Jade - Special Stone with Rich Chinese Culture

The history of jade is as long as the Chinese civilization. Xu Zhen defined jade as beautiful stone in the first Chinese dictionary. Jade is generally classified into soft jade (nephrite) and hard jade (jadeite). Since China only had the soft jade until jadeite was imported from Burma during the Qing dynasty (1271-1368), jade traditionally refers to the soft jade so it is also called traditional jade. Jadeite is called Feicui in Chinese. Feicui is now more popular and valuable than the soft jade in China.

Throughout the jade-mining history in China, Hetian jade has always occupied the center stage. Hetian jade, found in southwest Xinjiang Autonomous Region in Northwest China in the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476BC), has a history of more than 2,000 years. Most of the imperial jade seals were made of Hetian jade, which has been considered as the "real jade". The saying that "gold is costly, but jade is priceless" is in recognition of Hetian Jade. But after a long time of excavation, resource of Hetian jade is dwindling. It was at this time that Kunlun jade was discovered.

The manufacture of Chinese jade articles was already highly developed by the Shang Dynasty (16th to 11th century B.C). The Chinese of this period had the technology to produce jade articles of every imaginable type, shape, and size. By the end of the Chou Dynasty (11th century to 256 B.C.) and the beginning of the Han Dynasty, Chinese jades reached a second peak in their development; craftsmen had more advanced tools as well as more efficient methods of polishing jade and creating unsurpassed masterpieces. From this point on, jade craftsmen could accommodate practically any and every customer demand.

When polished and carved into various objects, jade was attributed with certain cultural characteristics. In ancient Chinese cosmology, the heaven was considered to be round, and the earth square. Thus a round jade ornament with a hole in the center, called a "pi", was carved to honor the gods of heaven, and a long hollow jade ornament with rectangular sides, called a "ts'ung", was made to honor the terrestrial spirits.

According to ancient Chinese legend, the phoenix and the dragon were animal deities that were the life-source of family clans. For this reason, jade was often used as a material for carving phoenixes and dragons which worn as ornaments and fashion accessories. These ornaments symbolized the noble bearings of a gentleman, and so is the origin of the Chinese saying: "The gentleman's morals are like jade."

Jade Olympic Medals Surprise the World

According to BOCOG's design, gold medal will incorporate a light, fine jade set in its back while the silver has the white-greenish jade. A greenish jade will be used for the bronze medal.

Jade represents honor and virtue in traditional Chinese culture and the medal design is regarded to well combine Olympic spirit and Chinese culture, the publication said.

Kunlun jade recognized as a world-class jewelry

Kunlun jade is found in the Kunlun Mountains in Qinghai Province. The type of jade is now recognized as a world-class jewel. Kunlun Mountain is the birthplace of many legendary stories in China, and the discovery of Kunlun jade added more mystery to it. As Wei Zhoubin, general manager of Golmud Kunlun Jade Company introduces, Kunlun jade and Hetian jade are both found along the Kunlun mountains, the quality of Kunlun jade is no worse than that of Hetian jade.Jade carry with them beauty, respect, love and help in China. That's one reason that they have been chosen for the Olympic medal making.They compliment the Olympic spirit, the use of jade in Olympic medals will definitely spread China's rich jade culture to the world, while relaying the concept of "People's Olympics". Jade is also A Mirror of Chinese Culture.

The jade medals have become the talk of the town

In Chinese culture, jade is a symbol of class and elegance. According to Games officials, the medals combined western and eastern elements. For example, 13 kilograms of gold and 1.3 tons of silver were sourced from Australia, and nearly seven tons of bronze was sourced from Chile. While jade were collected from west China's Kunlun Mountain.

The designers put a seal between the inner layer and a groove to bond metal and jade. The seal can also buffer the effect of vibration to protect the jade against impact. Shanghai Mint was the official manufacturer of the medals. In Beijing, the jade medals have become the talk of the town.
The Olympic medals have caught the eyes of athletes and spectators from around the world. According to The Sun, for the first time in Olympic history, the Olympic medals blend metal and jade. The technique of inlaying jade into metal can be dated back to the Han Dynasty 2000 years ago.

