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Jade & Ornamental Stone Fair in Qingdao :: May 17th - May 26th, 2008 |
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Qingdao Jade & Ornamental Stone Fair :: May 17th - 26th, 2008
The event being held at Qingdao Cultural & Antique Market (Street) from May 17th through May 26th, features Jade and Ornamental Stones from all over China.
The Chinese value jade not only because of its beauty, but more importantly due to its historical culture, meaning, and value to humanity. As Confucius (551 BC - 479 BC) said, there are 11 De (virtues) in jade:
'The wise have likened jade to virtue. For them, its polish and brilliancy represent the whole of purity; its perfect compactness and extreme hardness represent the sureness of intelligence; its angles, which do not cut, although they seem sharp, represent justice; the pure and prolonged sound, which it gives forth when one strikes it, represents music. Its color represents loyalty; its interior flaws, always showing themselves through the transparency, call to mind sincerity; its iridescent brightness represents heaven; its admirable substance, born of mountain and of water, represents the earth. Used alone without ornamentation it represents chastity. The price that the entire world attaches to it represents the truth." To support these comparisons, the Book of Verse says: "When I think of a wise man, his merits appear to be like jade."
Jade is cherished in Chinese culture, and this is reflected in the Chinese saying (黄金有价玉无价: Huang Jin You Jia Yu Wu Jia) which means "Gold has a value; jade is invaluable."
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