Jadeite, also known as jadeite, jadeite, and Burmese jade, is a fibrous collection of pyroxene minerals dominated by jadeite minerals. Since the Beginning of the Qing Dynasty, jadeite has been widely popular in China and has become the most loved and respected jewelry raw material, with the reputation of "Oriental Emerald".
kingfisher
Jade Feather
In fact, China does not produce jadeite, and the meaning of "jadeite" in the early days is different from that of modern times. It refers to a small finch that lives in the south and has blue, green, red and other color feathers, that is, the Eastern Han Xu Shen's "Explanation of The Text": "Fei, Akabane Finches also; Cui, Green Feather Finches also." After the Han Dynasty, "jadeite" was used to depict red and green ornaments. Beginning in the Song Dynasty, the word "jadeite" was combined into one word to describe green jasper, a nephrite (chemical name "aluminosilicate") produced in Hetian, Xinjiang, China, such as two pieces of plum blossom bamboo knotted jasper hairpin excavated from the tomb of Mu Rui in Yin Lane, Jiangning, Nanjing. One piece is 12.8 cm long and 1.3 cm in diameter. The other is 13.8 cm long and 1.6 cm in diameter. The head of the hairpin is made of money pattern, the whole body is carved with bamboo knot pattern, the upper part is decorated with several plum blossoms, and the end is made of bamboo cross-sectional shape.
Ming Dynasty plum blossom bamboo knot pattern jasper hairpin (excavated from the tomb of Mu Rui in Nanjing Jiangyin Lane)
In the Ming Dynasty, Chinese merchants began to traffic jadeite from Burma. According to the Yunnan Ji Survey Record, merchants in the early years of the Ming Dynasty entered Menggong from Tengchong, Yunnan (a county-level city under the administration of Yunnan Province and administered by Baoshan City) into Menggong to buy jadeite. The Ming Dynasty Song Yingxing's "Tiangong Kaiwu" records that jadeite was introduced to China in the middle of the Ming Dynasty. The great Chinese geographer and explorer Xu Xiake stopped for 40 days while passing through Tengchong during the 11th to 12th years (1683-1639) of Chongzhen in the late Ming Dynasty, observing the jade industry in Tengchong. A friend surnamed Pan also gave him two pieces of jadeite. Xu Xiake called it "Cuisheng Stone". By the end of the Ming Dynasty, the jade industry in Tengchong, Yunnan Province, had a certain scale, and Burmese jadeite began to import a large number of Chinese mainland.
Qing Dynasty jadeite
The Qing Dynasty was the heyday of Chinese jadeite culture, and jadeite products were widely circulated in the court and folk. According to Qing Tancui's "Yu Hengzhi of the Dianhai Sea", "Jade came out of the South Jinsha River, more than 2,000 miles away from the prefecture, and there was more jade in the middle." Yi people gathered it, leaving out the riverbank in piles. The outer protection of the rough mine, the size of the cobblestone, I don't know whether there is the beauty of jade or not, the estimator buys it at will, and transports it to Dali and Khan Provinces, with a jade workshop on its back. Horns see emeralds, flat bottom rich. This passage records the output, quality and sales of jadeite at that time.
During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, due to the frequent rebellions in Xinjiang, the Jade Road was blocked. As a substitute for Hetian jade, jadeite began to appear in ink, and was carved into screens, bowls, pen washes, cups and cups and other furnishings, such as Qianlong jade bowls, such as Qianlong jade bowls. Its process was influenced by the popular Jade of Theodustin and showed the characteristics of uniform tire thickness and smooth surface. Due to the royal pursuit, the price of jadeite naturally soared, a thousand times higher. According to Ji Xiaolan's "Notes on About Tang Cao", "When I remembered Yu's childhood, Yunnan Jade was not regarded as jade at that time, but it was like Lantian Qianhuang, and the strong name was Jade Ear, and now it is considered to be a treasure, and the price is far beyond the real jade." ”
Qianlong emerald lid bowl
Cixi royal jade lid bowl
In the late Qing Dynasty, although the national strength declined and the economic and political strength was weakening, the aesthetic preferences of the upper ruling class were more flashy, and the natural and colorful characteristics of jadeite fit the context of the times. In particular, Cixi's own obsession with jadeite, who has ruled China for decades, has formed a top-down effect. At this time, the jadeite carving category also changed from the decorations of the Qianjia period to the wearing of jewelry, such as hairpins, flat squares, earrings, wrenches, beads, hooks, plumes, seals, etc. These jadeite jewelry are either made into separate pieces or mixed and matched with various gemstones such as coral and tourmaline to form a clear and beautiful decorative effect.
