Chinese Characters in Jade
| Symbol | Chinese | English | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 福 | fú | Good Luck / Blessing | One of the most important auspicious characters in Chinese culture. 福 means good fortune, blessings, happiness, and prosperity. It is often associated with having a fortunate and fulfilling life. |
| 財 | cái |
Wealth |
Can also be translated as "good fortune." Represents wealth, financial prosperity, and material abundance. 財 is particularly associated with attracting or preserving financial success. |
| 康 | kāng | Health | Means health, well-being, and physical vitality. It is commonly associated with wishing someone a healthy and peaceful life. |
| 囍 | xǐ | Double Happiness | Two 喜 characters joined together. Traditionally associated with marriage and marital happiness, but more broadly symbolizes joy, happiness, and auspicious celebration. |
| 安 | ān | Peace | Means peace, safety, security, and tranquility. As a jade symbol, it can express a wish for a peaceful, safe, and harmonious life. |
| 愛 | ài | Love | Means love, affection, and devotion. It can represent romantic love, familial love, or deep emotional connection. |
| 壽 | shòu | Longevity | One of the most recognizable auspicious symbols in Chinese art. 壽 specifically represents longevity, long life, and the wish for many healthy years. |
| 長壽 | cháng shòu | Long Life | Literally means “long longevity” or “long life.” It expresses a direct wish for a long and healthy life and is especially associated with birthday and longevity celebrations. |
Many customers recognize 玉 as the symbol for jade, but not everyone realizes that this symbol is assigned to a number of beautiful stones such as quartz, serpentine, and other aggregates as you'll see below.
The Jewels of the Trade Discord community has put together a list of characters commonly seen on Chinese gemstone certs, so we're sharing that here in case anyone finds this helpful:
| Symbol | Jade Gemstone | Explained |
| 和田玉 | Nephrite Jade | This symbol is often translated "Hetian Jade," but isn't necessarily an indicator of origin. We explain this complicated nomenclature on the blog. |
| 翡翠 | Fei Cui (also called jadeite jade or pyroxene jade) |
This is kind of a long story, but you can read a press release about our use of the term fei cui here. If you want to better understand the terms "fei cui" and "jade" and "jadeite," we recommend reading Lotus Gemology's Broken Bangle: The Blunder-Besmirched History of Jade Nomenclature available for free download. |
| Symbol | Non-Jade Gemstone | Explained |
| 独山玉 | Dushan Jade | This stone has historical signifance, especially pertaining to statuary but not jewelry. This stone is not jadeite jade or nephrite jade. It’s comprised of anorthite, hornblende, and zoisite. |
| 玛瑙 | Agate | Microcrystalline quartz rated 7 on the Moh's hardness scale. Can be differentiated from jade by it's banding, and with refractive index testing. |
| 东陵玉 | Aventurine Quartz | Also a quartz rated 7 on the Moh's hardness scale. Can be differentiated from jade by it's mica inclusions, and with refractive index testing. |
| 玉髓 | Chalcedony | Microcrystalline quartz rated 7 on the Moh's hardness scale. Can be differentiated from jade by with refractive index testing. |
| 岫玉 | Serpentine | A common simulant of nephrite jade, with a hardness of 3 - 6 on the Moh's Scale of Mineral Hardness. Can be differentiated from jade conclusively with refractive index testing, but many customers can differentiate them easily by examining luster and hardness as well. |
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