In Chinese, "jade"(yu) refers to a fine, beautiful stone with a warm color and rich lustre, that is skilfully and delicately carved.
In Chinese culture, jade symbolizes nobility, perfection, constancy, and immortality. For millennia, jade has been an intimate part of the lives of Chinese of all ranks and classes. It is viewed as the most valuable of all precious stones.
Jade is found in mountains and riverbeds, and Chinese consider jade to be "the essence of heaven and earth." When polished and carved into various articles, jade is attributed with certain cultural characteristics.
In ancient Chinese cosmology, the firmament was considered to be round, and the earth square. Thus a round jade ceremonial 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 spirits of earth.
According to ancient Chinese legend, the phoenix and the dragon are animal deities that are the life-source of family clans.
For this reason, jade was often used as a material for carving phoenixes and dragons worn as ornaments. These ornaments symbolize the noble bearing of a gentleman, and are the origin of the Chinese saying : "The gentleman's morals are like jade."
Editor: Richard Li
