Jade holds a special significance in Chinese culture, and has been treasured for thousands of years. The Chinese name for jade, 玉 (yù), refers to beautiful, precious, and rare stones. Jade has long been closely associated with Chinese values of virtue, grace, beauty and immortality.
For the Chinese, jade is not simply a precious material, but rather carries important symbolic meaning and cultural value. Confucius described jade as having eleven essential virtues: benevolence, righteousness, wisdom, bravery, propriety, loyalty, honesty, grace, intelligence, shame, and endurance. The beauty, durability, rarity and colour of jade has become synonymous with purity, incorruptibility and dignity in Chinese culture.
One of the most prominent uses of jade has been in the carved decorative ornaments and jewellery prized by Chinese royalty and nobles for millennia. Intricately carved jade pendants, beads, hairpins, and tasseled sashes were important parts of ritual attire and status symbols among imperial families and aristocrats. Emperors wore jade not just as decoration, but believed it could bestow immortality or protection in the afterlife. Han dynasty emperors were sometimes buried in jade burial suits sewn with solid jade tiles to preserve the body.
Jade was also believed to have important mystical and spiritual qualities. It is said to promote wisdom, mental clarity, justice and courage when worn close to the body. The brilliant emerald green colour of jade is linked to the east, where the sun rises each day, and rebirth and renewal. White jade represents the direction west and the metallic element, associated with death and reincarnation. Ancient religions and philosophies such as Confucianism and Daoism used jade to symbolize the yin and yang dualities of darkness and light, female and male, earth and heaven.
The appreciation for jade has continued strong in modern Chinese culture. Jade is still highly valued for both its monetary worth as well as cultural cachet among the Chinese people. Giving fine jade jewelry as a gift is symbolic of one's good wishes for the receiver's health and success. Jade bangles are popular gifts for Chinese girls when they reach adulthood. And jade maintained its regal status when a jadeite and diamond tiara was worn by China's First Lady, Peng Liyuan during President Xi Jinping's diplomatic visit to the U.S. in 2015. For the Chinese people, jade continues to be a meaningful part of both tradition and heritage.