In the Qing Dynasty, there were many kinds of jade hairpins, including butterflies, dragonflies, cicadas, crabs, bats and other auspicious ornaments. Its actual objects, such as the Qing Dynasty jadeite tourmaline plum blossom hairpin, are 22.7 cm long and 6 cm wide. The head of the hairpin has a silver gilded handle, the upper part of the handle is decorated with three sub-waist round hoops, the handle is hollow, and a white and green emerald carved bamboo pole is inserted in the upper part, and there are three groups of bamboo leaves on the pole, and the vein texture of the leaf veins is carved on both sides. The green leaves are inlaid with two pink tourmaline carved plum blossoms, and the flower buds are inlaid with jade rings and decorated with white pearls. The plum blossoms are crystal clear, the bamboo leaves are emerald green and fresh, and then lined with the gold of the feet, showing an elegant and noble temperament.
Qing Dynasty jadeite tourmaline plum blossom hairpin
Rarer is the Jade Transparent Carved Dragon Hairpin of cixi, which is a whole piece of jade exquisitely carved panlong hairpin head, and then embellished with pearls and rubies, symbolizing the supreme imperial power. The object and Puyi donated to the Shenyang Palace Museum jade head hairpin fragments were originally a pair.
Cixi jade hairpin
The National Palace Museum in Taipei, China, has a collection of Qingqianlong gem-encrusted tourmaline flower hairpins, 25 cm long and 12 cm wide. The flower hairpins are copper-plated with gold-dotted greens, inlaid with tourmalines, pearls, and emeralds. Tourmaline is used as a three-dimensional hibiscus flower, the flower buds are fine millet beads, the flower leaves are finely carved from jadeite flakes, the flower buds are carved from tourmaline, and the flower holder is dotted with green. A butterfly rests on a hibiscus flower with wings carved from emerald flakes and inlaid with pearls and tourmalines. The flower hairpin uses a variety of processes such as carving, gold thread, beading, inlay, dotting and so on, all of which are meticulous and exquisite, with a strong sense of three-dimensionality, highlighting the dignity of royal supplies.
The National Palace Museum in Taiwan houses the Qing Dynasty gem-encrusted tourmaline flower hairpins
Among them, the carving of jade flakes is a typical representative work of Guangdong baoyu carving line, also known as "broad slices", which is characterized by thin and uniform, fine and fine, and is commonly used to carve flowers and leaves, butterfly wings. In the Qing Dynasty court painter's painting "Portrait of ZhenFei Changfu", the zhenfei wore a headdress similar to a jewel-encrusted tourmaline flower hairpin on her head.
Qing Dynasty "Zhen Concubine Chang Dress Portrait"
Part of the Qing Dynasty "Zhen Concubine ChangFu Statue"
The Palace Museum in Beijing has a collection of Qing Dynasty gold inlaid jade hairpins, 16.2 cm long, the feet of the hairpins are gold, the hairpin head is a Buddha hand wearing a white jade bracelet on the wrist, the Buddha holds a ruyi, a ruyi head cover a living ring, six pearls hanging under the ring, and a blue crystal falling horn.
Gold-encrusted green hairpins
In addition to hairpins, the Palace Museum in Taiwan's Collection of Qing Dynasty white jade inlaid beads is also a fine piece of jade headdress, 31.5 cm long and 3.1 cm wide, with emerald inlaid lotus leaves and lotus poncho at both ends, a frog on the lotus leaf, a pink lotus flower decorated with tourmaline, and small flowers made of red and sapphire.
White jade inlaid beads verdant flat square
White jade inlaid beads verdant flat square part
Emerald earrings are like the bee-pattern earrings of the old Collection of the Qing Palace, which are 2.7 cm long and 0.6 cm wide. Earrings are jade in texture, semi-circular, half green and half white. The green end has a copper gilded bee and a long curved needle, the bee belly is embedded with pink tourmaline, the wings are composed of two sets of rice beads, the rest are dotted green, and the two long whiskers have a pearl at the end.
Qing Palace old Tibetan emerald inlaid jewelry bee pattern earrings
In addition, there are also jadeite earrings made of catalpa leaf styles, such as the Qing Dynasty jade catalpa leaf golden Fu character earrings and jade catalpa leaf golden tiger head earrings, golden Fu characters and engraved delicate tiger head and emerald green leaf shapes, paired with full of vitality.
Qing Dynasty jade catalpa leaf golden tiger head earrings
Qing Dynasty jade catalpa leaf jinfu character earrings
The jade carved dragon with hook in the tomb of Rong Lu in Gaobeidian, Chaoyang District, Beijing