Jade

No stone holds a more exalted position in Chinese civilization than jade. For over seven millennia, from the Neolithic Hongshan and Liangzhu cultures through to the present day, jade has been the material of ritual, royalty, and moral philosophy. The Confucian scholar Xu Shen, writing in 100 CE, enumerated five virtues of jade corresponding to the five Confucian virtues: its warmth and luster symbolize benevolence; its translucency, wisdom; its unyieldingness, courage; its purity, morality; and its harmlessness, justice. To wear jade was to aspire to these virtues.

In Chinese medicine and folk belief, jade is considered a stone of profound health benefits. It is thought to purify the blood, balance the body's energy (qi), calm the nervous system, and extend life. The imperial court maintained enormous jade workshops not merely for aesthetic reasons but because jade objects — cups, amulets, burial suits — were believed to preserve the body and the spirit. Han dynasty nobles were buried in suits made from thousands of jade tiles sewn with gold wire, intended to confer immortality on their corpses. This belief in jade's life-preserving power persists in everyday folk practice today.

The preferred variety in Chinese culture is nephrite jade (traditionally called 'true jade' or Hetian jade), though jadeite from Myanmar became enormously fashionable after the 18th century. Both are considered powerful, but nephrite carries deeper historical roots. Jade bangles are the most popular personal charm: worn continuously on the wrist, they are believed to absorb negative energy and protect the wearer from harm. A cracked bangle is interpreted as the jade sacrificing itself to deflect a blow that would otherwise have injured the wearer.