As early as the Stone Age, people began to beautify their lives with stone ornaments. For example, the caveman in Zhoukoudian, Beijing, dyed and processed stone beads and shells into a string of ornaments (ancient necklaces) to wear on his body for decoration, marking the birth of stone ornaments and the origin of gem industry. In the middle and late Neolithic period, with the development of social productive forces, a large number of stone tools, jade articles and gemstone handicrafts were produced, such as beads, rings, pendants and bracelets made of jade and turquoise, which made gemstones start to move towards independent industries. This period is represented by Liangzhu culture in Zhejiang and Hongshan Culture in Inner Mongolia, and its workmanship and shape are extremely exquisite. Jade materials are mostly serpentine jade and blue white jade.
During the Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties, jade was widely used, including "from the emperor to Shu Ren, no one did not wear jade". More than 700 pieces of jade unearthed from the female tomb in Yinxu, Anyang, Henan Province more than 3,000 years ago include various ritual vessels such as Zhang, Bi, Gui, Huan, Zhu, Jun, Dao and Ge. The jade craft of Shang dynasty has reached a high level, and its shape is vivid and accurate. At this time, the jade material is characterized by the growth of Hetian jade to a certain extent, using pearls and Tianhe stone.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, gem varieties, raw materials and processing industries all developed. For example, raw materials include chalcedony, hetian jade, xiuyan jade, dushan jade, agate, malachite, crystal and so on. Personalize jade, such as "a gentleman is better than jade, and the authenticity of jade is judged by virtue." This shows that the jade culture in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period has a far-reaching influence on the cultural development of the Chinese nation.
After Qin Shihuang destroyed the six countries and unified the whole country, he abandoned the previous ritual system and jade system, leaving almost no jade except the jade seal. The jade industry was greatly damaged, and the Qin dynasty was the decline period of jade.
Han Dynasty is a turning point in the history of gemstone industry in China. It changed the policy of destroying jade industry in Qin dynasty, and tried to restore the tradition of valuing jade in Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, so as to revitalize and develop jade industry. For example, during the Eastern Han Dynasty, Nanyang established a jade production base, with more elaborate craft patterns, and the utilization of chalcedony and agate reached its peak.
During the Jin Dynasty (3rd century A.D.), Indian (Tianzhu) diamonds were introduced into China, which promoted the exchange of gems and gem knowledge at home and abroad. With the rise of Taoism, it is popular to block people's nine points with jade plugs to prevent corpses from rotting.
During the Tang and Song Dynasties, with the development of economy and culture, the gem industry was further prosperous. "The Book of the Tang Dynasty" records: "Dezong ascended the throne, leaving jade and other things to Anxi to seek jade in the field, and getting hundreds of pounds of sapphire and other treasures." "History of the Five Dynasties" has: "Tubo women wear rustling pearls in their braids, and yunzhu is good, and a pearl makes a good horse." Ruby and sapphire (Baoli) were unearthed from the silver jar in the hejia village gold and silver cellar in the Tang Dynasty in the suburb of Xi, and there are also records of the collection of opal and other precious stones by the Tang emperor in unofficial history. In the jade industry, in addition to the production of traditional ornaments, with the wide application of precious metals, there have also been many developments in gold, silver, jade and precious jewelry, such as the silvery jade unearthed in the Southern Tang Dynasty and the jade flower ornaments in the Song Dynasty. It is also a characteristic of this period to provide stationery such as jade inkstone, paperweight, pen washing, ink bed and jade articles engraved with Buddhist scriptures. During the Southern Song Dynasty, there were private transactions of precious stones and jade commodities, such as jade vases, crystals and precious stones sold by Qibao Society in Hangzhou (Lin 'an). Since the Tang Dynasty, the inkstone industry, which is regarded as a branch of gem and jade crafts in a broad sense, has developed. For example, Duanzhou inkstone mining began in the Tang Wude period. Li Yu, the queen of the Southern Tang Dynasty, once set up a Jiupin inkstone official in Zhangzhou, responsible for the production and tribute of inkstones.
During the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, the gem industry developed greatly, and the production, trade and literary works flourished unprecedentedly. Large jade carvings have appeared, such as the "Mountain Jade Sea" in the Yuan Dynasty. All kinds of marine animals on the relief are lifelike, and more than 3000 kilograms of jade are used. Yushanzi, the "Dayu Water Control" in Qing Dynasty, weighed 5000 kilograms. These handicrafts reflect that the mining, identification and carving techniques of jade articles at that time have reached a new level. Vigorously develop domestic and foreign raw materials, especially during the Qianlong period, the gem industry was further revitalized, and the large-scale jade carving Yushanzi was the product of this period. At that time, nearly a thousand people mined agate in Fuxin, Liaoning. On April 8, 4 1 year, Qianlong shipped back 6 pieces of jade materials from Xinjiang, weighing more than 30,000 kilograms. Private businessmen are also common. Burmese jadeite began to be imported from Yunnan to China in large quantities, which soon set off a "jade fever". Seal cutting began to develop into a folk society, and valuable varieties were constantly discovered. Among them, Shoushan stone in Fujian, Qingtian stone and feldspar stone in Zhejiang, and Bahrain stone in Inner Mongolia are of high value. Gems and jade works have also increased to a certain extent.
From the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, the gem industry changed from closed to open, and the variety of gem stone and its finished products expanded. The processing technology has absorbed the experience of Europe and America, mastered the methods of inlay and extrusion of precious stones and diamonds, and a number of outstanding talents have emerged in Beijing, Shanghai, Henan and Hubei. Zhang's Shi Ya (192 1 year) and Gemmology (1930) are the most influential academic researches on gemology.
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the gemstone industry has developed rapidly, especially in the past decade, and great achievements have been made in exploration, mining, processing technology, process improvement, synthetic production, scientific research, education and training.
Market trends at home and abroad show that people's demand for gem decorations and handicrafts is increasing year by year. According to statistics, since the 1980s, the turnover of the world Growth Enterprise Market has increased by more than 10% every year, and individual varieties have increased by more than 30% every year. In some countries, the gem industry accounts for 60% of the gross national product, becoming an important means of production and livelihood, and also a new economic growth point in China.