Picture from
http://www.alibaba.com/catalog/11872357/Gorgeous_Chinese_Old_Green_Jade_Bangle_Bracelet.htmlThe one souvenir I wanted from our trip to China was a piece of jewelry. I wanted something that whenever I looked at it I could forget everything that is happening and get lost in our wonderful trip once more. I wasn’t too sure on what I wanted until I noticed how popular jade was. Every shop we visited had jade in some form appearing as, earrings, bracelets, necklaces or Buddha’s. On one of the last days in Shanghai we visited Shanghai’s No. 1 Department store and there Chengyan helped me pick out a bracelet. Not knowing too much about jade at the time, I found one in my price range and fell in love with it right away. Chengyan mentioned to me that the Chinese call jade the living stone because it is constantly changing color. She said it can be used as a guide to how healthy a person is. If a person wearing the stone is healthy it becomes clear and bright while if the person becomes unhealthy the stone is duller in color. Hearing this sparked my curiosity in other myths and folklore about jade. Thus my research began to learn more about this fabulous stone.
Let’s start with the word in Chinese, "jade" (yu) refers to a fine, beautiful stone with a warm color and rich luster, that is skillfully and delicately carved. In Chinese culture, jade symbolizes nobility, perfection, constancy, and immortality. For millennia, jade has been an intimate part of the lives of Chinese of all ranks and classes. It is viewed as the most valuable of all precious stones.
The most valuable form of jade is known as imperial jade and comes from Myanmar, it is an emerald green color. Jades also appear in mottled green and white, and the rarer colors of yellow, pink, purple, and black. The range of greens are light to dark, creamy, grayish, and also white.
http://www.allmyanmar.com/new%20allmyanmar.com/myanmar%20jade.htm
The stone’s composition is comprised of 30 elements, all of which are needed by the human body. This is where the healing power of jade comes from. In older days jade powder was added to drinks
as a health supplement.
Jade Folklore and Healing Properties:
Jade is thought to protect the kidneys, liver, spleen, heart, larynx, thymus, and thyroid and strengthen the heart. It improves the immune system, helps cleanse blood and aids in eye disorders.
Ancient people thought that wearing jade would increase body strength and add longevity. Jade is an ancient symbol of love and virtue, clarity, modesty, courage, justice, wisdom, peaceful, nurturing and dispels negativity. It is also noted that jade is a powerful emotional balancer. The most interesting folklore is that jade protects the wearer and each crack in the stone represents one time that the stone saved the persons life.
I didn’t purchase my jade bracelet for any of these reasons but they all make my souvenir a little more interesting. Every time I am out and the sun catches it the right way I am distracted and taken back to the fantastic memories that were made on our trip to China
References:
http://www.bernardine.com/gemstones/jade.htm
http://www.jadeisus.com/aboutjade_main.htm
On the way we stopped at there library and looked through a plant book. The language barrier was interesting because in the “plant world” the Latin name of plants should be universal. We ran into some trouble here because Latin is a hard language for the students to learn. It surprised me though because with descriptions we could talk about the same plant but just call it by something else.
comforting and welcoming country we just left.
