Mr. He's jade
The Heshibi, often translated as Mr. He's jade, was a sacred ceremonial bi disk, also known as a jade annulus, which had an important role in Chinese history. First appearing during the mid–8th century BCE, it was cut into a ritual bi and recognized as an imperial treasure. The became the object of contention among the Warring States, stolen from Chu circa 4th century BCE, acquired by the Zhao, and temporarily traded to Qin in 283 BCE. When the Qin dynasty was founded in 221 BCE, the was carved into the Heirloom Seal of the Realm, symbol of the Mandate of Heaven, and subsequently transferred through successive Chinese dynasties until it was lost during the Five Dynasties era in the 10th century.
The early historicity of the stone is uncertain, though its great antiquity seems clear. The earliest mention of it is from the 3rd century BCE. The story of its finding is likely apocryphal. Whether it was turned into the Heirloom Seal of the Realm is also a matter of dispute. If it was turned into the seal, it was certainly lost by the time of the Ming dynasty. It has been used as a metaphor for a precious object since its earliest mentions.
Terminology
or . signified heavenly kingship in Zhou times, and were often used ceremonially as symbolic of a covenant or guarantee. The word can also be used to refer to jade in general. The is named after Bian He, the person who first discovered the jade stone.Bian He is a Chinese name, is the surname and is the given name. However, is also an uncommon surname and early texts refer to Bian He as both and, with the word. Some alternate names are, with the ancient variant character ;, with the unique variant pronounced in this name; and. Most scholars translate as "Mr. He" with suffixed, some as "Master He", and a few literally interpret and translate as "He Clan" or "He family".
Legends
The Chinese story of the has been retold and developed for over two millennia.''Hanfeizi''
The earliest extant account is the chapter of the classic, attributed to Han Fei. The version involves Mr. He presenting his jade to the first three "kings" of Chu state: "King Li of Chu" posthumously refers to Viscount Fenmao, his brother King Wu of Chu who was the first to style himself "king", and his son King Wen of Chu. Several commentaries say these three 8th-century BCE Chu rulers of Bian He should be three Zhou dynasty rulers: King Wu of Zhou, his father King Wen of Zhou, and King Cheng of Zhou.Once a man of Ch'u, named Pien Ho, came by an uncut jade in the Ch'u Hills. He brought it home and submitted it as a present to King Wu. Thereupon King Wu had a jeweller give an opinion of it. "It is an ordinary stone," said the jeweller. The King, regarding Ho as a liar, had his left foot cut off. Upon King Wu's death, King Wên ascended the throne, when Ho again submitted it as a present to King Wên. King Wên also had a jeweller give an opinion of it. Again he said, "It is an ordinary stone." The King, also regarding Ho as a liar, had his right foot cut off. When King Wên died and King Ch'êng ascended the throne, Ho, carrying the uncut jade in his arms, cried at the foot of the Ching Hills. After three days and three nights his tears were all exhausted and blood flowed out. At this news the King sent men out to ask him the reason, saying, "Throughout All-under-Heaven men whose feet were cut off are many. Why should you be crying so bitterly?" "I am lamenting not the loss of my feet," said Ho in reply, "but for the calling a precious gem an ordinary stone and for their dubbing an honest man a liar. This is the reason why I am lamenting." Meanwhile, the King had a jeweller polish up the jade and got the treasure out at last. So it was designated "the Jade of Pien Ho".
The subsequent Hanfeizi context criticizes contemporary rulers and recommends that a wise person who hopes to avoid punishment should not present a ruler any "uncut jewels of wisdom and statecraft".
Joseph P. Yap translates the Hanfeizi story with the three Chu kings Li, Wu, and Wen.
