Dushan Jade

Dushan Jade

　　Dushan Jade is produced in Dushan Mountain near Nanyang City, Henan Province. It is also known as “Nanyang Jade” or “Henan Jade,” and is sometimes simply called “Du Jade.” Dushan is the nearest provincial-level forest park, national mining park, and tourist scenic area to Nanyang City. It is the source of Dushan Jade, one of China’s four famous types of jade. The park is located three kilometers north of downtown Nanyang and spans an area of four square kilometers.

　　The highest quality Dushan Jade features pure color, high transparency, fine texture, and no impurities or cracks. Among these, varieties such as lotus jade, translucent white jade, and green jade are particularly valuable. In addition, jade carvings that use different colors of the stone to mimic natural scenes—known as qiaose jade carvings—are highly praised.

　　Nanyang Jade boasts bright colors, relatively fine texture, good luster, and high hardness, making it comparable to jadeite. Germans once referred to it as “Nanyang Jadeite,” and Soviet geologist Keyeflinko classified Nanyang Jade as a type of jadeite mineral deposit. According to recent research by geologists in Henan, Nanyang Jade has been identified as an altered plagioclase rock. In addition to plagioclase, it contains minerals such as zoisite, epidote, tremolite, sericite, biotite, and sphene. Microscopic analysis shows that the jade contains various altered minerals, with alteration primarily characterized by zoisitization, epidotization, and tremolitization. Due to the presence of various metal impurity ions, the jade exhibits a range of colors, predominantly green, white, and mixed hues, along with purple, blue, and yellow tones.

　　Genesis and occurrence: Formed within altered plagioclase rock bodies, resulting from late-stage magmatic thermal metasomatism and alteration processes that occurred under low temperatures when basic plagioclase or gabbro was affected by magma rising along structural fractures.

　　Famous producing areas: The world’s most renowned source is Dushan Mountain in Nanyang City, Henan Province, China.

　　Name origin: Named after its production site at Dushan Mountain on the outskirts of Nanyang City, Henan Province, China. It is also called "Nanyang Jade" or "Du Jade." Nanyang has long been known as the “Hometown of Jade.”

　　:: Crystal morphology

　　Primarily fine-grained crystals; particles are relatively small, with diameters less than 0.05 mm, cryptocrystalline, featuring a fine, hard, and dense texture.

　　:: Physical properties

　　Hardness: 6.0–6.5

　　Specific gravity: 2.73–3.18 g/cm³

　　Color: Dushan Jade often consists of a polychromatic jade system with two to three or more colors. Common colors include white, green, purple, yellow, red, and black.

　　Transparency: Transparent to translucent

　　Luster: Glassy or greasy luster

　　Under the microscope: Exhibits black spots, with colors not particularly vivid, and visible inclusions of various minerals.

　　As early as 6,000 years ago, ancient people were already mining Dushan Jade. Among the jade artifacts unearthed from the tomb of Fu Hao at the Yin Ruins in Anyang, many were made of Dushan Jade. During the Western Han Dynasty, Dushan was referred to as the “Jade Mountain.”

　　Thanks to its bright colors and good transparency, Dushan Jade is ranked among China’s “Four Famous Jades.” High-grade Du Jade in emerald green resembles Burmese jadeite, hence earning the reputation of “Nanyang Jadeite.” Generally, Du Jade is mainly used for carving decorative items as well as jewelry such as bracelets, rings, and necklaces.

　　Dushan Jade is a polychromatic jade and can be divided into eight varieties based on color.

　　① Green Dushan Jade: Also known as “Sky Blue” or “Daytime Blue Dushan Jade.” It ranges from green to emerald green, is semi-transparent, has a fine texture, and closely resembles jadeite, with a glassy luster.

　　② Red Dushan Jade: Also called “Lotus Red Dushan Jade.” Its color ranges from light pink to red, has a fine texture, and good luster. It includes dry powder material and translucent pink material, with the moist and fine-textured variety being preferred.

　　③ White Dushan Jade: Appears white or grayish-white, has a fine texture, and offers a greasy-like luster. Varieties include cream white jade, translucent white jade, and clear translucent white.

　　④ Purple Dushan Jade: Appears dark purple and has poor transparency. ⑤ Yellow Dushan Jade: Appears yellow-green.

　　⑥ Black Dushan Jade: Appears pitch black, hence also called “Ink Jade.”

　　⑦ Green-White Dushan Jade: Appears bluish-green or in a mix of white and green, with poor transparency. The fine, clean, and moist-textured varieties are preferred.

　　⑧ Variegated Dushan Jade: Features a mix of multiple colors. Colors may include sweet potato-like or soy sauce-like hues.

　　The highest quality Dushan Jade features pure color, high transparency, fine texture, and no impurities or cracks. Among these, varieties such as lotus jade, translucent white jade, and green jade are particularly valuable. In addition, jade carvings that use different colors of the stone to mimic natural scenes—known as qiaose jade carvings—are highly praised.

　　Dushan Jade carving has a long history. A jade shovel unearthed in 1959 from the Neolithic Huangshan site near Dushan proves that our ancestors were already aware of and using Dushan Jade over 5,000 years ago. The remains of the “Jade Street Temple” at the foot of Dushan were a place for jade carving during the Han Dynasty. The Qing-era “Newly Compiled Nanyang County Annals” recorded: “Residents to the north of the old county mostly made a living by carving jade.” In pre-modern China, Nanyang Jade carving had already developed into a major industry, with over 80 workshops in the city. Most were back-end workshops with storefronts at the front, where artisans both carved and sold their products. Jade carving pieces mainly included over 120 varieties such as figures, flowers, birds and beasts, landscapes, deities, incense burners, and jewelry. Dushan Jade carvings are crystal-clear and exquisitely crafted, making them a famous specialty of Nanyang.