408 



JADE. 



a copy of which is inserted iu the anecdotes relating to Yu-thian, con- 

 taining the following curious extract : '• May the high sovereign of all 

 places over which the sun rises deign to cast his eyes on his five hundred 

 western kingdoms. The He-Han (Lion) lord of five hundred kingdoms, 

 several and combined, addresses himself to the venerable lord of ail 

 places within sunrise — deign to look at the four quarters of the uni- 

 verse. I, A-Kieou, prince of four parts of the world, from whom you 

 have demanded a consignment of yu, I have applied myself to the very 

 utmost to comply with your request, but it is very difficult to find pieces 

 which have, as you desire, a tchi and a thsun in length, (=0.335 milli- 

 meters.) I have ordered my officers to go upon the banks of the river 

 to search for such a mass, and as soon as it is found I will hasten to 

 offer it to you." It was believed at first, remarks the author of whom 

 we borrow these details, that this reply was merely evasive; but some 

 time afterwards a mass of yu was in fact brought in which measured 

 more than two tchi (O.GIO millimeters). Its color was similar to lard, 

 and in all antiquity nothing comparable to it had ever been seen. 



The life of Thai-tsou, which forms part of the same collection, more- 

 over, mentions a globular mass of yu weighing 120 kilograms, and 

 Father Cabot declares that he had seen at the Emperor's palace an uncut 

 piece of jade still more curious by reason of its extraordinary weight. 

 " It looked," says he, " as if one man might carry it, but on trial being 

 made it resisted the attempts of four persons to remove it." 



The treatise on yu informs me that there are two particular kinds of 

 jade — one from the mountain and the other from the river. That from 

 the mountain is ordinarily veined brown, and has somewhat the appear- 

 ance of wood ; that of the river being veined blue, having more agree- 

 able shades of color and being more wavy. The first is found mostly 

 iu China; at Khotan, however, it is from the rivers that the greater 

 part of it is collected. The stream contributing most abundantly has 

 been called the river of jade. We read in the narrative of Ping-kiu- 

 hoci, who went on a mission to the kingdom of Yu-thian (Khotan,) 

 that '' the river of jade has its origin in the mountain Kouen-lun. 

 After a course of one hundred and thirty leagues it reaches the frontiers 

 of Yu-thian." 



One of the notices of the city of Khotan, written under the dynasty of 

 Thang, in 632 of our era, states that " as soon as they see the locality at 

 night, fully lighted up by the moon, the people plunge into the river to 

 search for the ^ne pieces." Another notice, anno 938, states that " in the 

 autumn of every year, when the river is at its lowest stage, the King goes 

 out to seek for the mineral. After he is served the common people are 

 permitted to collect it." 



It is at Yarkand, near Khotan, that this jade-fishery now goes on, the 

 proceeds being held at such a high value that a monopoly of it remains 

 with the government. The fishery is carried on in the presence of offi- 

 cers, accompanied by a detachment of soldiers. Twenty or thirty 



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