Understanding Chinese jade in a world context

Abstract

For millennia, jade has been valued in many cultures in Chinese archaeology. The favoured types and sources of jade have changed over time, as has our knowledge of the stones themselves. One of the greatest problems in dealing with archaeological jades is the correct identification of the stones in order to trace their source and thereby understand the social relations underlying their patterns of procurement, pro duction, and consumption. This paper examines the problems of identification and sourcing of Chinese archaeological jades from a worldwide point of view, dissecting terminological problems arising from mineralogy and rock geochemistry, and expli citly identifying the geological constraints on the formation of nephrite and jadeite. In particular, the role of plate tectonics in determining the occurrence of jade provides an overarching perspective on where in China jade sources might occur and how nephrite might be mined and distributed, together with its associated rocks and minerals. The latter associations are equally important to this jade sourcing endeavour.

Progress on the nephrite sources of jade artifacts in ancient China from the perspective of isotopes

“…Secondly, the narrow concept of ancient and modern Chinese jadewares differs. The subject of this study refers to the tremolite-actinolite material, as the general reference to ancient Chinese jadewares and called nephrite in the following (Barnes, 2018). The chemical formula of nephrite is Ca 2 (Mg,Fe) 5 [Si 4 O 11 ] 2 (OH) 2 , where iron and magnesium are in complete isomorphism.…”

“…In contrast, magnesium-rich metamorphic parent rocks (dolomitic marble) and sedimentary parent rocks (dolomite or lime dolomite) with low iron content are prone to form tremolite, which can be called D-type nephrite. There are many deposits of D-type nephrite in China (Harlow and Sorensen, 2005), and most ancient Chinese jadewares are made of D-type nephrite (Wen and Jing, 1993;Barnes, 2018).…”

Mineralogy and Geochemistry of Nephrite from Wolay Deposited, Kunar, East Afghanistan

“…The chemical composition of all them is shown in (Table . 5.1). In addition as for the proper recognition based on a study (Barnes, 2018), the three specimens collected from different points of Wolay field in Khas Kunar district, the result below, which is obtained from chemical analysis, shows the comparison with the oxides of Jadeite, Nephrite -Actinolite, Nephrite-Trimolite, Serpentine Chrysotile, Serpentine -antigorite and Vesuvianite (Table. 5.2).…”

“…The Trimolite mineral, if the f=Mg/ (Mg + Fe)>0.9 and the Actinolite mineral if F is (0.5-0.9) (Table . 5.4). (Barnes, 2018) Table 5.4: Total and averaged differences between the Oxide compound of Specimen for nephrite Actinolite and nephrite Trimolite also the ratio calculation of Mg and Fe Specimen from Khas-Kunar district.…”

Identification of a source of nephrite from late Shang Yinxu by multispectral imaging

“…Having extensive traditional signification in the material, social and cultural fields, jade is both a treasure and an important manifestation of the splendid Chinese civilization. Due to the scarcity, purity, durability, and beauty of its raw materials, as well as its laborious and timeconsuming production, jade symbolizes nobility, perfection, permanence, and immortality, and its use gradually became a representative of social differentiation and a carrier of spiritual beliefs [1,2]. In the traditional conceptions, the term "jade" originally meant "beautiful stones", and nephrite stood out as the most highly valued jade.…”