were
crammed with objects into whose composition this gem stone entered. It
was, I soon realised, so esteemed by all the people of the country that
scarcely a man or woman was without some Jade ornament.
Within
the last two decades the general public outside China has to some
slight extent become familiar with the appearance of that stone, but a
Western fashion in the gem started a few years ago has been shortlived.
And it will come as a surprise to most folk that there is as much to be
said about Jade as I propose mentioning in the following few pages.
I
shall speak of Chinese Jade first, and at some length, for that is the
mineral which is so greatly esteemed by the Chinese—although the name
is a misnomer, for most, if not all, Chinese Jade is nowadays found
outside China.
One
of the earliest sources of Chinese Jade was in the mountain ranges of
K'un Lung, situated to the south of Khotan in south-eastern Turkestan.
It is said that even three thousand years ago, camel caravans laden
with this precious material wound their way slowly and laboriously
across the roof of the world and through the narrow opening in the
Great Wall of China to continue their progress until they reached their
goal—Peking.
There
the traders who had outfitted the expedition anxiously awaited the
arrival of their treasure after its perilous journey covering a
distance of some fifteen hundred miles.
A few dry facts such as these may signify little to the thoughtless. And yet romance enough to satisfy the most satiated film-goer can be read between the lines. Three
Flickr
Stumbleupon
Scribd
