Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1891-04-17
A PECULIAR STONE.
HISTORY AND CHARACTERS
TICS OF JADE.
Curious Superstitions Connected
W ith It-BeIieved to Have Re-
medal Value-The Lucky
Stone of China.

" SCI tiHtuilut. IL duu lto COuoiu JuNCllt
occur, moreover, inpretty large masses in
those countries where they are most adj
mired. Although instances are on record
of the discovery in America and Europe
of stones called jade, some of which, per
hapS were, and most were certainly not,
the true article, yet these are so rare that
we may fairly say that only Asia and
Oceanica are known to produce true
Jade. Hardness is certainly one of it:
characteristics, for it will scratch glass
and quartz, but diamond and other jewel
stones surpass it there. Toughness is its
most saliant trait. To work it there is
need of a peculiar patience, that quality
which to us appears the most important
element in the character of the Chinese.
We may safely infer that it Is no chance
matter to find that the inhabitants OF
China have carried the working Of jade
to its highest development and inoculated
the rest of the world with the mild mad
ness of jade worship.
What, one naturally asks, caused thu
Chinese to set such store by jade9 Ger
tainly not its tough fibre and unwork-
ableness alone; these must have offered
a certain satisfaction only to their delib.
crate and plodding nature. AT the pres
ent day, at the dawn of the Chinese his
tory, and at the remotest period OF
which we can form a guess through the
imperishable articles left by peoples who
lived when Europe was not the Europe
we know, prediction for jade and
for tough minerals similar in appearance
and traits characteristic is to be noted
Thus, Columbus and the following ex.
plorers found a jade-like stone in great
honor among the Indians of South and
Central America and the West Indies
In ancient European tombs of the period
of the smoothed stone implements, axe!
and matches of jade or jadeite point to O
leration Tor the material that cannot
be explained on the theory of its beauty
alone, OF on that of its toughness. 1t i;
probable that its color attracted men al
first, but it is also plain that early mar
saw in jades something specially good,
or he would not have taken so much
trouble to find and to carve it. As al
ways he reasoned by analogy from the
mineral to something else.
Jade, undoubtedly shared with certain
other minerals, certain roots, certain ami.
mails, the reverence that was accorded TO
night, the earth, and the under world.
1t belonged to the country whittier the
sun retires at dusk, to which it returns
at dawn. The jade color is seen in the
sky just above the set sun and just be-
fore sunrise. 1t also recalls the season
when shrubs and grass renew their color
and make the earth green. 1t holds the
color of vegetation and of the deep sea
Thoco ifc COrr,,fOo1 ,o1ar
tial analogies. Connected in the mind Of
primitive men with spirits that may be
good or bad, as they choose, it became
a favorite for talismans and amulets such
as are found in the old graves of North
America, carved of she'll or a jadelike
mineral, either for wearing on the breast
or for piercing the cartilage of the nose,
or the lower lip, or the lobe of the ear.
Amulets of Amazon stone, kind of jade,
have been found in Egypt.
But jade was also very early associated
with the inner person. Very early, in
China at any rate, the idea existed that
a cup made Of jade gave health to him
who drank from it, and, naturally
would counteract poison. Indeed, the
faintest drop of poison was supposed to
cause the liquid in which it lay hidden tc
foam up when brought in contact with
jade. Emperors, princes, governors and
others who were exposed to the under
hand attacks Of rivals, fathers of fami
lies who through their own cruelty or the
wickedness of others were in danger OF
the poison death, would, of course, give
high prices for cups of jade. 1t was in
China and is to-day pre-eminently the
lucky stone, 50 that a sceptre carved out
of jade is one of the gifts that the EN-
peror Of China is apt to make to man
whom he wishes to honor.
Sword handles and belt clasps, ear
nngs and rings for the fingers, bangles
for the wrists and ankles, ornaments for
the hair of women, pipe stems aud
mouthpieces, screens to place before the
paper so that spies should not read,
paper weights, figures of all sorts, knick-
kuacks, bottles for medicines, plates,
cups, vases, sceptres-the list Of objects
wrought by the Chinese in this tough
material would never end. To honor
jade still more the precious stones were
used as decorations and skillfully in
laid; rims and legs of gold were fitted
to thin cups of jade, which ring when
struck like piece of metal. Sometimes
large and elaborate pieces of furniture
have been carved from single block Of
this hard material. A German collector,
Alfred Schwab, of Biel, has rack for
hats and coats made from a single stone.
The sides and back are pierced to form
fantastic figures, tigers, rams and other
animals; eagles heads jut forward as