At around 8th century BCE, Bian He a jeweller from the kingdom of Chu discovered a piece of stone; he knew from experience that it was a piece of priceless jade. He presented the piece of stone to King Li of Chu,. The king thought the jeweller was trying to deceive him and had his left foot chopped off as a punishment. When the next king, King Wu of Chu ascended to the throne, Bian He again presented the piece of stone to the new king; this time, the king had his right foot chopped off as he also maintained that the jeweller was trying to deceive him. Bian He embracing his piece of stone cried for three days and three nights at the foothills of Jingshan Mountain. Much later, when King Wen of Chu ascended the throne the king sent someone to ask the jeweller why he was so adamant about his belief. He answered, 'This is a piece of priceless jade, and the two former kings regarded it as a useless piece of stone. I am not saddened by the loss of my feet, but I am distressed by the fact that a patriot is misconstrued as being wicked and evil." then asked a jade expert to cut open the stone, and it transpired that it was indeed a piece of priceless jade. Legend has it that it was pure white and flawless. The king of Chu named it, Master He's jade.
Gao's ''Huainanzi'' commentary
The next significant version of Pian He's story is found in Gao You's 212 CE Huainanzi commentary for the passage that compares the Way of Heaven with the Marquis of Sui's pearl and the. Gao changes the original three Chu kings state to the three Zhou kings.A man from Ch'u named Pien Ho found a piece of unpolished jade at the foot of the Ching Mountains. He offered it as tribute to King Wu. King Wu had it inspected by a jade expert, who declared it to be ordinary stone. had his left leg cut off. When King Wen came to the throne, once more presented the jade. King Wen took it to be ordinary stone, and had his right leg cut off. Pien Ho wrapped the jade carefully and wept tears of blood. When King Ch'eng ascended the throne, Pien Ho once again presented the jade. King Ch'eng said: 'Dear sir, you disregard having your legs cut off, as long as you can have your jade piece cut up for examination.' As soon as the stone was cut, it appeared that it was truly fine jade, and it was made into a jade .
History
Beginning with the and, many Chinese histories have discussed the, but the early historicity remains uncertain.''Zhanguo ce''
The 3rd-century BCE , which is a compendium of political and military anecdotes dating from 490 to 221 BCE, relates that the was a national treasure of Chu, stolen from the Prime Minister, and eventually obtained by Zhao state.King Wei of Chu bestowed the priceless jade upon Prime Minister Zhao Yang in gratitude for his defeat of the Yue kingdom in 333 BCE. On one occasion, Zhao Yang displayed the jade for his guests at a banquet when someone started a commotion, and in the midst of the confusion, the jade annulus disappeared. The School of Diplomacy political strategist Zhang Yi was accused as the thief, and Zhao Yang had him questioned under torture before he was released. After this incident, the whereabouts of the jade was lost until it resurfaced at Zhao.
Chapter 250 of the records how another School of Diplomacy strategist Su Qin persuaded Li Yu, the Chancellor of Zhao, to provide the in order to acquire funding for the Vertical Alliance of six states against Qin. During their first audience, Su Qin convincingly explained his Vertical Alliance strategies to Li Yu and said, "You killed your ruler,, and you extirpated his kin, and find your position in the empire as perilous as though you were perched atop a pile of eggs. If you heed my plans you will live; if you heed them not you will die." After Li told Su to return on the next day for an audience, one of his attendants said Su's "arguments and their scope are beyond you. Will you be able to do as he advises?" Li replied that he could not and followed the attendant's suggestion that he plug up his ears in order to avoid listening to Su's rhetoric. Su Qin persuasively spoke for the entire day during the second audience with Li. When the attendant escorted him out, Su asked "A day ago I spoke only crudely and your ruler was moved. Today I spoke in detail and he was not. Why?" "Your plans are great and their scope is lofty, sir", replied the attendant. "My lord cannot use them, so I asked him firmly to stop both his ears so that he would not heed what was said. However, come again on the morrow and I will ask that the Master be well rewarded." During the final audience, Li Yu gave Su Qin "a moon pearl, the Jade of Ho, a black sable coat and a hundred pieces of pure gold." Thus, Su got the wealth he needed in order to go westward into Qin state.
