The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-03-13


DARK GREEN JADE, FROM SUMNER PALACE. rEKrS.
cribed to the majority of other stones. Jade
owed to a like ielusion its name Of nephrite
mephros, a kidney, because 1t was supposed
to be n cure in all cases of nephritic collie, and
kidney diseases generally.
Like many other things, jade has fallen into
a slight scientific difficulty, which will be ex.
planned presently, but In the meantime its die
tionary definition is, in the above connection,
worth consulting. Stormonth says of ~nephrite
that it Is "a mineral of a leek-grcen color, re-
markable for hardness and bankruptcies of
1t were formerly worn as an imagined specific
for diseases Of the kidneys; also called jade"
The converse of this is stated under the word
jade. According to C. w. King. the Span
iards called it petra di hUadd, or kidney stone,
surprising it to be aprophylactic against kid
ney disease. We thus find that. in at least
two different directions. the name of the stone
was DECIDED by its assumed medicinal proper,
ties. Where the superstition originated, and
how. in the knowledge OF its radical signif-
canoe. the word nephrite came to find a place in
case is one in which tho history Of a word has
a distinct chronological interest.
The .poetical associations of jade are moro
beautiful, and no less interesting, although it
has no place in the Occidental language Of pre-.
cious stones. For that we must go to Poland,
how to. make love in the, eloquent silence OF
otohS. Al ou'h OhN tHc tthCS III
value from what 1t saws, but, 1t is doubtful IL in
Western fancy and imagery any stone takes
not of a sentiment or an attribute. but OF vir.
tue in the abstract, and in that connection allu-
sions to 1t strew ,Orienta' literature like pearls.
,r extol personal perfection. the Chinese adduce
iade a. the type Of the pnrest NE. the highest
is,to; be perfect. So the music is the sweetest
which is, POLITICALLY said to flow from flutes Of
word Of praise rises Above that Which iiEens
beauty to Jade, the vu OF the Chinese:
called the ordinary or general employment of
jade in Chinese poetry:
While the waning moon In the westward hangs like
an orb OF Jade.
It occurs in a poem ascribed to the Emperor
Klein lung. A. D. 17i6. inscribed upon u cup. of
Jade, brought from the summer Palace. Pekin.
lev Grange. In the old canonical Memorial of
Rites. pn is likened to the substance OF which
the ,ho,t rr h n d Is made. P PER- PSI h9Weysr tho
llverance. upon jade is that of Confqcius.
According to the philosopher, Jade is valued
pared virtue to jade. Its polish ana brilliant
hues are virtue and humanity. Its compact
but arc not in%cisive. and that is %justice; IN
pcarl-like pendants 1t represents politeness: its
pure sound when struck figures music; one
loyalty; its informal cracks are seen from the
outside. and that is sincerity; its lustrc is per
manency and lis substance represents the
earth; cut without other establishment it indi.
Gates virtue; and the high value attached to 1t
urative of truth" In the light OF such mean
ing symbolism one begins to understand tho
mans nea%s't soul Si and iIRGis his thon Ds SnV arc rem Iiken m w To iade -
purely meteorological, Blondel speaks of the
Chinese ma as true jade and of the 'prctendcd'
jades of Europe, America and Oceania. These
Include the dull green found in Sumatra. south
green like orthosefeldspar or Amazon stone.
He calls them all jadcite or nephrite; and thus
On tho other hand. the compiiers of the preface
to the catalogue OF the Dumfries exhibition of
snS 'pr nSla some mmd y a%d, @ "f%; f snsne q Is p tSe .rne
1tH%alG na, T TsSy z e an to- s shS ia"' M It I Il !snG Psr IN
also speaks OF the New Zealand variety "a jade.
but OF the Mexican as Amazon stone. Ac-
New Zealand. China, Corsica and America.
The only way to settle these differences Is by
so%P tSaa aocs n %na appeur q to fmS a bnen syste n1maf.
out that Emanuel. Blondci, and King agree, so
of the stone. King uses ~.!ophrite and jade altor.
n@atiyclyg,, and sYS,yIs it Is a combination Of
alumrina and the oxides OF iron and chrome.
Emanuel employs almost identical terms;
i rIneu and d" Sive eSt the following partic aiH,rs"S Slick,
$3.50; magnesia, 3l.0O; alumina. 1000; OK
ide Of iron; 55G; oxide OF chrome, 800: BE-
ference, and the view taken here is that there are
different qualities OF Jade, but that to analysis
thcy.yield results which are broadly idcntical.
This brings together all the local varieties,
Asiatic, American, and New Zealand. while louv-
Ing the rcfinemcnts OF distinction open TO set
Element.
lands lend sanction to an arrangement which
Is further in accordance with Chinese usage
,n reference to thu word M. In one of their
books II 4 Is said 10 be OF six COlOrs- white. car
nation. yellow, red, cinnabar, and deep maroon.
Elsewhere we read Of turquoise blue, citron
fellow, deep blue. and red. Jade says
Blondel, lis sometimes even black ''Of all
kinds" says Albert JacQucmart, THE two most
rare are the orange jade and the imperial jade,
q gem beyond price. worthy of being ranked
with the finest emerald Whm of fine green,
and which, of yariegatod green and white,
produces an, effect superior 10 tho richest
revert to tho canonical simile which likens yu
TO the STUFF rainbows are made Off or many OF
the tints enumerated 1t may bo said. that II ever
examples OF them existed In jade, specimens are
found no longer. The conclusion is almost
forced that under Uu, which entered largely
into the imperial drcss.of China, precious stones
were included which have no affinity with Jade.
There is other testimony than that OF the poets
that in M the Chinese saw not only the SYM
Dol of ali excellence. but the one all-Gnbracing
and typical precious stone.
and its Wilderness. is that of lard. For these
prosaic terms there is abundant precedent. One
speaks Of its greasy white, OF It's conveying "a
greasy sensation 10 both eye and touch, OF It's
resemblance to inspissaied oil, ivory, and wax.
The lard. smile ID. pure Chinese. All those re'
fer 10 tho white Oriental jade, which Is milky,
nearly opalesCent. at its finest. and shades on