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玉石分类体系The Taxonomy of Chinese Jade

依据现代矿物学与国家标准（GB/T 16552《珠宝玉石 名称》），狭义之"玉"仅指两种矿物集合体：以透闪石—阳起石为主的软玉（闪石玉），与以硬玉为主的辉石玉，即翡翠。传统语境之"玉"则泛指一切"石之美者"。本编以矿物学为经、以文化传统为纬，二者并陈。 Under modern mineralogy and China's national standard GB/T 16552 (Gems — Nomenclature), jade in the strict sense denotes two rock types only: nephrite of the tremolite–actinolite series, and jadeite jade (feicui), a pyroxene rock. In the traditional idiom, yu embraces every "stone that is beautiful". This volume orders the field by mineralogy first and cultural tradition second.

大类划分Primary Classification

两大门类：软玉与硬玉The Two Great Families

清代白玉扳指 Qing dynasty white jade thumb ring, Cleveland Museum of Art 软玉 · 闪石族NEPHRITE · AMPHIBOLE

软玉（和田玉）NephriteCa₂(Mg,Fe)₅Si₈O₂₂(OH)₂ · Tremolite–Actinolite

透闪石—阳起石系列矿物之致密块状集合体，纤维交织结构赋予其冠绝天然玉石的韧性。以新疆和田（昆仑山—玉龙喀什河）所产最负盛名，青海、俄罗斯、加拿大等地亦有产出。中国八千年玉文化之主体，皆系软玉。 A dense aggregate of the tremolite–actinolite series whose felted fibrous texture makes it the toughest of natural gem materials. The most celebrated source is Hotan, Xinjiang — the Kunlun range and the White Jade River — with deposits also in Qinghai, Russia and Canada. The main body of China's eight-thousand-year jade tradition is nephrite.

矿物族属Mineral group角闪石族Amphibole
摩氏硬度Mohs hardness6 – 6.5
密度Specific gravity2.90 – 3.10
折射率Refractive index1.606 – 1.632
光泽Lustre油脂光泽Greasy / waxy
图：白玉扳指 · 清 · 克利夫兰美术馆藏（CC0）Photo: white jade thumb ring, Qing dynasty · Cleveland Museum of Art (CC0)
进入和田玉专编THE NEPHRITE VOLUME →
清代翡翠珊瑚朝珠 Qing dynasty mandarin necklace with jadeite and coral, Cleveland Museum of Art 硬玉 · 辉石族JADEITE · PYROXENE

硬玉（翡翠）Jadeite (Feicui)NaAlSi₂O₆ · Sodium Aluminium Pyroxene

以硬玉为主之辉石类矿物集合体，粒状—纤维状交织结构，玻璃光泽莹润，色域自无色至帝王绿、紫罗兰、红黄翡俱全。宝石级翡翠几乎全部产自缅甸北部雾露河流域。明末清初经滇缅商路入华，清中晚期跃居宫廷至珍。 A pyroxene rock composed chiefly of jadeite, with a granular-to-fibrous interlocking texture and a vitreous lustre; its palette runs from colourless through imperial green to lavender, red and yellow. Nearly all gem-grade material comes from the Uru River basin of northern Myanmar. It entered China along the Yunnan–Burma routes in the seventeenth century and rose to courtly pre-eminence in the mid-to-late Qing.

矿物族属Mineral group辉石族Pyroxene
摩氏硬度Mohs hardness6.5 – 7
密度Specific gravity3.30 – 3.36
折射率Refractive index1.666 – 1.680
光泽Lustre玻璃光泽Vitreous
图：翡翠珊瑚朝珠 · 清 · 克利夫兰美术馆藏（CC0）Photo: mandarin necklace of jadeite and coral, Qing dynasty · Cleveland Museum of Art (CC0)
进入翡翠专编THE JADEITE VOLUME →
辨名正义："软玉""硬玉"之名，系十九世纪矿物学东渐后之译名，以二者硬度微差而分，并非品质高下之别；软玉之韧性反居天然玉石之首。国家标准今以"和田玉"统称透闪石玉（不限产地）、以"翡翠"统称硬玉质玉，本站从之。 On the names: "soft jade" and "hard jade" are nineteenth-century mineralogical coinages marking a slight difference of hardness, not of quality — indeed nephrite's toughness is unmatched among gem materials. The national standards now use "Hetian jade" for all tremolite jade regardless of origin, and "feicui" for jadeite jade; this archive follows that usage.
广义玉石The Broader Family

四大名玉之其三The Other Famous Jades

岫岩玉、独山玉、绿松石与和田玉并称"中国四大名玉"；玛瑙、水晶、青金石等则归入玉石与宝石之列。Xiuyan jade, Dushan jade and turquoise rank with Hetian nephrite as the Four Famous Jades of China; agate, rock crystal and lapis belong to the wider family of ornamental stones.

岫岩玉Xiuyan JadeSERPENTINE · LIAONING

辽宁岫岩所产蛇纹石玉，色多黄绿，质地细腻蜡润。红山文化玉器多取材于此，开采史逾五千年，为中国用玉最早之源流之一。Serpentine jade of Xiuyan, Liaoning — yellow-green, fine and waxy. It supplied the Hongshan culture's carvings and has been worked for over five thousand years, among the earliest of China's jade sources.

独山玉Dushan JadeANORTHITE ROCK · HENAN

河南南阳独山所产斜长石类玉石，一石多色，绿白紫褐并生，宜于巧色雕琢。殷墟出土玉器已见其用，故亦称"南阳玉"。A plagioclase rock from Dushan, Nanyang — many colours in one stone, ideal for polychrome carving. Present already among the finds at Yinxu; hence "Nanyang jade".

绿松石TurquoisePHOSPHATE · HUBEI

湖北十堰所产最著，天蓝至苹果绿。二里头遗址绿松石龙形器长逾七十厘米，嵌片逾两千，证其三千七百年前已为重器。Finest from Shiyan, Hubei, sky-blue to apple-green. The dragon-form mosaic of over two thousand tesserae unearthed at Erlitou attests its ceremonial rank thirty-seven centuries ago.

规范依据Normative References

国家标准The National Standards

GB/T 16552珠宝玉石 名称GEMS — NOMENCLATURE

珠宝玉石定名之总纲，确立"翡翠""和田玉"等法定名称及处理品标注规则。The charter of gem nomenclature, fixing the legal names "feicui" and "Hetian jade" and the labelling rules for treated material.

GB/T 16553珠宝玉石 鉴定GEMS — TESTING

规定折射率、密度、光谱等鉴定方法，为区分天然与处理玉石之技术依据。Prescribes the methods of testing — refractive index, density, spectroscopy — by which natural is told from treated.

GB/T 38821-2020和田玉 鉴定与分类HETIAN JADE — CLASSIFICATION

确立和田玉按颜色之八类划分与产状分类，为本站软玉编之直接依据。Establishes the eight colour classes and occurrence types of Hetian jade — the direct basis of this archive's nephrite volume.