---
title: Jade in Ancient China
author: Mark Cartwright
source: https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1088/jade-in-ancient-china/
format: machine-readable-alternate
license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)
updated: 1970-01-01
---
# Jade in Ancient China
_Authored by [Mark Cartwright](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/markzcartwright/)_
Jade (nephrite) was regarded as the most precious stone in ancient [China](https://www.worldhistory.org/china/), and it symbolised purity and moral integrity. Prized for its durability and magical qualities, the stone was laboriously carved and polished into all manner of objects from jewellery to desk ornaments. Jade was especially used for ritual objects such as the *bi* disc and *zong (*cong*) tubes, both of which are of unknown function.
### Mining & Working
Jade, in the case of China, refers to the mineral nephrite, the hardest and rarest hard stone. There is another mineral with that name, jadeite, but this was unknown to the Chinese prior to the 18th century CE when it was imported from Burma. Nephrite comes in various shades of green and other colours depending on the percentage of iron content in the stone and other trace elements. The principal source was in the Xinjiang region but it is likely others sources, once exhausted, have disappeared from the historical record. The Khotan region of Central Asia is another known source of the stone in antiquity. Jade was first used from c. 6000 BCE and green long remained the preferred colour, but during the 5th and 4th century BCE there was a fashion for white jade with a brown tinge and again in the 1st century BCE when a pure white jade became available from central Asia following expansion under the [Han Dynasty](https://www.worldhistory.org/Han_Dynasty/) (206 BCE - 220 CE).
[  Zhou Dynasty Jade Dragon The British Museum (Copyright) ](https://www.worldhistory.org/image/6778/zhou-dynasty-jade-dragon/ "Zhou Dynasty Jade Dragon")Excavated from mountains and picked up in riverbeds - and so known as 'the essence of heaven and earth', the stones could not be cut by a [metal](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/metal/) knife, and so they were shaped using a cord and sand acting as an abrasive before being more precisely carved using a drill and then polished. Jade is a hard stone and working it with primitive tools would have required a great deal of time and effort, which, of course, only added to its value. Early pieces have engraved linear designs, but over the centuries a more sophisticated appearance was achieved by carving the jade so that the object had many contours, niches, and points which were highly polished.
### Associations & Significance
The ancient Chinese considered jade the most precious and most beautiful natural material. It was carved as early as the [Neolithic period](https://www.worldhistory.org/Neolithic/) (c. 3500-2000 BCE) when it was used to make sacrificial and ritual objects, especially in the Hongshan and Liangzhu cultures. However, it was the aesthetic quality of jade and an increasing association with moral ideas of purity and goodness ascribed to it by Confucian thought that ensured the precious stone would continue for centuries as the most desired decorative material. No doubt due to its high value, it also became associated with the aristocracy and it was regarded as virtuous for gentlemen to adorn their houses, and especially their writing desks, with aesthetically pleasing yet functional objects carved from jade. Another strength of jade was the belief that, as it was considered indestructible, it imparted some sort of immortality on its owner, and for this reason, jade objects were frequently buried with the dead.
[  Chinese Jade mask The British Museum (Copyright) ](https://www.worldhistory.org/image/6781/chinese-jade-mask/ "Chinese Jade mask")The 2nd-century CE Chinese dictionary *Shuo-wen chieh-tzu* gives the following definition of jade and its believed attributes:
> Jade is the fairest of stones. It is endowed with five virtues. Charity is typified by its lustre, bright yet warm; rectitude by its translucency, revealing the colour and markings within; wisdom by the purity and penetrating quality of its note, when the stone is struck; courage, in that it may be broken but cannot be bent; equity, in that it has sharp angles which yet injure none. (Dawson, 229)
Jade was so highly valued that it was influential in other areas. Ceramics of the 8th century BCE frequently copied the green hues of jade, as did later celadon wares. Even in [religion](https://www.worldhistory.org/religion/) and [mythology](https://www.worldhistory.org/mythology/) jade made its impact, with one of the major Chinese gods, the [Jade Emperor](https://www.worldhistory.org/Jade_Emperor/), being named after the precious stone.
### Jade Objects
Large rectangular tablets were carved in the [Neolithic](https://www.worldhistory.org/Neolithic/) period, many of which replicate forms of tools and weapons. Found in tombs, their function is unknown. Another common object is the ceremonial axe which copies other stone versions but made from impractically thin jade cut into a rectangular shape with a single hole.
[  Chinese Cong The British Museum (Copyright) ](https://www.worldhistory.org/image/6779/chinese-cong/ "Chinese Cong")Another early use of jade, during the [Shang Dynasty](https://www.worldhistory.org/Shang_Dynasty/) (1766-1111 BCE), was to make chimes as the resonance of the stone was highly esteemed. In the same period, seals for the orifices of the body in burials were made from the stone. Surfaces of jade pieces were carved much like contemporary [bronze](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/bronze/) work with linear designs such as abstract meanders, spirals, and hooks. A typical object made in the stone was the ritual cups of unknown purpose known as *zong* (aka *cong*). These have a circular tube-form inside a square, are sometimes decorated with notches and small circles, and can be up to 30 cm high and 15 cm across.
