science

Mr. He's jade

Mr. He's jade is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Mr. He's jade rather than just read about it. In short: 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.

Key takeaways

Mr. He's jade belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Mr. He's jade to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Mr. He's jade from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

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 Heshibi 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 Heshibi 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

Héshìbì (Chinese: 和氏璧; trans. "He's jade annulus") or Héshìzhībì (和氏之璧) (using the Classical Chinese grammatical possessive affix zhī (之) was a Bì (璧; "jade annulus") or ceremonial jade annulus. Bi artifacts date back to the Liangzhu culture (3400–2250 BCE). Bi 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 Heshibi is named after Bian He, the person who first discovered the jade stone. Bian He (卞和) is a Chinese name, Biàn (卞) is the surname (e.g., Bian Lan) and Hé (和) is the given name. However, He is also an uncommon surname (e.g., He Qia) and early texts refer to Bian He as both Bianshi (卞氏; "of Bian clan") and Heshi (和氏; "of He clan"), with the word shì (氏; "Chinese clan; family"). Some alternate names are Heshi (龢氏), with the ancient variant character Hé; Heshi (咼氏), with the unique variant Guō pronounced He in this name; and Jing He (荊和; "He from Jingzhou"). Most scholars translate Heshi as "Mr. He" with suffixed shi, some as "Master He", and a few literally interpret shi and translate Heshi as "He Clan" or "He family".

Legends The Chinese story of the Heshibi has been retold and developed for over two millennia.

Hanfeizi The earliest extant account is the Heshi (和氏; "Mr. He") chapter of the classic Hanfeizi, attributed to Han Fei (c. 280–233 BC). The Hanfeizi version involves Mr. He presenting his jade to the first three "kings" of Chu state: "King Li of Chu" (楚厲王) posthumously refers to Viscount Fenmao (r. 757–741 BCE), his brother King Wu of Chu (楚武王, r. 740–690 BCE) who was the first to style himself "king", and his son King Wen of Chu (楚文王, r. 689–677 BCE). Several Hanfeizi commentaries say these three 8th-century BCE Chu rulers of Bian He should be three Zhou dynasty rulers: King Wu of Zhou (周武王, r. c. 1050–1043 BCE), his father King Wen of Zhou (周文王, r. 1100–1050), and King Cheng of Zhou (周成王, r. 1042–1021 BCE).

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" [和氏之璧]. 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, (757–741 BCE). 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 (r. 740–691 BCE) 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 (r. 690–675 BCE) 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." [The king] 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 Heshibi, 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 (below) that compares the Way of Heaven with the Marquis of Sui's pearl and the Heshibi. Gao changes the original three Chu kings state to the three Zhou kings.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Mr. He's jade

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Mr. He's jade claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Mr. He's jade before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Mr. He's jade ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Mr. He's jade

In research: Mr. He's jade appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Mr. He's jade in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Mr. He's jade is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Chinese legends, Chu (state), Cultural history of China, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Mr. He's jade outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Mr. He's jade in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Mr. He's jade means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Mr. He's jade out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mr. He's jade in simple terms?

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.

Why does Mr. He's jade matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Mr. He's jade?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Mr. He's jade.