corundum, China.12, geology.11, jade, gems

A. Chikayama surveys China’s gemstone resources, concentrating on nephrite and the diverse ornamental materials traditionally used for carving and sold under regional jade names. The article presents a nationwide locality map and a comparative table linking Chinese stone names with mineralogical identities, colours, transparency, lustre, hardness, specific gravity, refractive index and principal sources. Hotan Yu from Xinjiang is identified as nephrite, while Xin Yu from Liaoning and Nan Yu from Guangdong are serpentine; Dongbei Yu from Liaoning contains serpentine and tremolite. Dushan Yu, also called Nanyang Yu, is described as a mixed rock consisting chiefly of plagioclase and zoisite, with mica and sphene. Several other materials bearing jade names are quartzites: Mi Yu from Henan is green, Guizhou Yu is blue, and Jing Bai Yu from the Beijing area is white, with dyed colours also recorded. The survey further includes tiger’s-eye from Henan, rhodonite from Beijing, turquoise from Hubei, Shaanxi and Henan, malachite from Hubei, and fluorite from several provinces. Rose quartz and amazonite are recorded from Xinjiang, with amazonite also occurring in Yunnan. Ju Hua Shi is listed as a celestine-and-calcite material with a radial structure. Pyrophyllite carving stones receive particular attention through locality-based names, including Changhua Shi, Qingtian Shi, Shoushan Shi, Mira Han Yu and Bairin Shi; Changhua material also contains cinnabar responsible for blood-red mottling. Rock crystal, agate, jasper and additional serpentine occurrences are noted more generally. Beyond carving materials, the author reports Chinese deposits of diamond, ruby, sapphire, aquamarine, beryl, peridot, pyrope garnet, zircon and topaz, highlighting blue sapphire and red zircon from Hainan Island and noting that further deposits had not yet been publicly disclosed. Institutional developments accompanying increased economic interest in gemstones include the establishment of the Gem Mineral Corporation in Beijing in June 1984 to promote resource exploitation, processing, identification, valuation and sales, and a gemmological laboratory within the Ministry of Geology and Mineral Resources in 1982. The article provides a compact reference to the geographical distribution and physical properties of Chinese carving stones while demonstrating the mineralogical diversity concealed by traditional jade nomenclature.