Nestled at the base of Kunlun Mountains,Hotan,an ancient city with a history of more than 1,000 years,used to be an important city on the southern route of the Silk Road.
A city of world renown,Hotan gets its fame not only from its strategic location but also for one of its products,jade.The famous jade of Hotan is produced from the two rivers running through this ancient city,which is constantly damp from the melted snow of Kunlun Mountains.Naturally abundant,the jade of Hotan is pure,noble,beautiful and charming.The glitter of the jade has sparkled for thousands of years,shining over the ancient land of the western regions.
The magnificent Kunlun Mountains span more than 2,500 kilometers.At the north base is a 1,000-year-old ancient city,Hotan.On the desolate,frigid precipices with an elevation of more than 3,500 meters,a rare treasure—jade—is embedded.
Sun-scorched,rain-drenched,ice-soaked and wind-eroded,the beautiful jade collapses with wild stones.With melting ice and snow in the summer,the snow flood of Kunlun Mountains rushes the large numbers of jadestones,the result of collapsed jade mines,to the lower reaches,to cities and towns.The two rivers that take their source at the Kunlun Mountains whisk past Hotan from both the east and west and empty into the great Taklimakan Desert with many jadestones in their waters.These two rivers are the famous Yorungkash River and Karakash River,which are also known as the White Jade River and the Black Jade River,respectively.The jadestones tumble in the river valleys and when they reach Hotan,they are already polished to different types of beautiful stones:white jade,sapphire,black jade,jasper,topaz,balas and so on.Each is bright,clean,gentle and pliable,and,most of all,beautiful.Of these,the sheep-fat-colored jade is the best—fine and smooth as solid fat,wonderful beyond description.
The jadeware in Chinese civilization are represented by those made of Hotan jade.There is a history of about 5,000–6,000 years in exporting Hotan jade to the central plains.It is said that the famous Yumen Pass set up at the decree of Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty in the Hexi Corridor got its name because Hotan jade was sent to the central plains through this pass.Historically,this jade has been used in significant masterpieces:the sacrificial vessels of the Zhou Dynasty,the royal seals of the Qin Dynasty,the jade clothes of the Han Dynasty,the jade lotus flowers of the Tang Dynasty,the jade Guanyin(Avalokitesvara)of the Song Dynasty,and the extra large jade bowl of Dushan of the Yuan Dynasty.Yu the Great Tames the Flood,a monolithic jade carving,now on display at Leshoutang(Hall of Enjoyment and Longevity)of the Palace Museum in Beijing,is also made of Hotan jade.Weighing 5,330 kilograms,it is the largest jade carving in Chinese history.
Jade carving in Hotan has a history of more than 4,000 years.It involves designing,carving and polishing.Designing is a crucial step in jade carving. Much consideration is involved in deciding what a piece of jade will become.This requires experience and talent.There are many carving tools,hundreds of them;each will bring out a different effect.Of the jade carvings in Hotan,there are small ones like heart-shaped pendants,jade ornaments,seals,masks,types of facial makeup in Chinese operas,bracelets,and rings;and large ones like incense burners,landscape,imitations of jade screens in history,animals,flowers and plants.
In the local jade shops,apart from the carved large jadeware and small pendants are often heaps of jade materials,which look like pebbles,but are very costly.Normally they cost hundreds of thousands of yuan,especially those with artful colors,which are popularly known as“sugar cr usts.”In fact,these yellowishbrown patches were formed on the jadestones as a result of erosion and oxygenation of the copper and iron contained in the minerals. Because of their rarity they are very precious.
A piece of perfect jade carving should, first of all,be of good quality and be used to good purpose and exquisitely carved. Jade carving is a process of seeking perfection .
The handicraft is suited for tempering one’s character. In China,jade is often given the moral values of Confucian culture,which emphasizes “the doctrine of the mean” and harmony.The smoothness of jade fits it nicely.