Three-question Jade Watermelon uncovers mystery

In the Qing Dynasty, people already knew and widely used tourmaline. Why did the name “Jadeuihui” appear to be somewhat confusing? Cixi likes tourmaline. Where does a large amount of tourmaline come from? According to legend, “Jade Green Jade” comes from the Kunlun Mountains, is it possible to produce it from China’s Xinjiang? With these questions, we asked Dr. Wang Chunyun to solve this mystery.

How to confuse tourmaline and jade?

Qilu Evening News: The history of the use of tourmalines in our country is not later than the Ming Dynasty. The term "biyu" first appeared in the Qing Dynasty. **Learning everyone Zhang Hongyu's "Shi Ya" said: "The name of Pyrenees, China's nationality, is unknown." "The Qing Code Pictorial" cloud: The dome is made of Pyrenean. Xia Bi has a Bixia Temple and a beautiful blue wash; "Yu Ji" also serves as Bixia Xi. Today people call it Bi Ya, or make it Bi Bi, but no one has asked for the origin of the name, but only for foreign dialects. There is no doubt about the ear.” From the “Ai Yue Xuan Notes”, the Archives of the Qing Dynasty House of Internal Affairs, and the Palace Archives of the Qing Dynasty, “Putuo Jin Jing An Account”, we can see that at that time, people had a clear understanding of the tourmaline. Why do people think of "Baiwei watermelon" as jade in the late Qing Dynasty?

Wang Chunyun: At the end of the Qing Dynasty, it was said that the two-color tourmaline was the reason for the "Jade Watermelon". "Emerald Watermelon" and "Jade Melon" are unique names for the tourmaline with such special optical characteristics in the Qing Dynasty. It is unique in Chinese history. I consulted a lot of information and found that there was no title for "Jade of watermelon" or "Jade melon" in the historical documents before or after the late Qing Dynasty. Therefore, “Jade of Jade Watermelon” or “Jade Melon” is a unique title of the Cixi era. It is worth noting that the gemological data of the United States also directly named the green tourmaline or the green tourmaline tourmaline as “watermelon tourma-line”. I think that this is probably the direct cause of the late Qing Dynasty's visit to the United States by the Qing court as the top two-color combination of the United States called "Watermelon" or "Melon."

In addition, the color of the bicolor tourmaline is very similar to the red and green colors of the emerald bird feather. Although not the same material as Jadeite, there are similarities in color. At that time, Western modern science was introduced to China soon, and people would not analyze and identify gemstones from the optical and chemical components of minerals. Only by feeling, they are named after their feeling of the translucent aesthetic characteristics of tourmaline. In this context, the occasional concept of “Jadeuihui” is different. It is not sufficient to describe the rare treasures in the world with the “emerald” concept with the meaning of red and green bird feather colors. Strange.

Until today, this "blurry" naming approach still exists, because ordinary people are pursuing the gem of a jewel, but not strictly academic definition. For example, the green spots in Guangdong's Duan Duo are still referred to as "Jade", and the cuizhong ornaments in Anhui Province that are produced in Anhui are also known as "Jade". All these indicate that even if the "Jade" concept was officially completed from the early Qing Dynasty, when it was officially transformed from finger bird (feather) to finger jade, it began to be clearly referred to as the green jade from Myanmar, but the concept can still be widely used by people. Used to call other green beauty stones and even meteorite.

Where does a large amount of tourmaline come from?

Qilu Evening News: In the Qing Dynasty, Tourmaline had also used the top garlands for the production of first- and second-grade officials. It was also used to make royal beads worn by royalty and officials. Especially in the era of Empress Dowager Cixi, tourmaline has received unprecedented attention in China. Where do so many tourmalines come from? Where did Empress Cixi’s Emerald Watermelon come from?

