May

Jade Bangle Hunting in Beijing, China

Filed Under (Beijing, China, Cuisines, Shopping, Travelling, World Souvenirs) by Janet on 28-05-2008

Smartie snuggled up to Pa Pa in bed early in the morning & sleeping with him now. They slept so soundly without knowing Ma Ma was taking these photos of them!

Don’t they look awefully cute together ha - I just love them too much!!

I woke Dear up & soon we were downstairs at the Hotel’s WESTERN RESTAURANT for our breakfast. Hmm…..the day’s breakfast spread looked real good!

There was stir-fry Zucchini & even Fried Chicken Wings - Dear’s & my favourite!!

There was sliced Ham (”Huo Tui” in Chinese) & stir-fry French Beans with Carrots.

And Sausages & stir-fry Vegetables (”You Cai” in Chinese).

And also colorful Fruits & Salads :

There was Porridge with all kinds of vegetable pickles & Eggs too!

Dear enjoying his breakfast in the cosy elegant dinning area :

My breaskfast plate of stir-fried noodles topped with sliced Ham, Twisted rolled-up Bun :

Stir-fry Vegetables, boiled Corn, Fruits & Salad, Stir-fry Zucchini :

French Beans & Carrots & my favourite fried Chicken Wing :

Toasted Bread & Eggs with Cookie :

Desserts plate of Water Melons, Honey Melons, Dragon Fruits & More Cookie :

We soon finsihed breakfast, & while walking out of the WESTERN RESTAURANT, I noticed this beautiful ceiling chandelier of the elevator area :

Dear inside the elevator going up to our Room :

Shortly after, we met our tour guide Wang Jing at the Hotel Lobby, & with our couple tourmates, we hopped into the Van of our Sifu (Chinese Driver) for our morning tour.

Once inside the Van, we asked Wang Jing about the Sichuan Earthquake, about the situation, what exactly happend why there was no warning by the government etc etc, & whether Beijing was in anyway affected - & she kept saying NO Beijing was fine & that we would not be in any danger in Beijing. Wang Jing also showed us the local Chinese newspapers & again, upon seeing them, I started crying like last night when I was watching the TV news in our Hotel room.

After sometime, we arrived at the “Beijing Wang Tiao Zhang” Jade Factory, owned & run by the local government, whereby prices would be reasonably controlled & the good quality guaranteed. We were welcomed by the Chinese Host who met us at the huge tough-looking gigantic Jade Goldfish Pond in the main entrance.

Jade, the most important gemstone in China, appears numerous times in Chinese Mythology. The Chinese creation Myth centres around a giant Bird whose Body became the Natural elements of the Earth when he died. His Semen & Bone Marrow became the Earth’s Pearls & Jades. And Yu Huang Shang Ti is the Supreme God in Ancient Chinese Mythology, the Jade Emperor who runs the bureauratic Kingdom of the Heavens. And the Jade Rabbit of Chinese Myth lives in the Moon, where he grinds Jade into an elixir that promotes Immortality.

Jade (”Yu” in Chinese) was defined as Beauty Stones by Xu Zheng (58-147) in the 1st Chinese Dictionary called “Shou Wen Jie Zi”. Jade is generally classified into Nephrite (Soft Jade) & Jadeite (Hard Jade). Since China only had the Soft Jade until Jadeite was imported from Burma during the Qing Dynasty (1271-1368), Jade traditionally refers to the Soft Jade so it’s also called Traditional Jade. Jadeite is called “Feicui” in Chinese, which is now more popular & valuable than the Soft Jade in China.

The History of Jade is as long as the Chinese civilization. Archaeologists have found Jade objects from the early Neolithic period (about 5000 BC). Jade not only became a symbol of Wealth & Power, but were extensively used as daily Tools, Weapons, Ritual Ware, Pins, Bracelets & Ornaments for Decorations. That period was recognised as the “Jade Age”. Till today, Jade is very popular & very much sought-after.

Besides loving its beauty, the Chinese love Jade cos of its culture. meaning & humanity. As Confucius (551 BC - 479 BC) said; there’re 11 Virtues (”De”) of Jade, translated below as :

Its Polish & Brilliancy represent the whole of Purity. Its perfect Compactness & extreme Hardness represent the sureness of Intelligence. Its Angles, which do not cut though they seem Sharp, represent Justice. Its pure & prolonged Sound, which gives forth when one strikes it, represent Music. Its Color represents Loyalty. Its interior Flaws, always showing themselves through the Transparency, call to mind Sincerity. Its iridescent Brightness represents Heaven. Its admirable substance, born of Mountain & Water, represents the Earth. When used alone without ornamentation, it represents Chasity. And the Price that the entire World attaches to it represents the Truth. To support these comparisons, the Book of Verse says: “When I think of a Wise man, his Merits appear to be like Jade.”‘

Jade is really very special in Chinese Culture & there was a Chinese saying that ”Gold has a Value, but Jade is Invaluable”!

