Draft: Outline and Paragraph

Jade Paper Outline

Introduction (Paragraph 1):

• Special place jade holds in many civilizations
• Great beauty and value in many cultures; significant to the culture of ancient Central America
• Practical use and social value
• Metaphorical value: purity, indestructibility
• Define “Yu” (Chinese for jade); “means any stone suitable for carving” (22)
• Composition of the gemstone (unique color combinations, extreme toughness, rarely faceted, semi-transparent);  “sensuous hues and exquisite colour patterns” (41) 
• Distinct materials:  nephrite (soft, dark, “blackish green”) and jadeite (hard, “fine quality”, “intense medium green”; introduced in the late 18th century)
• Location:  most significant jade mines are located in northern Burma (modern Myanmar) in Kachin Hills (24); also been found in Guatemala, California, Japan and Switzerland

Evolution of Jade (Paragraph 2):

• Early Neolithic period- jade originated in the  Hemudu culture in Zhejian Province about 7000–5000 BCE
• Late Neolithic period-  first jade was known to be employed for ritual purposes around 2,000 B.C.
• Shang dynasty- carving process advanced; ceremonial weapons and fittings for bronze weapons; ritual jades (continued in Zhou)
• Articles of personal use originated in the Warring States period
• End of Chou period (500 B.C.)-  “jade takes on a more worldly use and the religious significance begins to diminish”
• Han dynasty-  great amount of jades from archeological excavations; colors include  “black, yellowish-white, beige with brown flecks and greyish-green”; jade burial suits (magical property); sculptures were common (especially of animals)
• Carving techniques stayed the same between the Han Dynasty and 18th century which makes it hard to date (114)
• Used less jade from end of Han to Tang; Buddhism flourished and jade was not significant except in a few cups, ornaments and animal sculptures

Jade Objects (Paragraph 3):

• Ritual blades: 

• “ceremonial jade most frequently mentioned in the texts is the kuei, called an oblong tablet, the insignia of the ruler”
• Oblong forms:  hoe blades, flat axes, trapezoid blades, and scep­ter shaped blades
• Kuei symbolize the rulers right to rule; emperors use it in sacrificial ceremonies and demonstrate homage (respect) to the East
• Ts’ung:

• Early ritual jade; mysterious; eight cornered cubed tube
• the Chou Li merely says that with the yellow ts’ung the Emperor pays homage to the Earth, that it is a symbol of authority”
• Not typically buried
• Ring Discs:

• Three types:  “If the jade substance is double the width of the perforation it is called a pi, if the perfora­tion is double the width of the jade it is a yuan, and if the perforation and jade are equal it is a boon”; pi is most important; yuan and boon typically found in tombs
• Pi are known as a symbol of heaven but its symbolism is not included in ancient texts
• Pay homage to heaven
• Some pairs in the late Chou period were known for symbolizing the sun and moon
• Burial Jades:

• Royal nobles were buried with jade shrouds
• “the most common jade burial amulet and perhaps the earliest is one placed in the mouth”; it was known as a royal gift; the individual that inserts the amulet into the deceased person’s mouth must be of the same rank
• Burial jades also feature pigs and boars; come in pairs or solid forms
• Pendants/Amulets:

• Emperor wore hairpins, as well as jade earrings; worn during offerings to ancestors
• Courtiers wore girdle ornaments of jade that hung on chains
• Pendants hung from the ceremonial head­gear
• Smalling carvings consisting of representations of various animals
• Personal objects:

• “fittings for a man’s sword, small intricately carved pieces of jade for the pommel, scabbard slide and chape”
• “articles of personal use such as seals, garment- and belt-hooks, belt plaques, hat ornaments, garment-rings and jangles, comb-tops, earrings and similar objects” were made of jade; jade-inlaid belts and garment-hooks, garment-rings and bangles originated in the Warring States period (116)
• Hairpins and comb-tops originated in the Tang and Song dynasties

Symbolic Meaning (Paragraph 4):

