What are the traditional Chinese jewelry?

Answer 1

Jade has a history in China of at least four thousands years. Unknown to some, jade is found contained within the development of religion and civilization, having moved from the use of decoration on to the others such as the rites of worship and burial. Although other materials like gold, silver and bronze were also used, none of these have ever exceeded the spiritual position that jade has acquired in peoples' minds - it is associated with merit, morality, grace and dignity. In the funeral objects of the people of the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC - 24 AD), for example, we can see only high officials were buried with jade articles. (reference from www.travelchinaguide.com) Tian Huang is a kind of precious stone that are excavated in Shou-shan of the Fujian Province, China. It looks like some kind of jadeite but in fact it is a kind of soapstone. In the old days, most of the Emperors' official seals were made of jadeite. Until late Ming Dynasty (early 17th C.), a prominent sculpter Wen Peng used a piece of Tianhuang to make a seal for the emperor who appreciated it very much. The love for tianhuang began. (reference from www.hkstreet.com) Shoushan stones come from the area around the city Fuzhou in Fujian Province. Shoushan Stones are one of the three famous stones of China used in Chinese art. The stones are known for their fine texture, multi-color hues and carve ability. There is an ancient legend that explains the origin of the stones; in ancient times a five-colored Phoenix stopped at Shoushan Mountain, within the protection of the mountains she laid many eggs and these multicolored eggs became the origins of the famous Shoushan stones. (reference from www.artoftheeast.com) Emerald, produced from Burma, has been very popular since entering China between the late of Ming dynasty and the early of Qing dynasty, when China has already became the richest country in collecting emerald field. From Qianlong emperor to Cixi queen mother, almost each emperor likes emerald, which has a good name of "royal jade" therefore. The use of the emerald in present world included art carvings and all kinds of mass finished decorations, such as necklace, ring, earring and brooch. And most of the western people are proud of their own emeralds with the jade green color, refreshing and immaculate materials. Also, with the rapid development of Chinese economy in recent years and the well improvement of their lives, it is more and more fashionable in those big cities to gird the emerald decorations. (reference from www.cnarts.net)