The Connotation of Jade Culture (Part One)

by lianchengji on 2009-05-31 09:10:49

In 1863, French geologist and mineralogist De Morue conducted physical and chemical experiments based on the jade artifacts from the Qing Dynasty's Qianlong period that had been transmitted to Europe. The results indicated that jade materials come in two types: amphibole and pyroxene. Amphibole is also known as soft jade, with a hardness of 6-6.5 on the Mohs scale, and a specific gravity of 2.95-3.10. Its main component is a fibrous mineral of calcium silicate, which belongs to one type of amphibole. The color of amphibole is closer to the beauty of condensed fat, and the pure ones are white, commonly known as mutton-fat jade, which is delicate and warm, extremely precious, and has very high economic value. Due to the presence of trace amounts of oxidized metal ions, amphibole can appear in colors such as green, black, yellow, or mixed colors. Pyroxenes are also called hard jade; the best quality being emerald green...