Jade Research Paper

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Jade is an umbrella term to describe a variety of stones. Pure jade is compromised of either jadeite or nephrite. Jadeite is the rarer of the two, thus more valuable, and is made of sodium, aluminum, and silicate. Nephrite, made of calcium, magnesium, and iron silicate is used more often for carvings and jewelry as it’s a bit softer than it’s counterpart. Depending on which variety you want, locations vary on where to find it. Nephrite can be found on the South Island of New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, China, Canada, Zimbabwe, Russia, Taiwan, Alaska and Poland. Jadeite’s main source is in Burma, but it’s also found in Japan, Canada, Guatemala, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkey, Cuba and the USA. Estimated to be over 500 million years old, …show more content…

Egyptians first used it to create weapons and tools, as its strength made it a natural choice to its hardness. As time went on, they came to believe that jade represented balance, harmony, and inner peace. It was also used as a way to communicate with the gods. Its role in religion and access to the spirit world made it a valuable tool for both life and death. There are many fascinating myths and stories about jade; quite a few are from the Chinese culture. In China, jade symbolizes goodness, beauty, and purity. It is so treasured that there is a Chinese saying about it: “gold is valuable, jade is priceless”. It’s said that Huang Di, the original ruler of China and originator of the culture planted and harvested jade from the trees, and he regularly enjoyed the sweet cream from the milky-white colored variety. A legend says that when the Mongols tried to conquer China that the dragons wept for them, their tears creating jade when they hit the earth. In Turkestan, jade was found in two rivers aptly named the Black Jade River and White Jade River. The rivers were considered to be a yang force. It was decided that best way to attract yang is with yin – yin representing the female aspect. So the yin (women) were sent to the rivers in hopes of attracting yang (jade). Someone (a man I’m sure) also surmised that maybe the attraction would be stronger if the women were naked while hunting for the stones; so this was

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