JOAN M. HARTMAN
Footnote
* Numbers in brackets refer to entries in the Bibliography at the back of the book.
Acknowledgments
Writing a book of this kind necessitates calling upon others for assistance in acquiring pertinent information, photographs, and so forth. My sincere thanks to the following: Mr. Robert Logan, American Museum of Natural History; Mr. Usher Coolidge, Fogg Art Museum; Miss Eleanor Olson, the Newark Museum; Mr. Jack R. Mc-Gregor, Mr. Rene-Yvon D'Argence, and Mr. Clarence Shangraw of the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum; Mr. E. R. Hunter of the Norton Gallery; Mr. George Switzer of the Smithsonian Institution, and Mr. Robert Crowningshield of the Gemological Institute of America. My thanks go to the staff at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Walker Art Center, the University Museum and the Seattle Art Museum for their cooperation. I should also like to express my appreciation to Dr. Chih Meng and Prof. Chu Chai who have given me a fuller understanding of Chinese art and philosophy, and to Peter Swann who advised me to "push the doors in" I am deeply grateful.
| PERIODS OF THE | Hung Wu | 1368—1398 |
| MING DYNASTY | Chien-wen | 1399—1402 |
| Yung-lo | 1403—1424 | |
| Hung-hsi | 1425 | |
| Hsuan-te | 1426—1435 | |
| Cheng-t'ung | 1436—1499 | |
| Ching-t'ai | 1450—1457 | |
| T'ien-shun | 1457—1464 | |
| Ch'eng-hua | 1465—1487 | |
| Hung-chih | 1488—1505 | |
| Gheng-te | 1506—1521 | |
| Chia-ching | 1522—1566 | |
| Lung-ch'ing | 1567—1572 | |
| Wan-li | 1573—1620 | |
| T'ai-ch'ang | 1620 | |
| T'ien-ch'i | 1621—1627 | |
| Ch'ung-chen | 1628—1644 | |
| THE CH'ING | Shun-chih | 1644—1661 |
| DYNASTY | K'ang-hsi | 1662—1722 |
| Yung-cheng | 1723—1735 | |
| Ch'ien-lung | 1735—1795 | |
| Chia-ch'ing | 1796—1821 | |
| Tao-kuang | 1821—1850 | |
| Hsien-feng | 1851—1861 | |
| T'ung-chih | 1862—1873 | |
| Kuang-hsu | 1874—1908 | |
| Hsuan-t'ung | 1909—1912 |
Introduction
Location of Jade Rough Material
There are distinctly two materials known as jade in the Western world—nephrite and jadeite. The former is found in the mountains and river beds of Eastern Turke-stan (near Khotan and Yarkand). It is this nephrite material which was familiar to the ancient Chinese as well as later generations.
Nephrite is also found near Lake Baikal in Siberia. It is uncertain when the Chinese first imported this material, but Hansford suggests that trade began after 1850 [19, pp. 46-48]. As many pieces made of this material are typically 18th century, the question remains open.
Jadeite was originally discovered in the tributaries and valleys of the Uru River near Mogaung, Burma. From the late 19th century on, however, the major source has been the Tawmaw Plateau. While there may have been some jadeite brought to China at an earlier time, there is no conclusive record of this until the latter part of the 18th century, during the reign of Emperor Ch'ien-lung [21, p. 44].
In recent years, small deposits of nephrite' and jadeite (the latter reputedly of a similar color quality to Burmese material) have been found on Honshu island, Japan (in Kotaki and Omi); these deposits may have been the original source of material for the numerous jadeite beads excavated from early Japanese Jomon (prehistoric) tombs. There is no evidence, however, that this stone was ever exported to the Chinese mainland. We conclude, then, that the jadeite known to the Chinese was of Burmese origin [36; 52].
The preceding simply clarifies a few points which are sometimes misunderstood, and leads us to perhaps the most astonishing fact of all. Despite varying accounts to the contrary, no definite proof has been established that either nephrite or jadeite was ever quarried in China proper! Some authorities have translated references to jade from Chinese classical writings, but it has been pointed out that the word yü or its calligraphic equivalent also refers to other minerals and sometimes signifies qualities such as beauty, purity, splendor, and the highest honors, rather than a particular stone. Yü does not pertain to jadeite. The Chinese call this Burmese stone fei t'sui after the kingfisher bird which sports a brilliant green plumage. Thus it can be readily seen that the old texts are often misleading.
Jade has been found in other parts of the world. In the United States it is native to Wyoming and California. Large deposits are also found in western Canada and Taiwan. The Maori people of New-Zealand, the Eskimos of Alaska, the Aztecs and Mayans of Central America all carved jade which they found in situ. The Chinese, however, who had to open trade routes and keep the importation of jade rough flowing over thousands of miles via water and beast of burden not only recognized the intrinsic beauty of the stone but possessed the artistic genius to develop this medium from its early archaic form to the simple refinement of the Ming dynasty, on through the highly decorative Ch'ing dynasty. Of course, it is characteristic of human nature to seek that which is difficult to acquire, to conquer that which offers the most