 kilogram head of the Maya sun god found at Altun Ha.

Jade workshop areas have been documented at two Classic Maya sites in Guatemala: Cancuen and Guaytán. There was a direct exchange network between the previously mentioned areas of Guatemala, in the Mayan lowlands, and the Olmec civilization living along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The Olmecs (c. 2500-400 BCE) favoured the deep, blue-green jade found in Guatemala and it played an important role in their rituals involving water sources. Following the disappearance of the Olmecs, the Mayan city of Copan became the presumed trade center for Guatemalan jade, c.300 BCE-800 CE, and exchanged goods with the Indigenous peoples of Costa Rica. After the collapse of Copan, the jade tradition in the surrounding areas began to decline.

Colloquially 'jade' objects in Mesoamerica are composed of jadeite, but may also refer to other similar-looking, relatively hard greenstones such as albitite, omphacite, chrysoprase, and quartzite. A general misconception is that nephrite does not naturally exist in Mesoamerica. However, the Middle Motagua River Valley area that yields jadeite also yields nephrite, although Mesoamerican artisans had less interest in working nephrite. The value of jade went beyond its material worth. Perhaps because of its colour, mirroring that of water and vegetation, it was symbolically associated with life and death and therefore possessed high religious and spiritual importance.

The Maya placed jade beads in the mouth of the dead, and it is suggested that this practice relates to a sixteenth-century funerary ritual performed at the deaths of Pokom Maya lords: "When it appears then that some lord is dying, they had ready a precious stone which they placed at his mouth when he appeared to expire, in which they believe that they took the spirit, and on expiring, they very lightly rubbed his face with it. [Jade] takes the breath, soul or spirit." Others associate the placement of jade beads in the mouths of the dead with symbolic planting and rebirth of the maize god. Precious offerings depicting maize have been found in the Sacred Cenote, paralleling the internment of the Maize God himself entering the underworld. Many objects found were considered uniquely beautiful, and had been exquisitely crafted before being offered as sacrifice. The Maya also associated jade with the sun and the wind. Many Maya jade sculptures and figurines of the wind god have been discovered, as well as many others displaying breath and wind symbols. In addition, caches of four jade objects placed around a central element which have are believed to represent not only the cardinal directions but the directional winds as well. Elite Mayans wore jade pendants that depicted "mirror gods" associated with rulership in Mesoamerica. Mirror divination was a part of spiritual practice in Mayan culture, and the Mayan sun god, Kinich Ahau, was often depicted in jade and other materials with a mirror on his forehead. The reflective quality of highly polished jade connected itself to other mirrored objects, promoting its spiritual importance and aesthetic value to the Maya.

The aesthetic and religious significance of the various colours remains a source of controversy and speculation. Variation in colour is largely due to variation in trace element composition. Olmec Blue jade, characterized by an icelike shade of pale blue, owes its unique colour to the presence of iron and titanium. The Olmec used blue jade in their mortuary rituals because it represented water, an Olmec iconography representing the Underworld. Blue also represented the blue colour that snakes turn before shedding their skin; therefore, blue represents aquatic and serpentine rejuvenation. The more typical bright green varieties of jade are due to the varying presence of sodium, aluminum, iron, and chromium, and may have been identified with the young Maize God.

The Chinese character 玉 (yù) is used to denote the several types of stone known in English as "jade" (e.g. 玉器, jade wares), such as jadeite (硬玉, 'hard jade', another name for 翡翠) and nephrite (軟玉, 'soft jade'). But because of the cultural value of jade throughout Chinese history, the word has also come to refer more generally to precious or ornamental stones 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. It is one of the oldest characters in the Chinese language with its pictograph (玉) said to have originated in 2950 BCE when the transition from knotted cords to written signs occurred. The pictograph represents three pieces of jade, pierced and threaded with a string that together represents virtue, beauty and rarity. The addition of the dian stroke (dot) completes the character and distinguishes it from 王 (wǎng), the character for emperor. Just how fundamental this character is in the Chinese language is illustrated by the modern form of the character for kingdom – 国 (guó) – which has the jade character enclosed in a boundary to represent "country." Thus the jade character is a component of the name for the country of China – Zhongguo – 中国.

The English 'jade' is borrowed from French le jade, rebracketing of earlier l'ejade (“jade”), from Spanish piedra de ijada (“flank stone”), via Vulgar Latin *iliata from Latin ilia (“flank”). The Spanish term derives from the Indigenous Mesoamerican belief that jade combats kidney ailments, and was first documented in 1565 CE. Nephrite is derived from lapis nephriticus, a Latin translation of the Spanish piedra de ijada.