A Story of Jade

The Chinese regard jade as both sacred and divine. It has played an integral role in Chinese society and culture for thousands of years. To the ancient Chinese, it embodied the qualities of nobility, perfection and immortality. Even today, many believe the gemstone confers good health and great fortune upon anyone who wears it.

When I was in college in the early eighties (around the time the earth's crust cooled!) I had a dear friend named Ha Lin Chiu. Ha Lin was born in Hong Kong, and I remember that she always wore a beautiful polished jade bracelet. The deep green bracelet was a gift from her mother. (As an aside, I also remember Ha Lin's mother giving her a bottle opener to bring to Canada - perhaps because her daughter was traveling to a hinterland where such things might not be readily available. Come to think of it, I have a cork-screw and a few other 'necessities' packed in my suitcase - because 'you never know what will be available in China'. The irony that almost 90% of what we are bringing to China was actually made in China has not been lost on me! )

But back to jade.... Ha Lin and a few other friends have provided me with stories about the protective qualities of jade. These stories and anecdotes all traveled along a similar path :

"A story about my mother: When I was a child in Hong Kong, she, a passionate collector, wore a jadeite amulet as a pendant around her neck. Steep staircases were common in Chinese buildings in the sixties. One day my mother fell down one of these long flights of stairs. Amazingly she emerged unharmed, except for a few bruises on her arm and leg. The amulet though smashed into pieces. Jade's toughness exceeds that of a diamond - 50 tons of pressure must be applied in order to break one cubic inch. We believed that the jade pendant deflected bad fortune away from my mother and allowed itself to be broken in her place..." ( An excerpt from 'The Black Book - Beijing')

In the photographs of our daughter Maya, she is wearing two tiny bracelets made of jade. These gifts of love, and protection, were made by her foster mother's hands. Maya's 'sister' Olivia wears similar bracelets. If I ever required proof that Maya is loved by her foster mother, proof I have been given. I am sure that these bracelets will count amongst Maya's most treasured possessions.