Because Jade stands for Beauty, Grace & Purity, it’s been used in many Chinese Idioms or Phrases to denote Beautiful Things or People, such as “Yu Jie Bing Qing” (meaning Pure & Noble), “Ting Ting Yu Li” (meaning Fair, Slim & Graceful), & ”Yu Nu” (meaning Beautiful Girl). The Chinese character “Yu” is also often used in Chinese names.

We entered the Jade Factory & saw Displays of “Bai Yu” (meaning White Jade), considered the Most Expenisive of Jade.

Displays of “Bing Zhong Yu” (meaning ICE-type Jade) - thus called cos of its high Translucency.

And the above are the “Shou Shan Shi” Jade, found in Fujian Province in South China. For over 1500 years, it’s been prized for its fine carving Qualities & Rich color!

Jade is believed to have Mental Healing elements. According to the followeres of the New Age, Jade encourages Praticality, Wisdom, Mental Peace & Tolerance of others. They also believed Jade can rejuvenate during periods of Stess, reduce Fears, banish Negative thoughts, & Increase a person’s capaicty for giving & receiving Love.

Spiritual Healers attribute different abilities to different colors of Jade; Blue for Meditation aid, Brown when entering a new phase in Life; Green for the management of passionate Feelings; Levender for repairing a broken Heart; Red for generating Emotional Energy; White for Problem-solving & lastly, Yellow for people with a lack of Energy.

Jade is also believed to have Physical Healing elements associated with the Immune System, Thymus, Heart, Lungs, Kidney & the Nervous System. Nephrite (Soft Jade) is actually derived from the Greek word for Kidneys, & it’s still a Remdey among healers for Nephritic Colic. It’s also believed that Jade can stimulate white blood cells & adrenaline production, which could account for its long association with Sports. Eastern Athletes believe that Jade can darken in time of superior fitness & lighten when illness comes.

Also said to be a very Protective Stone, there was a story about a Chinese man a long time ago who had a miraculous experience which he believed was caused by a piece of Jade in his possession. When he died, he passed his Jade on to his son. The Jade was then passed from one generation to the next with the belief that Jade keeps us from evil & disasters! This story shows the deep attraction of Jade to the Chinese, aside from its beauty, Jade’s also a Symbol of Protection!

For centuries, the Chinese people have used Jade as Pillows. Earliest Jade Pillows were carved as Blocks of Jade with an indentation for the head. Now, one can enjoy the health & beauty benefits of sleeping on Jade with the convenience of a Jade Pillow Cover.

The Jade Pillow Covers feature Flat or Round Jade Beads which will “roll” & massage your head, creating a calming & restful sleep. Flat Jades are smooth & stable, & Round Jades have more “roll” & are best for “back sleepers”

See below the Jade Burial Suit (”Yu Yi” in Chinese), a ceremonial Suit made of pieces of Jade. The Chinese believed that Jade had magical properties & would prevent the decay of the body.

According to the Book of Later Han, as of during the Han Dynasty, the type of wires, used to thread the pieces of Jades together to form the Burial Suit, was dependent on the status of the person buried. Gold threads were used for Emperors. Silver threads were for Princes, Princesses, Dukes & Marquises, & Copper threads for their Sons & Daughters. And for the lesser Aristocrats, Silk threads were used.

And all other people were forbidden to be buried in Jade Burial Suits, besides, these commoners would not be able to afford the extremely expensive Suits too! The process of making a Jade Suit was also labour intensive & required several years to complete one!

For many years, many Archaeologists believed that Jade Burial Suits did not really exist & were only Myths or Legends. However, the discovery in 1968 of 2 complete Jade Suits in the Tombs of Liu Sheng & Dou Wan, in Man-ch’eng, Herbei, finally proved tbeir existence. The 2 Jade Suits consisted of 2498 plates of Solid Jade connected with two & half pounds of Gold wires.

Chinese Jade carving is accomplished using a Foot-powered Reciprocal Treadle so that the workers’ hands are free to do the carving work.

Carving is the most popular form of Art for Jade, as it’s carved into Statues, Sculptures, Incense Burners, Urns, Rings, Pendants, Bangles etc!

Jade Carving is fundamentally based on the principles of Rock against Rock, meaning that if we want to carve something out of a Rock, we would have to use an even harder Rock to carve it!

In the past, the Jade carvers had to rely on grinding the Jade with Abrasives. Now, the Steel Grinding Wheel is attached to the top of the Foot-powered Treadle, as shown in the above & below photos.

This worker in the Jade Factory was grinding a Jade Bangle using the Treadle with the Steel Grinding Wheel.

The still-used-today Traditional Carving Jade Process :

(1) Cut the Raw Jade

(2) Carve the basic shape of the Jade desired

(3) Carve the desired design onto the prepared shape

(4) Carve the design in details

(5) Poliish the Jade to a high gleam

And the result is a beautiful polished shinny Jade piece!

Now inside the Jade Showroom, it was very huge :

The Jade sales lady showing me some Jade Bangles from the showcases cos my 2nd twin sister has got me to help her buy a Bangle.

