China, well known in the world as "The Home of Jade" has a 7000-year history of jade carving. In Ancient times, the Chinese highly valued jade not only for its intrinsic beauty but also for its mystical allure. The rulers believed it to be a symbol of wealth and power and used it as a personal ornament, a sacrificial and ritual implement and as funerary object to exorcise evil spirits. Therefore, the natural properties of jade held both personal and moral significance. 

In the pre-historical period, the craft of carving jade was of a high level, showing a sophistication in the selection of material and decorative design as well as the great skill in lapidary carving and polishing. During the Xia, Shang and Western Zhou dynasties (21st century - 221 BC), jade ritual vessels became fully developed. The Spring and Autumn Period (770 - 476 BC), the Warring States Period (475 - 221 BC) and the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC - 24 AD) saw the prevalence of sets of jade pendants in various shapes. There was a decline of jade carving in the period from the Eastern Han Dynasty (25 - 220) to the Northern and Southern Dynasties (386 - 589), but during the Tang (618 - 907) and Song (960 - 1279) dynasties there was a revival and tendency to more secularized carving. The Liao and Jin (907 - 1234) jades uniquely reflected the life and times of the national minorities. Jade as a whole became more popular in the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties (1279 - 1911). Qing jades were of a larger size and more complicated in their craftsmanship.

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