Ancient Jade Collecting 101: Why Not Every Masterpiece is Made of Hetian Jade
古玉收藏必修：傳世精品不全都是和田玉，各朝代玉料大不同！
Imagine holding a 3,000-year-old jade bi disc in your palm.
想像你正把一枚三千年前的玉璧捧在手心。
To modern eyes the first question is almost automatic: “Is this Hetian (和田) jade?”
在現代人的眼中，第一個問題幾乎脫口而出：「這是和田玉嗎？」
The short answer is: sometimes, but very often—no.
簡短的答案是：有時候是，但更多時候——並不是。
China’s ancient lapidaries never enjoyed our modern mineral charts.
中國古代的玉匠們手上並沒有我們今日的礦物分類表。
To them any beautiful stone that could be carved, polished, and warmed by a human hand counted as yu (玉).
對他們而言，任何可以雕琢、拋光並被人手溫潤的美麗石頭，都叫「玉」。
What we now call Hetian nephrite—tremolite-actinolite of creamy white or spinach-green—was only one actor on a crowded stage.
我們今日所謂的和田玉——奶白或菠菜綠的透閃石—陽起石——只是舞台上眾多角色之一。
Below is a dynasty-by-dynasty road map you can bookmark for your next museum visit or online auction hunt.
以下是一份按朝代劃分的導覽圖，你可以收藏起來，下次逛博物館或線上拍賣時拿出來對照。
1. The Age of Anything-Goes: Neolithic to Early Zhou (c. 3300–256 BCE)
一、什麼都能叫玉的時代：新石器至西周早期（約西元前3300–256年）
Archaeological digs from the Liangzhu culture (良渚文化, 3300–2300 BCE) show jades carved from local tremolite, but also serpentine, dolomitic marble, even jasper.
良渚文化（西元前3300–2300年）的考古發掘顯示，當時的玉器除了透閃石，還用蛇紋石、白雲石大理岩甚至碧玉。
Colors were a riot: chalky white, spinach green, ink black, honey yellow.
顏色五花八門：粉白、菠菜綠、墨黑、蜜蠟黃。
In the Shang capital Yin Xu (殷墟), craftsmen loved Nanyang jade from Henan—an earthy green stone shot with cloudy veins—and Xiuyan serpentine from Liaoning, famous for its ivory-beige “chicken-bone” tint.
商代首都殷墟的工匠偏愛河南南陽玉——一種帶雲狀紋的樸實綠石——以及遼寧岫岩蛇紋石，以象牙白「雞骨白」聞名。
Turquoise beads were sewn onto royal garments, while talc, soapstone, and crystal filled supporting roles.
綠松石珠子縫在王袍上，滑石、皂石與水晶也擔任配角。
The guiding rule was simple: if the mountain nearby produced a workable stone, it ended up on the cutting table.
當時的規矩很簡單：只要附近山裡有可雕的石頭，就能上桌。
2. The Han Obsession: Hetian Jade’s First Golden Hour (206 BCE–220 CE)
二、漢代的狂熱：和田玉的第一次黃金時代（西元前206–220年）
By the Western Han, camel caravans had linked the Tarim Basin with Chang’an.
到了西漢，駱駝商隊已把塔里木盆地與長安連成一線。
For the first time, large blocks of creamy white Hetian nephrite reached the Central Plains.
首批大塊奶白色和田玉山料首次進入中原。
Kings and nobles treated the material like bullion: they hoarded it, flaunted it, and carved it into funerary suits stitched with gold thread.
王侯將相把這些料子當成金條：囤積、炫耀，並製成金縷玉衣。
Yet even at this peak, Hetian jade accounted for only about half of the total output.
然而即便在高峰時期，和田玉也只佔總產量的一半左右。
Lantian jade from Shaanxi and Xiuyan nephrite still satisfied the lower rungs of the market.
陝西藍田玉與岫岩軟玉仍供應中低市場。
3. Tang Swagger: When Utility Beat Perfection (618–907 CE)
三、唐代的豪邁：實用打敗完美（618–907年）
Walk through Tang-era showcases and you’ll notice something odd: the jade looks…tired.
走進唐代展櫃，你會發現一件怪事：玉器看起來……有點「疲」。
Surfaces are matte rather than mirror-bright, edges are soft, and colors favor spinach greens over snowy whites.
表面是啞光而非鏡亮，邊緣柔軟，顏色偏菠菜綠而非雪白。
The Tang aesthetic prized spontaneity; a belt plaque carved from a pebble still showing river skin was considered more chic than a flawless slab.
唐人審美崇尚自然；保留河磨皮的腰帶玉牌，比無瑕玉板更時髦。
Hetian supply had dipped during the Tang, so artisans cheerfully filled gaps with Xiuyan, Nanyang, even agate.
唐代和田玉供應下降，工匠便樂得用岫岩、南陽甚至瑪瑙補位。
4. Song Minimalism: Less is More, but Quality is Patchy (960–1279 CE)
四、宋代的簡約：少即是多，但品質參差（960–1279年）
Song tombs yield few jades, and those that surface show two extremes: museum-grade white Hetian cups thin as paper, and muddy grey pebbles hurriedly incised with floral motifs.
