412 JADE. 



gained. The final polish is given by a revolving mold, which fits the 

 interior cavity, these molds having the same composition as the polish- 

 ing plates commonly used with a lathe. At the Exposition of 1851, we 

 beheld fine antique cups of crystal, of jade, and of agate sent from La- 

 hore. The surfaces of some were plain, without any ornament. We 

 can imagine that these cups, of making which the exact process is un- 

 known, have been cut and polished after the method we have described 

 as practiced at Cambay. Other cups and vases from Lahore were en- 

 graved with skill, and some of them were encrusted with precious stones. 



Let us devote a few sentences to the numerous objects of art and 

 vertu executed in jade by the Chinese from the earliest times. If we 

 open the Chi-Kiug, it will be seen that the princes and high mandarins, 

 before the sixth century of our era, wore rich girdles, to the ends of 

 which were attached precious stones. In ancient times, when a man of 

 distinction wished to receive his friends in an honorable manner, his 

 first care was to provide them with pendants of precious stones to dec- 

 orate their girdles. Thus a wife says to her husband, " Offer precious 

 stones to thy friends when they come. They will wear them hanging 

 from their girdle. Salute thy friends by offering presents to them." 

 The prince Tcheou Koung, author of the Tchou-li, or the Fixed Eti- 

 quette of Tcheou, says, likewise, in his sixth book, that the officer who 

 presided over the jade-magazine was charged with preserving the jades 

 belonging to the imperial vestments ; and the jades of the imperial gir- 

 dle refers, according to a commentator, to twelve bits of jade which dec- 

 orate the imperial cap, and also, according to Licou-yng, the plume of 

 the bonnet, and other precious stones. The jade of the girdle, after 

 another commentator, indicates a piece of white jade attached to a silk 

 girdle worn by the emperor. 



These jewels, it seems to be certain, were no other than jades or yu. 



Ouang-po, a poet of the seventh century of our era, speaks of them in 



these terms: "At the girdle of the king were dancing beautiful gems 



of jade." At this time also the color, form, and dimensions of these 



"gems varied according to the rank of the person who wore them. 



La-thai-pe, a poet of the eighth century, informs us how the workmen 

 of his time were skilled in making every description of jewels in jade. 

 We can judge by the following verses, which he puts in the mouth of a 

 wife : " These swallows of jade, the ornaments of my hair, were worn on 

 my head on the day of our marriage. I offer them to you now as a 

 souvenir. Do not fail to wipe them softly with your silken sleeve." 



The most ancient objects of art executed in jade are perhaps the in- 

 struments of music called king's or sonorous stones, guitars, and dif- 

 ferent forms of flute. They have even cut the jade into bells. "We 

 have seen," says P. Amyot, "in the palace of the reigning emperor a 

 guitar of nearly three feet and of a fine green tint." According to 

 Tcheou-li, these musical stones were much in use during the dynasty of 

 Tcheou, which was twelve centuries before our era. We may coasult 



