Introduction. 7 



"Jade in China," is elaborated by S. W. Bushell. Mr. Bishop re- 

 quested "a condensed article on jade by a native Chinese scholar, 

 treating upon its uses in China from the earliest period down to the 

 present day." Accordingly, Dr. Bushell commissioned a scholar, 

 T'ang Jung-tso by name, to write such an essay, the text of which is 

 reproduced in facsimile and provided with a translation by Bushell. 

 This document is composed of a conglomeration of literary quotations 

 from ancient texts which are rather inexactly and sometimes incom- 

 pletely cited. Dr. Bushell did not verify them from the originals, 

 and it is hard to see why a Chinese scholar of his standing agreed to 

 such a procedure, as he certainly knew that the Chinese cyclopaedias, 

 above all the T'u shu tsi ch'eng, contain the completest possible col- 

 lections of notes on jade. I do not see much sensible exposition of the 

 subject of jade from the Chinese standpoint in T'ang Jung-tso's essay, 

 which, though undeniably comprising a number of useful extracts, 

 lacks intelligent understanding. Another Chinese article written by 

 Li Shih-ch'uan and illustrated with sketches depicting the various 

 stages in the modern manufacture of jade is very instructive. Part 

 III, "Jade as a Mineral," edited by G. F. Kunz, presents the 

 most complete and thorough investigation of this subject carried 

 on by a whole staff of specialists. The questions treated in detail 

 in this section are the colors of jade, whether natural or the result 

 of weathering or staining; the translucency, lustre, opalescence, 

 sheen, and other qualities; the tenacity of jade; its resonant quality 

 which makes it valued by the Chinese as a material for musical 

 instruments; the relative hardness and specific gravity of nephrite 

 and jadeite, their different chemical constitution, and the localities 

 of their occurrence. Part IV is devoted to a sketch of the methods 

 of working jade. Part V, "Worked Jade," is intended to give a 

 general summary of this subject under two headings, "Prehistoric" 

 and "Historic." Vol. II (293 pages) contains the descriptive cata- 

 logue of the collection. Dr. Bushell has bestowed great pains in 

 fully describing the Chinese portion of it and explaining with careful 

 exactness the ornamentation and inscriptions displayed on the fine 

 Chinese specimens in which the collection abounds. Mr. Bishop 

 expressed in the preface the hope that his book might be found to be of 

 some value as a book of reference. His work is doubtless one of the 

 most beautiful and sumptuous books ever published in this country, 

 but it is a matter for profound regret that its valuable contents is 

 practically lost to science, owing to its unwieldy size and weight (one 

 hundred and twenty-five pounds) and its distribution in only ninety- 

 eight copies, none of which have been sold, but which have all been 