宋墓出土玉器稀少，現身的只有兩種極端：薄如蟬翼的博物館級和田白玉杯，以及匆匆刻上花卉的灰濁卵石。
Why the drought? The Silk Road was choked by rival kingdoms.
為何如此匱乏？絲路被諸國割據。
When Hetian did arrive, Song craftsmen lavished attention on it—proof that scarcity can sharpen taste.
和田玉一旦到手，宋人便精雕細琢——證明稀缺能磨利品味。
5. Ming: The Rise of the Crafty Middle Class (1368–1644 CE)
五、明代：中產階級的玉雕革命（1368–1644年）
The Ming court closed the northwest frontier; Hetian caravans now detoured through Mongol middlemen.
明代閉關西北，和田玉需繞道蒙古。
As high-grade stone trickled to Suzhou workshops, a new clientele emerged: scholars, merchants, and retired officials who wanted a zi-gang plaque without emptying the family vault.
高級玉料流入蘇州作坊的同時，新客群誕生：想要子岡牌又不想破產的士人、商人與退休官員。
The result was a creative free-for-all: Hetian white might appear on the face of a brush rest, while the base was carved from cheaper Xiuyan or even soapstone.
結果是一場創意大亂鬥：筆架正面用和田白玉，底座卻用廉價岫岩甚至壽山石。
Patina, not pedigree, sold the piece.
賣的是包漿，不是血統。
6. Qing Grand Finale: When the Emperor Owned the Mountain (1644–1912 CE)
六、清代大結局：當皇帝擁有整座山（1644–1912年）
The Qianlong Emperor (r. 1735–1796) treated the Kunlun mines like his private ATM.
乾隆皇帝（1735–1796在位）把崑崙礦當私人提款機。
Imperial workshops received color-coded boulders:
內務府收到的原石按色標分類：
- Snow-white river pebbles from the Yurungkash (白玉河) became palace bowls with russet skins left intact.
白玉河的雪白籽料做成宮碗，保留紅褐色外皮。 - Celadon blocks from the Mirawdar (密爾岱) mine—cracked but huge—were carved into panoramic mountainscapes that cleverly turned flaws into waterfalls.
密爾岱的青色山料塊度大卻多綹裂，被雕成山子，裂縫化作瀑布。 - Jet-black stones from the Karakash (墨玉河) supplied inkstones and archaic bronze-form censers.
墨玉河的墨黑籽料供應硯台與仿古青銅形香爐。
For the first time, every color in the nephrite spectrum was on full parade.
透閃石的整個色譜首次大閱兵。
Yet even now, palace records note deliveries of “Lantian white,” “Nanyang green,” and “Xiuyan yellow,” proving that the emperor’s monopoly was never absolute.
然而宮廷檔案仍記錄「藍田白」、「南陽綠」、「岫岩黃」的進貢，證明皇權壟斷並非滴水不漏。
7. Collector’s Toolkit: How to Read the Stone
七、收藏工具箱：如何讀懂石頭
- Look beyond the label. A Qing plaque labeled “Hetian” may only be Hetian on the front—flip it over for the surprise.
別被標籤綁架：清代「和田玉」牌，正面是和田，背面可能是岫岩。 - Study the skin. River-worn “skin” (皮) is prized, but desert varnish or earth staining can also be ancient.
研究皮殼：河磨皮受推崇，但沙漠漆或土沁也可能是古跡。 - Match color to dynasty. Snow-white jade is common in Han and Qing, rare in Tang; spinach green dominates Tang and Song; chicken-bone beige screams Shang.
顏色對朝代：雪白常見於漢、清，唐少見；菠菜綠稱霸唐、宋；雞骨白是商代特徵。 - Touch the tool marks. Pre-Han tools left coarse parallel scratches; Song cutters used tube drills that left circular whorls; Qing lapidaries achieved glass-smooth surfaces.
觸摸工痕：漢前粗平行痕，宋代管鑽圓旋痕，清代玻璃光。 - Accept imperfection. A hairline crack filled with red iron oxide might be a 2,000-year-old beauty mark, not a deal-breaker.
接受不完美：兩千年的紅沁裂紋是美人痣，而非瑕疵。
8. Final Word: Let the Stone Speak
八、結語：讓石頭說話
The next time you scroll past an online listing that shouts “GUARANTEED HETIAN,” pause and ask a deeper question:
下次你看到網頁標題大喊「保證和田玉」，先停一下，問更深的問題：
“Which dynasty, which mine, and what story does this color want to tell?”
「哪個朝代、哪座礦坑、這抹顏色想說什麼故事？」
Ancient jade is not a commodity; it is a time traveler.
古玉不是商品，而是時空旅人。
Listen carefully and you will hear the splash of a Tang river, the clang of a Ming workshop, the hush of a Qing palace.
仔細聆聽，你會聽見唐代的河水聲、明代的工坊敲擊、清宮的屏息。
Collect with humility, learn with curiosity, and remember: every stone has more than one name.
帶著謙卑收藏，帶著好奇學習，記得：每塊石頭都不只一個名字。
