The winter break is coming to an end and I’m preparing to start a seriously busy schedule with the spring semester. I’m taking a Japanese class, a Chinese class, and then Dae and I will be doing daily meet ups where we’ll study Korean, Japanese, and Chinese together! I’m excited! But I’m also going to miss this nice break I’ve had. My list of “things I want to do over the break” isn’t near done. I HAVE finished all the language studying I had wanted to do, but reading 二十四の瞳 (24 no Hitomi) ("24 eyes," a Japanese novel) never happened, and organizing all of my language notes didn’t really happen either.
But, I did get to do some unexpected things over the break~! One of them pertains to this blog, so I thought I’d write about it and put up some pictures!
About a week ago, me and my step-mom took a trip to an Asian art museum. It was awesome! And I took a load of pictures.
Some of the most impressive things at the museum were the Chinese jade carvings. They blew my mind! I saw some of the most detailed and intricate carvings I had ever seen. I wouldn’t have the patience.
I really love jade, and looking at so many jade sculptures inspired me to do some research on jade in Chinese culture.
In Chinese the word 玉 (yù) means jade, and it is used to refer to both jadeite and nephrite, two different types of stone. Jadeite is much lighter and more of a green color, while nephrite is darker and has more of a blue color, which explains why sometimes jade carvings are really pale green and some are really dark emerald.
Jade was being mined in China earlier than 6000BC and over time it became known as the imperial gem. Jade was (and still is) used on a variety of items from China. Jade was used as jewelry and as an accent on armor and weapons. It was also carved into sculptures and pendants, and was even used on things such as calligraphy brushes and the mouth pieces of opium pipes (as breathing through jade was supposed to give one longevity.)
At first, nephrite was the imperial variety of jade, but with the discovery of the lighter and more colorful jadeite, jadeite soon became the more popular variety.
When I looked into what jade represented in Chinese culture I came across this article:
The following description of the "Eleven Virtues of Jade" is attributed to the sage Confucius (551-479 BCE):
"The wise have likened jade to virtue. For them, its polish and brilliancy represent the whole of purity. Its perfect compactness and extreme hardness represent the sureness of intelligence. Its angles, which do not cut, although they seem sharp, represent justice. The pure and prolonged sound, which it gives forth when one strikes it, represents music. Its color represents loyalty. Its interior flaws, always showing themselves through the transparency, call to mind sincerity. Its iridescent brightness represents heaven. Its admirable substance, born of mountain and of water, represents the earth. Used alone without ornamentation it represents chastity. The price that the entire world attaches to it represents the truth. To support these comparisons, the Book of Verse says: 'When I think of a wise man, his merits appear to be like jade.'"
Another Chinese saying states that, "Gold has value; jade is beyond value."
The ancient Chinese believed that powdered jade taken internally could cure virtually any ailment, and perhaps even bring immortality if consumed in the right quantity. The coolness of Jade is said to elevate and purify one's thoughts, quiet the mind, and help to induce a state of contemplation.
Wearing jade was thought not only to confer greater health and vitality, but also to ward off back luck and misfortune.
(Article courtesy of www.fastfengshui.com)
I also remember reading somewhere that jade helps with your kidneys…(?) but I’m not sure how.
Anyway, I hope you found all of the jade facts interesting! And I hope you liked the pictures.
Hopefully you now know a little more about Chinese culture.
再见~
(Zai Jian = Bye in Chinese)
