Question 1

Why is jade so important in Chinese culture?

Accepted Answer

For thousands of years jade, 玉 (yù), stood for the virtues of a good person: Confucius compared its warmth, hardness and lustre to the qualities of a gentleman, 君子 (jūnzǐ). It is hard to carve, so it was precious; the Stone Age cultures of China made ritual discs and tubes of it more than 5,000 years ago. A saying puts it plainly: 黄金有价玉无价 (huángjīn yǒu jià yù wú jià), gold has a price, jade is priceless. 玉 also means pure and beautiful in names and words, as in 玉女 (yùnǚ), a fair maiden.

Question 2

What does a jade bangle mean?

Accepted Answer

Health, protection and a long life. A jade bangle, 玉镯 (yùzhuó), is often a gift from a mother or grandmother, worn for years without taking it off; people say that wearer and jade nourish each other, 人养玉，玉养人 (rén yǎng yù, yù yǎng rén), and that if it cracks or breaks it has taken a blow meant for the wearer. Many wear it on the left wrist.

Question 3

What is the difference between nephrite and jadeite?

Accepted Answer

Chinese jade for most of history was nephrite, 软玉 (ruǎnyù), soft jade, above all the white and green 和田玉 (Hétián yù) from Hotan in Xinjiang; the finest white is mutton-fat jade, 羊脂玉 (yángzhīyù). Jadeite, 硬玉 (yìngyù), hard jade, came from Burma in the Qing dynasty and became the bright green 翡翠 (fěicuì) loved today. 翡翠 is also the word for a kingfisher, whose bright feathers gave the stone its name.

Question 4

Why do men wear Guanyin and women wear Buddha?

Accepted Answer

A popular saying goes 男戴观音女戴佛 (nán dài Guānyīn, nǚ dài fó): men wear Guanyin, women wear the Buddha. The usual explanations are that 观 sounds like 官 (guān), an official post, and Guanyin’s calm tempers a man’s; while 佛 (fó) sounds like 福 (fú), good fortune, and the laughing Buddha brings a woman happiness. Before wearing one, many people have it blessed at a temple, 开光 (kāiguāng).

Question 5

What are Chinese idioms with jade?

Accepted Answer

抛砖引玉 (pāo zhuān yǐn yù), to throw out a brick to draw out jade: to offer a modest idea so others will share better ones. 宁为玉碎，不为瓦全 (nìng wéi yù suì, bù wéi wǎ quán), better a broken jade than a whole tile: better to die with honour. 化干戈为玉帛 (huà gāngē wéi yùbó), to turn weapons into jade and silk: to make peace. And 玉不琢，不成器 (yù bù zhuó, bù chéng qì), uncut jade is no vessel: no one grows without learning.

Question 6

How do I know if Chinese jade is real?

Accepted Answer

We cannot tell you that, and no web page can: real jade is cold and heavy for its size and hard to scratch, but dyed, treated and imitation stones are everywhere. Ask a gem lab for a certificate, 证书 (zhèngshū).

Question 7

Can’t hear it?

Accepted Answer

Play uses your device’s Mandarin voice. Edge, Chrome and Safari have one; a browser with none plays each character in our recorded voice instead.

	In Chinese	What it means
Jade bangle	玉镯 yùzhuó	Health and protection; it is said to crack to take a blow meant for the wearer; often passed from mother to daughter
Safety buckle	平安扣 píng’ān kòu	A small round disc with a hole: peace and safety, a common gift for a child
Guanyin pendant	观音 Guānyīn	Compassion and protection; by a popular saying, worn by men
Buddha pendant	佛 fó	The laughing Buddha: happiness and good fortune, 佛 sounding like 福 (fú); by the same saying, worn by women
Pixiu	貔貅 píxiū	A beast that eats gold and never lets it out: wealth that comes in and stays
Bi disc	玉璧 yùbì	A flat round disc with a hole, a sign of heaven, buried with the dead since the Stone Age
Cong tube	玉琮 yùcóng	Square outside and round inside, a sign of the earth, from the same ancient cultures
Jade burial suit	金缕玉衣 jīnlǚ yùyī	Thousands of jade plates sewn with gold wire, in which Han dynasty princes were buried
Imperial jade seal	传国玉玺 chuánguó yùxǐ	The seal carved from jade for the First Emperor and handed down as the proof of the right to rule

Chinese jade

Chinese jade pieces, and what they mean

Kinds of jade

Jade things

Jade in idioms

Jade in belief and legend

Now read them in a real story