Tengchong Jade

Tengchong Jade

　　Borderland “Treasure” — Jade

　　Many historical records indicate that Baoshan was known as a “land of gold, silver, and treasures.” As early as the 1st century AD, the rulers of small states beyond Yongchang such as Dunrenyi began sending envoys through the Yongchang Route to present treasures and jade (jadeite) to the Eastern Han Dynasty. Since then, Baoshan — especially its jurisdictional city of Tengchong — leveraged its unique geographical and transportation advantages to become the earliest, largest, and longest-lasting jade trading hub in Chinese history, earning the prestigious title “City of Jade.”

　　Although no jade is produced within Tengchong today, it has long been said that “jade comes from Tengyue.” This saying is not unfounded, as even now, the mighty “Irrawaddy River” (also known as the Ayeyarwady River), inside and outside of which lay the “Three Shan States” and “Six Mu,” was under imperial authority, and “Tengyue encompassed Jiajiu, Manmo, Menggong, and Mengyang,” while “Manmo produced white jade, kingfisher jade, and black jade… Mengmi yielded gemstones, treasure sand, and fluorite” (from Records of Tengyue Prefecture). After the Ming Dynasty, due to shifts in national borders, these primary jade-producing regions successively became territories of other states. However, Baoshan and Tengchong retained their status as globally significant jade distribution centers. Moreover, this led to the formation of a “Jade Road” or “Gem Road” between Baoshan, Tengchong, and Mogok: “Inside and outside the Irrawaddy River, treasures abounded... all transported through Tengyue, hence why the Eight Treasures (Baobao) Street in the prefecture town was once mistakenly called Hundred Treasures Street.” During the Ming Dynasty, imperial purchasing officials, eunuchs, and wealthy merchants flocked to Baoshan and Tengchong, specifically seeking — even demanding — jewelry and jade. Yang Shen once wrote: “South of Yongchang City lies the treasure well road, before Seven-Mile Pavilion lies Bowl Water Shop… If only I had an immortal’s earth-shrinking spell, to move the treasure wells to Chang’an Street.” Zhang Han remarked: “In the Chenghua era, gemstones were highly valued; the wealthy bought in secret, the court in demand.” Zhang Zhichun's *Southern Garden Random Notes* recorded: “In the Gengzi year of Chenghua, Eunuch Wang Ju failed to obtain gemstones, thus accused Mengmi of rebelling against Mubang and requested a military campaign against them” — failing to secure the gems, they resorted to war, showing just how “precious” those “gemstones” were. Amid this enduring “jade worship,” Tengchong not only produced priceless jade masterpieces such as “Qiluo Jade,” “Duan Family Jade,” and “Cun Family Jade,” but also gave rise to numerous “Jade Kings” like Zhao Lianhai, Zhang Baoting, and Liu Cai who amassed great fortunes through mining or trading jade. The volume of jade traded was astonishing — according to customs statistics from the Republican era, 271 dan of jade were registered for entry in 1902, and 376 dan in 1925.

　　The large-scale jade trade gave rise to and sustained the unique handicraft skill of jade carving. By the late Qing Dynasty and early Republican period, Tengchong city alone had over a hundred jade workshops and more than three thousand jade artisans. The crafted “vessels were sold across Yunnan’s various provinces, and the finest quality jade was mostly shipped to Guangdong, Shanghai, Fujian, Zhejiang, and the capital” (from *Tengyue Local Chronicles* by Cun Kaitai), presenting a scene of prosperity. Since artisans throughout the dynasties focused on refining fine jade pieces, vast quantities of secondary and leftover materials were left unprocessed. Over time, amusing anecdotes emerged of households paving roads and building walls with jade. It even became common during construction projects to unearth buried caches of jade — as late as 1997, during renovation work in a certain district, many people still took up hoes and picks, competing at the construction site to “pan for jade.” And quite a few succeeded.

　　After the outbreak of the Pacific War, Tengchong fell temporarily under Japanese occupation, leading to a decline in the jade market. In the decades following the war, trade routes were cut off, and the jade distribution center gradually shifted to Chiang Mai in Thailand, leading to a downturn in local jade trade and processing. It wasn’t until after the reform and opening-up policy that, with the reopening of the country and the restoration of the Tengchong–Muse Highway, Tengchong’s jade industry regained vibrant life. Its business scale, craftsmanship techniques, and artistic standards made remarkable progress. In the mid-Autumn of 1994, the People’s Government of Tengchong County successfully hosted the “Tengchong International Jade Trading Festival,” thus transforming the former poetic lament of “Recalling the bustling Hundred Treasures Street, where magnates brought capital” into a living reality witnessed by guests from around the world. The “City of Jade” and its dazzling radiance of pearls and gems have since become a captivating spectacle that earns admiration from visitors far and wide. (Baoshan)