Jade Culture, A Mirror of Chinese Culture

The Chinese love jade because of not only its beauty, but also more importantly its culture, meaning and humanity, as Confucius said there are 11 De (virtue) in jade. Thus jade is really special in Chinese culture, also as the Chinese saying goes "Gold has a value; jade is invaluable”.

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."' Because jade stands for beauty, grace and purity, it has been used in many Chinese idioms or phrases to denote beautiful things or people.

The beauty of jadeite and its cultural connotations

Since ancient times, men of moral integrity have been seen as processing the fine qualities of jade: tenderness, modesty, urbanity, among them. In the eyes of the Chinese, jade is not as shiny or sparkling as other precious stones such as diamonds, which some believe characterizes people who are aggressive or arrogant. Because of its physical qualities, jade, jadeite in particular, suits the artistic and intellectual tastes of the Chinese people,” said Ouyang Chiumei, a world-renown expert in jade. "The Chinese are reserved and mild. In their eyes, westerners are straight forward and aggressive, quite like the diamond."

Jade has been ever more popular till today

Jade as The Gem for Olympic Medals has wowed the whole world. Jade ornaments have remained popular up until the present day. The purchase, wearing, and giving of jade items as gifts is still very common. Jade is viewed as an ideal gift for couples making a mutual commitment, and for one's children when they get married. Even now, the Chinese retain the idea that in addition to being beautiful, jade can protect from misfortune and bring good luck.

Today, traditional forms and modern styles are combined into striking new creations, and modern technology has greatly elevated the quality of workmanship. No longer is jade for the exclusive use of emperors and noblemen; just about everyone has the means to own and wear jade. Beyond maintaining its historical role, jade artistry has been further developed with creativity and skill, and has become an indispensable part of everyday life. Jade remains an eternal symbol of China's magnificent civilization.

Jade as The Gem for Olympic Medals

The Beijing Olympic medals made of Kunlun Jade are the most special medals in the Olympic history ever. The Chinese medal designers have made the impressive medals with creativity and great techniques.

Jade carry the Olympic spirit well

Jade carry with them beauty, respect, love and help in China. They compliment the Olympic spirit, the use of jade in Olympic medals will definitely spread China's rich jade culture to the world, while relaying the concept of "People's Olympics".

Legendary Jade in Chinese history

Yu 玉 , the Chinese word for jade, is one of the oldest in the Chinese language. Its pictograph is said to have originated in 2950 BC, when the transition from knotted cords to written signs supposedly occurred. The pictograph represents three pieces of jade, pierced and threaded with a string; the dot was added to distinguish it from the pictograph for "ruler". Jade was traditionally defined by its "virtues", namely a compact, fine texture, tremendous toughness and high hardness, smooth and glossy luster, along with high translucency and the ability to take a high polish (Wang, 1994).

Mystical powers to the Jade

But they also ascribe mystical powers to the stone. Particularly popular is the belief that jade can predict the stages of one's life: If a jade ornament appears more brilliant and transparent, it suggests that there is good fortune ahead; so people often give it as a Wedding Gift, if it becomes dull, bad luck is inevitable. It's always a precious gift choice for putting into your Gift Baskets and send to your loved ones or best friends.

Kunlun jade stands out

Gold, silver and bronze medals will have the same design, with finer white jade in gold ones, light green jade in the silver ones, and dark green jade in the bronze. The flip side of the medals carry a design based on the origins of the Olympics in Greece. The most important and difficult step is to choose the right jade to make the medals. Only about 10% of the jade stones can be used for making the medals."The stones used for medals have to meet very high standard. Such as the color of the white jade used for gold medals should be the same. However, it's impossible to find identical pieces of jade since the patterns are all natural, not produced by machines." But no matter how difficult it is, Wei and his colleagues have tried their best to find the most similar ones for making the medals.

Designers have taken out all the jade stones in storage, and Kunlun Jade are the best ones.