Jade has been used in China since Neolithic times, as weapons and other utilitarian items as well as ceremonial emblems. The Chinese word for…

Jade has been used in China since Neolithic times, as weapons and other utilitarian items as well as ceremonial emblems. The Chinese word for jade is most often translated as yü, although that term can mean any number of precious stones. In fact, more than one type of stone is rightfully called jade, with nephrite being considered ''true jade,'' and a softer stone, jadeite, being considered an equally high quality substitute.

The ancients depicted heaven with a perforated jade disk, through which it was believed that the emperor could commune with the gods. For the average man, jade represented excellence and purity. Alchemists tried to produce a potion from ground jade—the elixir of life—that would grant immortality.

In Confucius's 2nd century ''Book of Rites,'' Li-Ki, he writes, ''In ancient times, men found the likeness of all excellent qualities in jade. Soft, smooth, and strong—like intelligence; angular, but not sharp and cutting—like righteousness; …when struck, yielding a note, clear and prolonged, yet terminating abruptly—like music; its flaws not concealing its beauty, nor its beauty concealing its flaws—like loyalty; with an internal radiance issuing from it on every side—like good faith…''