• Sacrificial and ceremonial objects; demonstrate homage (respect) and symbolize high rank (lasted throughout the Han dynasty; oblong wand/tablet, tomb reliefs and monuments feature officials with badges; some pendants were “sewn to the bonnet as a sign of rank”; the Chou Li merely says that with the yellow ts’ung the Emperor pays homage to the Earth, that it is a symbol of authority”)
• Tokens and gifts (“small jades, frequently in the form of birds, fish, or animals, were gifts between friends, sometimes good luck tokens, or puns, such as deer (lu) meaning prosperity (lu)”)
• Symbol longevity; known for preserving the dead and combating sickness (corpses would be saved from disintegration with the use of jade which blocked passages of the body; “A corpse whose orifices were stopped with jade was not supposed to decay”)
• —“Favorite subjects for hardstone carvings were fruits and vegetables, often functioning as rebuses that convey wishes for prosperity, longevity, good fortune, perpetuation of a family’s line, or even academic success”

• Symbol of virtue (clanking of courtiers’ girdle ornaments of jade; pennants symbolize virtue and eradicate thoughts of little significance)
• Prominent use of animal motifs that explore the spiritual aspect of nature (“Birds are known as “messengers to the spirits and the living link between heaven and earth”; Fish were “used fresh or dried as a ceremonial sacrifice and was a symbol of fertility and abundant harvest”)
• — During the first two millennia of Chinese culture, jade was thought to be of super­natural origin, an emanation of streams and mountains, something created by the forces of nature, born within the earth and endowed with transcendental qualities”
• — “Confucius also said that jade was a white rainbow … a thing of heaven, and it was also of earth because it emanated from mountains and streams, and it was of the way of virtue because everyone honored it”; known to “contain the essence of life, virtue, and eternity”

Pieces of Jade (Paragraph 5):

• Most studies are devoted to jade carving compared to other hardstones
• “Elephant and two boys”:  jadeite sculpture of two playful boys riding on a gigantic elephant 

• —Made during the Qing dynasty (1644–1911); 19th century
• —Example of jade that holds an auspicious meaning:  “associates the phrase ‘riding the elephant’ (qixiang) with ‘blessing’ or ‘good fortune’ (jixiang)”
• “Stylized pig”: “a pig of slender form in the Han Eight Cut style” from the Eastern Han dynasty (115)

• —Chiselled surface, “stone is a pale celadon green jade”, very detailed (115)
• –Ex. of a burial jade; pigs were placed in the hands of the dead in their tombs 
• —Example of jade that promotes longevity:  “jade was possessed of some magical property, which helped to preserve the body, and this was apparently the reason for the jade burial suits” (115)

Conclusion (Paragraph 6):

• Chinese have held jade to a “higher esteem than gold or jewels” for some four thousand years
• Over time jade has increasingly been associated with moral ideas of purity and goodness
• Five virtues established by Hu Shen in 100 A.D. have persisted; charity (bright/warm), rectitude (translucency), wisdom (purity; note when struck), courage (broken, not bent), equity (sharp edges)
• Confucian believed precious stone would continue for centuries as the most desired decorative material and it held true that jade continued to “contain the essence of life, virtue, and eternity”
• “jade is the only proper medium for gifts of great homage, or emblems of merit, or for the Seals of State used until the last Emperor of China”

Intro:

As a fashionable gemstone known for its rich heritage, jade has held a special place in many Chinese civilizations. Known for its aesthetic beauty, as well as its practical use and social value, jade is significant to many cultures, especially that of ancient Central America. The Chinese definition of jade, “yu,” translates to “any stone suitable for carving” which demonstrates how it was laboriously carved and polished into a variety of objects ranging from personal ornaments to objects for ritual and ceremonial purposes, as well as for burials (22). The unique gemstone is characterized by its extraordinary color combinations and extreme toughness. Jade was classified as either nephrite, known as traditional jade, or jadeite, introduced in the late 18th century. While the most significant jade mines are located in northern Burma, known as modern Myanmar, they have also been found in Guatemala, California, Japan and Switzerland (24). As jade was excavated from mountains and picked up from riverbeds, it is considered by philosophers as the “stone of heaven,’’ and therefore holds a significant metaphorical value which extends beyond its monetary worth and materiality (20).