As we look at the pieces on display, Jim notices a cicada-shaped brown-and-green jadeite from the Han dynasty (206 B.C.E.-220 C.E.).

“What was that used for? Decoration?”

“No,” I try to explain. “You know, I’m sure, that cicada larvae live underground for four years and then emerge to become adult cicadas. So the ancient Chinese used it as a symbol of rebirth. From long before the time of Christ, they followed the custom of putting a cicada-shaped piece of jade in the mouth of the deceased, which they thought would prevent the body from decaying. They did this because they believed in the reincarnation of the immortal soul. But apart from that, to know about the cicada’s life cycle, they must have been astute students of nature, don’t you think?”

“Since ancient times,” I explain, “Confucian and Taoist thinking has idealized certain moral virtues, and jade has been looked upon as a fitting symbol of them. Confucius extolled its virtues this way: ‘It is soft, smooth and shining​—like intelligence. Its edges seem sharp but do not cut​—like justice. It hangs down to the ground​—like humility. When struck, it gives a clear, ringing sound​—like music. The strains in it are not hidden and add to its beauty​—like truthfulness.’ What imagination!”

Because jade was believed to symbolize these virtues, it was much admired and used by anyone who aspired to be the ‘perfect gentleman.’ He would wear pendants of jade around his waist, and the tinkling tones produced when he walked would regulate his gait. If he should become agitated or unseemingly hasty​—by all means to be avoided by a true gentleman—​the discordant jangle would remind him of his lapse from proper demeanor. This perhaps casts a little light on the mistaken notion of the ‘inscrutable Oriental.’ In reality, Orientals just consider it ill mannered to display their emotions openly!