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- jade required labour intensive projects to mine the jade, and the mining methods were often quite destructive to the jade material.
For centuries jade had been sought from the Khotan rivers, Yurungkash and Karakash, and by the time of Qianlong these rivers had become somewhat deple�ted of good jade due to over-collecting. The Zarafshan River, which serves the city of Yarkand, was investigated for jade with gratifying results. And from this time on�wards, Yarkand became the main source of jade, replacing the traditional jade sources of Khotan.17
The jade tribute from Khotan and Yarkand, which was collected twice a year, in the spring and autumn, took five to six months to arrive in Beijing, and each year it exceeded 4,000 catties of jade. This is confirmed by records in the Qing archives. For example, in 1771 twelve pieces of tribute jade, weighing some 4,044 catties were brought to the palace, and in 1779 it is recorded that 18,143 large and small pieces were presented.18
If the jade tribute was actually some 4,000 catties each year, then during the 52 years of Phase II the total would have amounted to something like 200,000 catties of tribute jade received by the palace. However, the actual amount received was probably far greater than this, because the palace often made special requests for additional jade besides the annual tribute jade.19
Extra jade material was often requested for sonorous stones (te qing), which were used in imperial orchestras and Confucian ceremonies, and for the making of jade books. The sonorous stones were roughly a metre in length and shaped like a carpenter�s square. The block, from which they were carved, had to be rather large and free from flaws to ensure a perfect tone. A single piece of boulder jade was more suitable for this purpose than the often imperfect quarried jade.20
The making of jade books, each consisting of a varying number of slabs, also required large pieces of jade from which the slabs could be cut.21
As soon as the jade tribute from Khotan and Yarkand reached the palace, it was sent to the Bureau of Works, where it was weighed and divided into five grades according to the quality, so that its final use could be determined. Designs were immediately made and several pieces selected for them. The remaining pieces of jade were placed in imperial storehouses for later use. The lower grade jade was disposed of in a number of ways. Some pieces, which had too many flaws to make fine carvings, were shown to Qianlong, who gave permission to have them handed over to one of the palace departments to be sold. The money, which was raised from the sale, was put towards paying the transportation costs involved in bringing the jade from Xinjiang to Beijing. This poorer quality jade would circulate in the city and be carved in local jade workshops outside the palace.
Another method of disposing of the lower grade jade was to send it to various places in the empire, such as the Imperial Silkworks in Suzhou22 and the Salt Ad�ministration of Lianghuai, who were then expected to act as intermediaries in sel�ling the jade. The Imperial Household would set the prices in advance and these places would have the task of selling the jade. The prices varied according to the quality. For example, second rate river jade was to sell at 1 tael 3 qian of silver per catty, third rate river jade was 1 tael of silver per catty, fourth rate river jade was 8 qian of silver per catty, and fifth rate river jade was 5 qian of silver per catty.23 The Imperial Household gave the local officials a free hand in fixing the prices. What it cared about was that the proceeds derived from the sale should be transmitted to the court at the end of the year. Failure to transmit the fixed sum, or reluctance to take the jade material, made one subject to censure and punishment.
With regards to the fine quality jade material, after designs were made for them,
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