''Shiji''
The Han dynasty historiographer Sima Qian's c. 94 BCE relates the history and background of Hr. He's jade annulus in two biographies.Lin Xiangru
The "Biographies of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru" section records a famous story. In 283 BCE, King Zhaoxiang of Qin schemed to obtain Mr. He's jade annulus – this is the first recorded usage of modern term 和氏璧 without classical 之—from King Huiwen of Zhao – and deceitfully offered to trade away a large portion of Qin territory for the jade. However, when Xiangru discovered that Zhaoxiang never intended to give away Qin land, he tricked the king and managed to return the jade annulus back to Zhao."During the time of King Huiwen, Zhao acquired Chu's Jade of the Ho Clan. King Zhao of Qin heard of this and sent a messenger to deliver a letter to the King of Zhao, saying that he wished to offer fifteen walled cities in exchange for the jade annulus." The King of Zhao was distrustful and told his advisors "If we give it to Qin, we most likely will not obtain Qin’s cities, but will only be cheated. If we do not give it, then we must fear the arrival of Qin’s soldiers." The king sought the opinion of Lin Xiangru, who said, "Qin is mighty and Zhao is weak, you must grant his request." The king replied, "If he takes my jade, but gives us no cities, what then?" Lin said, "If Qin seeks the jade with its cities and Zhao does not accede, the fault lies with Zhao. If Zhao gives Qin the jade and Qin does not give Zhao the cities, the fault lies with Qin. In weighing these two measures, it would be better to accede, and lay the fault on Qin." Xiangru agreed to undertake the mission to Qin, and promised the king, "If the cities are granted to Zhao, the jade will remain in Qin; if the cities are not granted, allow your servant to return to Zhao with the jade intact." When Lin Xiangru arrived in the Qin capital, he respectfully presented the jade to King Zhaoxiang with both hands. The king was delighted and "passed it around to his Beauties and courtiers, who all shouted 'Long live the King!'" When Xiangru realized that the King of Qin had no intention of honoring the agreement, he came forward and said, "The jade has a flaw. Allow me to show it to Your Majesty." The king handed him the jade, and Xiangru retreated and stood with his back to a pillar. With his "hair bristling against his hat in rage," he threatened to destroy the jade. "It seems to me that Your Majesty has no intention of giving the King of Zhao the cities owed him. Thus I have reclaimed the jade. If you must press me, Great King, my head and the jade will both shatter against this pillar!" Since the King of Qin feared the jade would be demolished, he apologized and said, "The fifteen cities from here on will be given to Zhao." Concluding that Zhao would never acquire the Qin cities, Xiangru then told the king, "The jade of the Ho Clan is a treasure that the entire world has transmitted with reverence." He then falsely said that before the King of Zhao sent off the jade, he fasted and purified himself for five days, and convinced the King of Qin that he too needed to fast for five days, after which, "your servant would dare to offer up the jade." The king agreed, and while he was fasting, Xiangru arranged for his retainer to disguise himself as a commoner, conceal the jade, and safely smuggle it back to Zhao.
After the King of Qin had finished fasting and purification, he held a ritual ceremony in his court. When Lin Xiangru arrived, he confessed having secretly sent the jade back to Zhao and then insulted the king's ancestors: "Out of the twenty odd lords of Qin since Duke Mu 穆, not one has honored his agreements and oaths. Your servant truly feared he would be cheated by Your Majesty and thus betray Zhao." Xiangru told the enraged king that he would willingly accept the Qin death penalty for deceiving a king, and requested the punishment. Although some of the courtiers wanted to boil Xiangru immediately, the King of Qin said, "If We kill Xiangru now, We still cannot acquire the jade, and it would ruin the good relations between Qin and Zhao. It would be better to treat him with great civility instead, then send him back to Zhao." After Xiangru had returned, the King of Zhao praised the skillful diplomacy of his mission to Qin, and appointed him Senior Grand Master.
This story is the source of the Chinese idioms meaning "invaluable; priceless" and meaning "to return something intact to its rightful owner".