jade
close According to the research of the Asian Gemstone Association (GIG), nephrite refers to Hotan jade in a narrow sense, and includes more than ten kinds of nephrite in a broad sense, such as Xiuyan jade, Nanyang jade, Jiuquan jade, etc. Many nephrites have a long history, such as Xiuyan jade. Jadeite only refers to jadeite. Jade "Jade is a special ore with sociality and treasure that has been screened and confirmed by ancient people in the process of making tools with selected stones for tens of thousands of years". In Shuowen Jiezi, Shi Yu said that "the beauty of stone is the same as jade". In Cihai, jade is simply defined as "a warm and shiny beautiful stone". These words are what we call jade today in a broad sense. It includes not only Hetian jade and jadeite, but also chalcedony, Xiuyan jade, Nanyang jade, crystal, agate, amber, coral, turquoise, lapis lazuli and other traditional jades. Modern mineralogy divides jade into jadeite and nephrite, jadeite is jadeite, while nephrite mainly refers to Hetian jade in Xinjiang, which is the narrow definition of "jade". Judging from the history of jade use in China, Xinjiang Hotan jade was used on a large scale only after the Shang Dynasty. Before that, jade materials used everywhere were basically various beautiful stones made from local materials. Therefore, the definition of Chinese jade cannot simply rely on the standards of modern mineralogy, but should proceed from a historical point of view, respect traditional habits, and take jade in the broad sense as the object of studying jade articles and jade culture. As for the concept of jade, jade in a broad sense should have three characteristics: first, the material meets the requirements of "beautiful stone"; Second, it has the basic style of typical jade ware in shape; Third, the jadeware made must be made by special jade making methods such as milling, drilling and other technologies, rather than by ordinary stone making techniques. Moreover, the jade objects studied should have a certain historical age, and its historical and cultural value must be emphasized.