China began to produce jade articles from primitive society, and gradually formed an independent specialty, mostly concentrated in Guiji and Du Yi. From Song Dynasty to Qing Dynasty, Suzhou became the national jade manufacturing center. Because of the high hardness of jade, special tools and methods are needed for processing, so the processing process generally includes several processes, such as material selection, sample drawing, sawing, blank making, drilling, refining, light pressing and carving. Ancient jade also needs to increase the processes of "disability" and "burning ancient jade". Jade modeling is more complex, and it has been able to polish the patterns of yin line, yang line, flat convex, hidden geometric shape and animal shape, with simple and naive style. Jade articles in Shang and Zhou dynasties are characterized by simple images, prominent expressions, hidden decorative details with double hooks, and beautiful jade articles. Jade articles in Qin and Han dynasties tend to be bold and unrestrained in style. The hidden place of Han jade is often engraved with subtle yinxian, which is as strong as wandering in ancient paintings to make up for its weak three-dimensional sense. This is a characteristic of jade techniques in Han dynasty, which has a far-reaching influence on jade in later generations.

Appreciation depends first on the quality of jade, and then on whether its color is pure. The quality and color of a high-quality jade are often the same. For example, white jade with suet not only refers to its whiteness, but also its texture should be as fat and shiny as suet, and its whiteness is as unique as suet with slight bluish white. The identification of jadeite depends on five characteristics: strong (rich), bright (bright), beautiful (beautiful in color), positive (pure) and soft. If it is all, it is the top grade. On the other hand, if jade is shallow (dull), turbid (dull), old (dark in color), impure (impure) and oblique (incongruous), it is inferior. Don't choose jade under strong light, because light irradiation will make jade lose its original color. Common fake jade is plastic, glass, marble and electro-colored. Plastic and marble are lighter than jade and have poor hardness; Colored glass has bubbles; Electro-colored fake jade is painted with a beautiful and dazzling emerald appearance on inferior jade, which is difficult to identify at first glance, but careful observation will reveal that electro-colored inferior jade often has some "spider claws", that is, small cracks with blue in green.

Chen Xing, a collector and connoisseur of ancient jade in Ming and Qing Dynasties, wrote Jade Story. Wu Dacheng, a epigraphist in the late Qing Dynasty, compiled a Textual Research on Ancient Jade under the guidance of Zhou Li and other ancient books in the pre-Qin period, which was regarded as a standard by academic circles.