jade, jadeite, fei cui, nephrite, Burma, China, Guatemala, Russia, gems

Barber surveys jade through four connected questions: the origin of its name, its chemical constitution, its identification, and its geographical sources. He begins with the practical importance of toughness in prehistoric tools and weapons, linking this durability to the later production of intricate carvings and to jade’s religious, protective, medicinal, and funerary associations. Particular attention is given to Chinese traditions that associated jade with moral virtues and spiritual contemplation. His historical discussion traces jade terminology to beliefs concerning relief from ailments of the flank and kidneys, recounts Werner’s introduction of the name nephrite, and explains how Damour’s chemical investigations established jadeite as a distinct mineral in 1863. Barber distinguishes nephrite, composed of amphiboles of the tremolite–actinolite series, from fei cui, whose principal mineral is the sodium aluminium silicate jadeite. He discusses compositional variation, including the replacement of magnesium by iron in nephrite and the calcium and magnesium components reported in jadeite from Middle America. Colour receives extensive treatment through both chemical explanations and traditional Chinese descriptive terms. Iron compounds, chromium, other minor constituents, accessory minerals, and weathering are considered as possible causes of the wide range of colours, with several proposed explanations explicitly tentative. For identification, Barber contrasts nephrite’s compact, interwoven fibrous structure and exceptional resistance to fracture with the more visibly crystalline, interlocking texture of fei cui, which is generally harder and denser. He describes differences in lustre, weathered surfaces, translucency, hardness, specific gravity, and behaviour under blowpipe heating, while emphasizing that external appearance alone does not establish identity. Petrographic examination, spectrographic analysis, and quantitative chemical analysis provide stronger evidence and may sometimes offer clues to provenance. The geographical discussion directs prospectors toward metamorphic terrains and reviews established nephrite sources in Central Asia, New Zealand and other Pacific islands, Alaska, and British Columbia. More detailed accounts cover river and mountain deposits around Khotan and Yarkand and the Siberian occurrences near Lake Baikal, including their historical contribution to the Chinese carving trade. For Burmese fei cui, Barber describes the collection of boulders from the Uru River and its conglomerates, recounts the reported accidental discovery of the Tawmaw bedrock deposits around 1881, and outlines subsequent mining of shallowly dipping bodies beneath soil and serpentine. Photographs illustrate large rough specimens, contrasting surface textures, and polished inspection windows used to assess a Burmese boulder for taxation. This opening instalment combines cultural history with practical mineralogical distinctions and a historical account of the principal Asian jade supplies.