Another common jade ritual object, again of uncertain function, is the *bi*, a disc with a central hole cut out and sometimes with the outer edge decorated with notches, which was produced during the Shang and [Zhou Dynasty](https://www.worldhistory.org/Zhou_Dynasty/) (1111-221 BCE). *Bi* are often found placed on the waist or chest of the deceased. Also common to this period are jade bracelets, miniature human, monster, and bull masks, halberd blades, and miniature tools such as sickles, knives, combs, and scoops which frequently have holes made in them, presumably for suspension from a waist belt as indicated by the position of their discovery on the deceased in tombs. Finally, there are decorative plaques which are often crescent shaped and known as *huang*. They may sometimes be carved to represent stylised birds and dragons or snakes but maintain their overall crescent form.
By the 8th century BCE the skill and range of the jade carver are greater and wider, illustrating the sculptor is freer and more confident in pursuing his ideas. Animal figurines were popular and were represented in the round or as flat plaques showing owls, falcons, swallows, geese, ducks, parrots, cormorants, fish, tigers, elephants, deer, hares, cicadas, monkeys, buffalo, dogs, tortoise, horses, and bears. Decorative plaques for personal adornment, combs, hairpins, and tiger-tooth pendants were also produced.
By the 5th century BCE there are many more secular objects carved from jade and evidence that new and better drills were being employed. Dragon plaques with the creature forming a loose S-shape, protruding dragon decorations, regular pitted decoration of *bi*, and double-tiger head motifs are now common features. Green, brown, and white jade are all used and there is even one *bi* example in purple-blue nephrite.
[  Chinese Jade Cormorant The British Museum (Copyright) ](https://www.worldhistory.org/image/6780/chinese-jade-cormorant/ "Chinese Jade Cormorant")By the beginning of the [Han](https://www.worldhistory.org/Han_Dynasty/) Period (206 BCE) some pieces begin to show signs of a circular cutting drill and iron tools but with a lower quality finish than previously, which suggests pieces were starting to be made quicker and on a larger scale of production. Another feature of Han jade [sculpture](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Sculpture/) is the use of flaws and impurities in the jade to make them part of the sculpture.
Jade is now used for ornaments, jewellery, figurines of humans, miniature landscape sculptures, chopsticks, sheaths to protect long fingernails, writing desk paraphernalia (ink stones, brush pots, and brush rests), belt buckles and even small items of furniture. A 113 BCE [tomb](https://www.worldhistory.org/tomb/) at Mancheng (south of Beijing) is especially interesting as it contained a royal couple wearing jade 'suits' - complete body coverings made from over 1,000 small squares of jade, joined with [silver](https://www.worldhistory.org/Silver/) and [gold](https://www.worldhistory.org/gold/) wiring.
Jade, besides being used as a precious material in its own right and without any additions, was frequently used as an inlay in other precious goods such as gilded bronze or pure gold jewellery, cups, and bowls.
Jade faced increasing competition for the attention of art lovers and aesthetes from developing [crafts](https://www.worldhistory.org/crafts/) such as painting, ceramics, and lacquer work but the stone continued to hold its allure thanks to its mystical associations. The largest ever jade sculpture, *Yu the Great Taming the Waters*, is a massive depiction of a Qing landscape carved in 1787 CE by a team of sculptors who took over seven years to complete and it illustrates jade's continued hold on the Chinese imagination which remains firm even today.
#### Editorial Review
This human-authored article has been reviewed by our editorial team before publication to ensure accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards in accordance with our [editorial policy](https://www.worldhistory.org/static/editorial-policy/).
## Bibliography
- [Clunas, C. *Art in China.* Oxford University Press, 2009.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0199217343/)
- [Dawson, R. *THE CHINESE EXPERIENCE.* Phoenix Press - Orion, 2017.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/1898800499/)
- [Dillon, M. *China.* Routledge, 1998.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0700704396/)
- [Feng, L. *Early China.* Cambridge University Press, 2013.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/052171981X/)
- [Shelach-Lavi, G. *The Archaeology of Early China.* Cambridge University Press, 2015.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0521145252/)
- [Tregear, M. *Chinese Art.* Thames & Hudson, 2017.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/B01FIXNVW2/)
- [Watson, W. *The Arts of China to A.D. 900.* Yale University Press, 1995.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0300059892/)
## About the Author
Mark is WHE’s Publishing Director and has an MA in Political Philosophy (University of York). He is a full-time researcher, writer, historian and editor. Special interests include art, architecture and discovering the ideas that all civilizations share.
## Cite This Work
### APA
Cartwright, M. (2017, June 29). Jade in Ancient China. *World History Encyclopedia*.
### Chicago
Cartwright, Mark. "Jade in Ancient China." *World History Encyclopedia*, June 29, 2017. .
### MLA
Cartwright, Mark. "Jade in Ancient China." *World History Encyclopedia*, 29 Jun 2017, .
## License & Copyright
Submitted by [Mark Cartwright](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/markzcartwright/ "User Page: Mark Cartwright"), published on 29 June 2017. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en). This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.