Follow a material or symbol from the name people use to a documented object—and the source behind it.
Sources checked 28 October 2026 · Specialist review of four guides reported by the site owner
Search names in English, Chinese or pinyin. Choose a category to narrow the list.
9 records
软玉 / 翡翠 · ruǎnyù / fěicuì
Two materials commonly called jade: compare names, structure and hardness without treating appearance as authentication.
和田玉 · Hétián yù
A place name, a material name and a market term overlap—but answer different questions.
菩提子 / 菩提根 / 星月 · pútízǐ / pútí gēn / xīngyuè
Bodhi is a family of bead names in trade and practice, not a guarantee that every bead came from one tree.
如意 · rúyì
Ruyi can name a wish and a scepter. Compare two museum objects before assigning one fixed meaning to every curved motif.
玉 · yù
Jade (nephrite) · 13th–12th century BCE · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
牛首玉人 · niú shǒu yù rén
Jade (nephrite) · c. 4700–2920 BCE · The Cleveland Museum of Art
如意 · rúyì
Cloisonné enamel with gilt-bronze medallions · 18th–19th century · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
如意 · rúyì
Gold, turquoise, silk · Qianlong reign, 1736–1796; presented in 1783 · Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art
Compare gemstone scratch resistance and its limits using the Mohs scale.
Explore the gemstone hardness chart →Explore how different sources use names for dragon images and dragon sons.
Compare lists of Chinese dragons →Read cultural motifs through their names, settings and original records.
Each object is linked to its museum record. A catalogue entry documents that object, not every object with a similar appearance.
玉 yù
A small coiling dragon carved in nephrite, catalogued by The Met.
The attribution describes this object; it does not identify another object or establish a single meaning for all dragon pendants.
View the museum record
牛首玉人 niú shǒu yù rén
A nephrite figure tentatively associated with Hongshan culture.
The museum describes the cultural attribution as probable; the original meaning is not established by shape alone.
View the museum record如意 rúyì
A Chinese ruyi scepter in cloisonné enamel and gilt bronze.
A dated scepter is not proof of the origin or universal meaning of every ruyi-shaped design.
View the museum record如意 rúyì
A scepter with turquoise bats and peaches, recorded as a gift to the Qianlong emperor.
Provenance research is underway. The website states usage conditions apply to the image; no image is reproduced here.
View the museum recordMaterial identity, a historic object and a traditional interpretation are different kinds of evidence. We show the source and its limits alongside each claim.
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