Wang Chunyun: From the Ming Dynasty to the early Qing Dynasty and the middle Qing Dynasty, the tourmalines of Yunnan and Myanmar had been introduced into the royal family. However, from the time of Empress Dowager Cixi, the number and quality of royals used by the royal family suddenly increased, reaching a peak in Chinese history. This has a lot to do with the tourmaline mine discovered in San Diego, California since the 1880s. As a matter of fact, the tourmalines used by the Qing court in the Empress Dowager era, especially the “Jade Watermelon,” and the “Jade Melon,” were basically all imported from the United States. According to the tourmaline trade materials provided by the San Diego Natural History Museum in the United States, from the year 1902 to 1908 in the second year after the Gengshi Incident, Empress Dowager Ci Xi made the court office in the United States to purchase more than 10 tons of tourmaline every year. Among them, the majority of pink tourmalines were used. By the time the Qing Dynasty was overthrown in 1911, the total purchase volume reached 120 tons. Therefore, it can be said that the vast number of tourmalines used by the Empress Dowager Cixi are almost all from California.

Most of the purchases of American tourmalines by Empress Dowager Cixi were conducted by the famous Tiffany & Co. company, and the tourmaline gemstones were mostly certified by the gemologist J.L. Tannenberg. The two-color combination unique to "Emerald Watermelon" was only available at the Bibi mine in San Diego. Therefore, there is no doubt that Empress Cixi's “Jade Watermelon” comes from San Diego, USA.

Located in the Great Mesa Plains of California in the United States, the Ibaralaya tourmaline mine was known in the late 19th century. From the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century, most of the tourmaline mined at the Ibara Yai mine was exported to China for the court of Empress Dowager Cixi. As the Manchu dynasty was overthrown in the 1911 Revolution, the dynasty's luxury life also ended. As a result, the Iraqi barite mine's tourmaline product was sluggish due to the Chinese market, and the mine was forced to close. Until recently, the mine was redeveloped. The tourmaline mine in California was discovered in the western gold rush in the late 19th century. We know that the Westernization Movement promoted in the late Qing Dynasty encouraged Chinese laborers to enter the United States. In the development of the Western Gold Rush and the development of California's tourmaline mines, Chinese laborers are all present. After the miserable lessons of the Gengzi incident, Cixi intended to improve relations with the United States. Under this background, the Qing court spent countless silver and imported a large number of luxury gemstones, which objectively enhanced the prosperity of California at that time and also improved the Sino-U.S. relations. relationship.

Is it produced domestically?

Qilu Evening News: There is also a saying circulating on the Internet: “Jade Watermelon” is naturally produced in the Kunlun Mountain. Would it be that people at the time misunderstood the tourmaline material from Xinjiang as “Jade Watermelon”? Many regions in the world produce tourmaline. The tourmaline produced in Xinjiang, China, is crystal clear and has a variety of colors. It seems that there are green watermelon seeds in the interior. Or is it true that "Jade of Jade Watermelon" is produced in Xinjiang?

Wang Chunyun: "The 'Jade of the Jade Watermelon' is produced on the Kunlun Mountains. This is just a conjecture and legend. It is not a serious research result. This statement contains two paradoxes. If we think that "Jadeuihui" is an emerald, then we know that Kunlun Mountain or Xinjiang is actually not producing jade. If we think that "Jadeuihui" is a tourmaline, then the same reason, the Kunlun Mountains actually produce no tourmaline. The mining area of ​​Bijing in Xinjiang is located in the Altay region in the north of Xinjiang. This was known as Beishan in ancient times and was far away from the Kunlun Mountains in southern Xinjiang. The Kunlun Mountains produced neither tourmaline nor jadeite. In the Qing Dynasty, the names of the two mountains were clearly distinguished and generally not confused.

Although the tourmaline produced in Altay, Xinjiang, is very famous, it has never been found as a combination of shapes and colors like watermelon. In addition, the production of tourmalines in Xinjiang began from the era of **, because the mining of tourmaline mines must have relatively modern mining equipment. Without a certain amount of modern tools and equipment, it is impossible to carry out large-scale mining.