Feb., 1912. 



Jade. 



i37 



ts'ung. Foremost, it is the symbol of Earth as a deity, it is symbolic 

 of the shape of the earth which is round in its interior and square on the 

 outside; 1 that is, in other words, it represents the real image of the deity 

 Earth. In this case, the jade selected was always of a yellowish tinge 



Fig. 59. 

 Tubes, Isu ts'ung, of White Jade with Black Veins. 



or at least striped or spotted yellowish. A jade object of the same 

 type, but black in color or dark-green with black veins, was the sov- 

 ereign emblem of the empress; a similar type was used by her as a 



x Liu Ngan, who died in B. c. 122, expressed the general view held by ancient 

 philosophy with the words: "Heaven is round, and Earth is square; the principle 

 of Heaven is roundness, and that of Earth squareness" (De Groot, The Religious 

 System of China, Vol. VI, p. 1264). 



