IO 



The National Geographic Magazine 



2. 96-3. i , and it varies in color from wax 

 white, cream white, green white, green- 

 ish gray to pale green, passing through 

 many gradations to the very darkest 

 green, in which variety iron protoxide 

 is present up to 6 or 7 per cent. 



Jadeite, which occurs in the Mogoung 

 District, in Upper Burma, and in the 

 Province of Yun-nan, China, is essen- 

 tially a metasilicate of sodium and alu- 

 minium and has a specific gravity of 

 3.33-3.35 and a hardness of 6.5-7. Its 

 luster is subvitreous and its fracture 

 splintery, while in color it varies even 

 more than nephrite. It may be gray 

 green, bluish green, bluish gray, clear 

 gray, orange yellow, smoky green, 

 passing to black (the latter resembling 

 the nephrite of Siberia), smoky white, ■ 

 white with green tints and splotches, 

 and apple green ; also, but rarely, vio- 

 let and mauve. All the green tints are, 

 as a rule, much brighter than those of 

 nephrite. Theso-called "jewel jade," 

 the Chinese feitsin (kingfisher — feather 

 color), is jadeite of an intense emerald 

 hue. It is seldom found, and then gener- 

 ally in thin veins and often much flawed. 

 It is said to be harder than ordinary j ade- 

 ite. Much of it is taken to Canton, 

 where it is converted into jewelry. In 

 earlier times, this apple-green jade was 

 not so highly valued as the darker olive 

 shades, while the Emperors of the Ming 

 Dynasty (1368 -1664) esteemed pale 

 bluish-green specimens above all others, 

 and white next held imperial and 

 Manchu fancy. 



Both nephrite and jadeite have a 

 waxy, oily surface and take a high 

 polish in the hands of oriental artisans. 

 When modern European machinery is 

 used, a dazzling, mirror-like surface is 

 obtained. Though generally opaque or 

 translucent, there is a very rare variety 

 known as "camphor jade," from its 

 appearance, which resembles a much- 

 flawed crystal, and is actually transpar- 

 ent in spots. Under the name of 

 "oceanic jade," Damour describes a 



variety found in New Caledonia and 

 the Marquesas Islands, ' ' which pos- 

 sesses a somewhat silky luster, due to 

 exceedingly delicate fibers which trav- 

 erse the mass, and which has a specific 

 gravity of 3.18." 



Collectors of jade objects of the pres- 

 ent day have given much attention to 

 distinguishing, by means of the scien- 

 tific tests of specific gravit} 7 , anal3-sis, 

 and microscopical examination, be- 

 tween true nephrite and jadeite and the 

 numerous substances which, so far as 

 outward appearances go, resemble them. 

 The common and predominant charac- 

 teristic of all the stones to which the 

 name jade from time to time has been 

 applied is their tenacity. Their com- 

 pactness of texture and extreme tough- 

 ness recommended them in prehistoric 

 times as the best materials from which 

 to manufacture tools with sharp cutting 

 edges. Since jade in its natural state 

 was for a long time vainly sought in 

 Europe, many scholars concluded that 

 the jade implements found in the Swiss 

 lake dwellings, or the materials from 

 which they were made, must have been 

 brought from the quarries in Turkestan. 

 If, it was argued, jade were a product 

 of the countries in which these imple- 

 ments were found, how did it happen 

 that it was never discovered by the races 

 who succeeded the men of the Palaeo- 

 lithic Age ? There is no evidence of 

 jade having been emplo3'ed by the 

 Greeks and Romans for an}' purpose, 

 nor was it known in mediaeval times. 

 As it was only through its introduction 

 from Mexico by the Spaniards that 

 modern Europe was made aware of its 

 existence, it was questioned whether 

 Aryan wanderers could have brought 

 these jade objects with them from the 

 Kuenlun Mountains. Professor Max 

 Muller asks: If the A^an settlers could 

 carry with them so ponderous a tool as 

 their language, what is surprising in 

 their having carried along, preserved 

 from generation to generation, such 



