the JADE thread!

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#11,011
GS, a very interesting story for an opera! My parents use to love watching Chinese operas, but could only do it in movie form where we lived. I remember the elaborate costumes and makeup and I loved those long flowing sleeves of the traditional robes the ladies wore and how they used them in dramatic moves like rolling them up by swinging their arms around, or to shield their face or mouth, or to dab tears from their eyes, etc. As a kid I use to drape hand towels or fabric scraps on my arms to mimic those sleeves! ;-)

Thank you, Claire! I doubt I'll wear them together like that very much as I'm still uncomfortable with stacking, even with buffer bracelets. But after I "posed" them for that shot, I WAS taken by how well they go together. So maybe I'll wear them like that for going out to dinner, or party or something like that. :-)
 
#11,016
#11,018
He Shi Bi, was perhaps the most legendary and valuable piece of jade in Chinese history.

According to legends, it was discovered by a man called Bian He about 2,680 years ago. When he was cutting firewood on Mount Jing, he found an uncut jade stone and presented it to King Li of Chu and the later to his successor King Wu of Chu. However, he was called a cheat and had both his legs chopped off. Finally, King Wen of Chu came to the throne, moved by Bian he, the King sent his men to cut open the stone. To their astonishment, there was indeed a priceless piece of jade inside. It was made into a jade disc later and was named in honor of its discoverer (He Shi Bi literally means ‘The Jade Disc of He’).

Unfortunately, the treasure was later stolen from Chu and finally sold to Zhao. In 283 BC, ambitious King Zhaoxiang of Qin offered to trade 15 towns and their land for the precious jade (the origin of the Chinese saying of valued in multiple cities). However, when the minister of Zhao found out that the King refused to give up his land, he finally bring back the jade safely with the excuse of pointing out the flaws.

In 221 BC, Qin conquered the other six states and the jade finally came into Qin possession. Under the order of Qin Shihuang, the first emperor of China, it was made into his Imperial Seal and had the seal inscribed with the words The Mandate is received from Heaven, May He have Longevity and Prosperity.

However, after passing through several successive dynasties, it was lost to history. No one knows how it was lost. There is no trace for it but only imagination left.
 
#11,019
germanshepard said:
He Shi Bi, was perhaps the most legendary and valuable piece of jade in Chinese history.

According to legends, it was discovered by a man called Bian He about 2,680 years ago. When he was cutting firewood on Mount Jing, he found an uncut jade stone and presented it to King Li of Chu and the later to his successor King Wu of Chu. However, he was called a cheat and had both his legs chopped off. Finally, King Wen of Chu came to the throne, moved by Bian he, the King sent his men to cut open the stone. To their astonishment, there was indeed a priceless piece of jade inside. It was made into a jade disc later and was named in honor of its discoverer (He Shi Bi literally means ‘The Jade Disc of He’).

Unfortunately, the treasure was later stolen from Chu and finally sold to Zhao. In 283 BC, ambitious King Zhaoxiang of Qin offered to trade 15 towns and their land for the precious jade (the origin of the Chinese saying of valued in multiple cities). However, when the minister of Zhao found out that the King refused to give up his land, he finally bring back the jade safely with the excuse of pointing out the flaws.

In 221 BC, Qin conquered the other six states and the jade finally came into Qin possession. Under the order of Qin Shihuang, the first emperor of China, it was made into his Imperial Seal and had the seal inscribed with the words The Mandate is received from Heaven, May He have Longevity and Prosperity.

However, after passing through several successive dynasties, it was lost to history. No one knows how it was lost. There is no trace for it but only imagination left.
Click to expand...

I do love these stories. :)
 
#11,021
When King Zhaoxiang of Qin offered 15 cities to the State of Zhao in exchange for the jade, this is the origin of the Chinese saying 价值连城, 'Valued at multiple cities'. The jade should be priceless.
 
#11,023
The Imperial Seal of China

The Heirloom Seal of the Realm (Traditional Chinese: 傳國璽; Simplified Chinese: 传国玺), is a jade seal carved out of the He Shi Bi, a historically famous piece of jade.

Creation

In 221 BC, the Seal was created when Qin Shihuang destroyed the remaining Warring States and united China under the Qin Dynasty. The He Shi Bi was a famous piece of jade stone which previously belonged to the Zhao state. Passing into the hands of the new Emperor of China, he ordered it made into his Imperial seal. The words “受命于天，既寿永昌” (roughly translated as "The Mandate is received from Heaven, May He have Longevity and Prosperity") were written by Prime Minister Li Si, and carved onto the seal by Sun Shou.

Propagation

At the death of the second Emperor of Qin, his successor Zi Yin profferred the seal to the new emperor of the Han Dynasty,whereafter it was known as the "Han Heirloom Seal of the Realm". At the end of the Western Han Dynasty in 9 AD, Wang Mang, the new ruler, forced the Han emperess dowager to hand over the Seal. The emperess dowager, in anger, threw the Seal on the ground, chipping one corner. Later Wang Mang ordered the corner to be restored with gold.
This seal passed on even as dynasties rose and fell. It was seen as a legitimising device, signalling the Mandate of Heaven. During turbulent periods, such as the Three Kingdoms period, the seal became the object of rivalry and armed conflict. Regimes which possessed the seal declared themselves, and are often regarded historically, as legitimate. At the end of the restored Han Dynasty in the 3rd Century AD, Sun Jian found the Imperial Seal on the body of a court servant who had committed suicide by diving into a well. His son Sun Ce gave the Seal to Yuan Shu in return for 3000 soldiers, which he used to found the Kingdom of Wu. When Yuan Shu was defeated, the Seal came into the hands of Cao Cao, whose son Cao Pi proclaimed the Wei Dynasty as the legitimate successor state to Han and the other rival dynasties Shu-Han and Wu to be illegitimate.

Loss

The Seal was passed through the Wei Dynasty, Jin Dynasty, Sixteen Kingdoms period, Sui Dynasty and Tang Dynasty, but was lost to history in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period.

Three theories exist as to how it was lost:

1. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, when the last Emperor died by self-immolation.

2. In 946 CE when the Emperor Taizu of Liao captured the last Emperor of the Jin state.

3. The Seal came into the hands of the Yuan emperors. When the Ming armies captured the Yuan capital in 1369, it captured just one out of the eleven personal Seals of the Yuan emperors. The Heirloom Seal was not found. In 1370, Ming armies invaded Mongolia and captured some treasures brought there by the retreating Yuan emperor. However, the Heirloom Seal was again not among these.

In any case, the Seal was known to be lost by the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. Both the Ming and the Qing dynasties did not have the Heirloom Seal. This partly explains the Qing Emperors' obsession with creating numerous imperial seals, in order to reduce the significance of the Heirloom Seal.

Recent Developments

In recent years, several seals have been claimed to be the lost Heirloom Seal. However, none of these claims have been confirmed by experts. In at least one case, the seal concerned was found to be a personal seal of an Emperor, rather than the Heirloom Imperial Seal.
 
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