Aiya headache la…….it was really difficult cos my sister specially wanted her Bangle in 3 colors combination - the “Fu Lu Shou” color of the 3 Heavenly Deities representing Fu (Happinese), Lu (Fortune), & Shou (Longevity). It’s believed that wearing a Jade amulet with the tri-color “Fu Lu Shou” denotes that the wearer will be conferred the 3 Heavenly elements of Happiness, Prosperity & Eternal Bliss. And these tri-color Jade Bangles are normally more Rare to find.

My sister has always loved Jade alot, & cos wearing Jade Bangle is especially good cos it’s believed that the Jade brings its wearer good luck, safety & auspiciousness (since it cannot adsorb negativity) & will protect the wearer from evil & harm. For example, if a Woman is wearing a Jade Bangle, & if she happens to fall accidentally, she will not really be harmed but instead her Jade Bangle will break or have cracks, taking her place of fall. Do you believe it?

Well, I do, cos my Mom did experience a few pretty bad falling incidents several years ago. But Mom was not seriously harmed at all (thank God) & true enough, we realised later that her Jade Bangle (which she has been wearing for a long time) had some cracks!

And always remember, you’ve to wear your Jade Bangle all the time for a longer time in order to gain its useful power, & at the same time, your Bangle will also turn out to be a more beautiful color the longer you wear it! And don forget - we women should wear our Jade Bangles on our Left hand (not on our right) cos of our left hand viens connecting to our Heart, so that our Jade will be close to our hearts, protecting us!

Well, this Jade Bangle you see here is mine which was purchased in my last Hangzhou trip (One piece only actually - I just took the different photos to show its different color)!

And according to my 2nd twin sister, this Bangle of mine is of the “Fu Lu Shou” color - combination of Green, Yellow & White! Well, I really had no idea of that when I first purchased it, I’ve never known there’s such “Fu Lu Shou” color thing etc, I just knew then that I really liked it alot! And I had a pretty hard time negotiating with the Jade Factory boss, & in the end he gave in to me & gave me what I thought was a pretty reasonable “rather expensive” price but I felt it was alright cos I think its quality & clarity is pretty good - shinny, smooth, feels cold when touched (which is a good sign), pretty unique color, thick & pretty broad too for its width which I prefer, & most importantly, I had felt really good when wearing it then! So I just grabbed it!

YES, you should be feeling good about wearing any Jade pieces (especially Bangles) whenever you’re choosing them to buy cos that means you & that Jade are fated, which is a good sign that it’ll bring you good luck & happiness!

Well, having seen this “Fu Lu Shou” Bangle of mine, my sister likes it very much - but well, till now I still don quite see that it’s of 3 colors cos I could only see clearly the Yellow & Green, but not really the White….

But still, my sister insisted it’s of “Fu Lu Shou” color cos she knows more about Jade then I & said that it’s cos I never wear it long enough to see the whites appearing - well that makes sense & may be true cos I usually prefer to change into different accessories & jewelries now & then!

Well, a 2 color Jade is actually called “Yin Yang”, representing the duality of life of the Light & Dark, Male & Female & Positive & Negative. And it’s through the balance of these elements of Positive & Negative that one will achieve Happiness, Harmony & Contentment.

So you see, either it’s of the tri “Fu Lu Shou” color, or the bi “Yin Yang” color, I feel I’m just very lucky to have found this treasure piece cos either color combination is still considered very lucky & prosperious! Heehee!!

Well, it took me more than 1 hour to finally decide on the piece for my sister! Not cos I was bargaining about the price cos the Factory was a government owned & run business so all prices were fixed!! But rather, It was very tough & took me so long cos I had to make sure it’s of the right fit for her, the right thickness & width that she would like, & especially the right color that she would like - cos in the end, we still could not manage to find a Type A (best quality) or Type B ”Fu Lu Shou” color Bangle that she had requested!

My final best choice of Green White Jade Bangle (Type B) for my sister :

Well, I think this piece’s a very beautiful piece too, though of every different color from mine. It’s clear & the Green & White colors are both very pretty, its thickness & width are very nice (nicer than mine cos mine’s thinner), & best of all, I felt really good when I was wearing it, among serveral others. In fact, I like this piece alot cos it’s of totally different color from mine, & I wished then that I had the time to hunt for my own piece in the factory, but too bad I couldn’t cos I’ve already spent too much time on choosing for my sister, & that we had to rush off to our next destination.

Anyway, I was just very happy & glad that I managed to find a very good nice piece for my sister & well, she did like it alot when she finally saw it when back home, & it’s of the right size too luckily!! I was really pleased…………But just before we parted, she told me that she still prefers mine!! Alamak!! Couldn’t believe her! So I suggested we exchange cos I like both so I don mind….but in the end she still chose to keep hers……..& we were telling each other, it’s alright cos the next time I’m in China again, I’ll buy her my type & get for myself her type instead! Heeheehee!!

See the above piece of my sister’s - the White spots on it?! Well, these are actually the Natural imperfections of the Jade, or the Veins of Jade, & not cracks or damage. And having these White spots only but proove that this piece is of genuine & pretty good quality!

Here are our 2 Bangles together - my left “Fu Lu Shou” & my sister’s right “Green White”, which she said is some kind of “Feichui Yu”. Well, isn’t “Feichui Yu” the more popular & more expensive type- what a treasure!!

Which one do you like?