THE WORLD'S
LARGEST
JADE
BUDDHA
A
Mr. Incredible! Earthcache
Anshan's Jade Buddha is the
largest jade Buddha statue in the world. (And it was carved from
the largest single piece of jade ever found...) It is located
in a large temple complex, situated beside Dongshan Scenic Reserve
within 219 (Two-One-Nine) park of Anshan in Liaoning province,
China.
The statue was sculpted from
a piece of jade 7.95 meters (24 feet) high, 6.88 meters (21 feet)
wide, 4.10 meters (13 feet) thick, weighing 260.76 metric tons (257
tons). The front of the stone has been carved with an image of a
seated Sakyamuni Buddha. On the back of the stone, a standing
Avalokitesvara Buddha has been carved.
This is a promotional
picture.
Please DO NOT take pictures of the
Jade Buddha,
it is considered
disrespectful.The jade stone was found in
1960 in Xiuyan County, known as "the hometown of jade."
Anshan city government commissioned the
carving which took a team of 120 sculptors 18 months to complete.
The temple complex was opened in September of 1996. The building
that houses the Jade Buddha statue is 33 meters tall (123 feet),
representing the 33 layers of heaven in Buddhism. It is the tallest building of ancient Chinese
architectural style in the country.
JADE
Jade has a special
significance in Chinese culture, much like gold does in western
cultures; at least in the U.S.!
Jade is actually two
different minerals: nephrite and jadeite, both found in pebbles and
boulders of various sizes. They have virtually no relationship with
each other except in appearance and structure.
Most Chinese jade artifacts
before the 18th century were manufactured from nephrite. Known in
China as chen yu (true jade), it is not found in China, but for
centuries, has been imported in a raw form from Central Asia. Yet,
in China, the art of sculpturing jade has been well-developed for
over 4,000 years.
The most sought after jade
is a deep emerald green variety of jadeite of great translucency,
known as Imperial Jade. It is so rare
and exquisite that it costs as much as the highest grade emeralds.
The most highly prized of the jadeite, it is a very transparent gem
and so clear that it is possible to read print through most
specimens.
Once owned solely by Chinese
emperors, it has been prized for hundreds of years in China above
all other gemstones.
METAMORPHIC
ROCKS
Jade is a metamorphic rock
and was created by heat and/or pressure. You often find metamorphic rock near volcanoes and
sources of super hot rock. The heat from the magma changes all of
the rock around it.
Some force (heat/pressure)
has changed these rocks from one type into a new type. The result
is a metamorphic rock. Some other examples, beside jade, are
marble, slate, and gneiss.
Because pressure and heat
are involved, these rock types are usually found deep beneath the
surface. They are also found near fault lines where plates push
against each other and create enormous pressures. Over time,
because of the movement of the crust, these metamorphic rocks are
pushed to the surface where you can find them every day.
NEPHRITE
Nephrite, also known as
“greenstone,” is used chiefly for carvings and is the
oldest, softest and most common type of jade. Also known as “kidney stone,” nephrite
has a reputation as a healer of kidney diseases.
A magnesium/iron silicate
mineral consisting of an interlocking mass of fibrous crystals -
6.5 on the Mohs' scale - nephrite is found in a rainbow of colors.
Besides green, it comes in white,
brown, grey and yellow.
JADEITE
Jadeite, is a sodium
aluminum silicate mineral, denser than nephrite. It consists of
compressed fibrous-translucent granular crystals matted together,
making it a tough stone - 7 on the Mohs' scale. Jade is harder than
steel and almost as hard as diamond. Therefore jade is not carved,
but ground and polished. Jade is ground
wet because it gives off an asbestos-like fiber dust when worked
with, that can be harmful to the lungs.
The gem does not splinter easily and, hence, is excellent for the
manufacture of jewelry.
Jadeite is found in an
extensive range of green shades - lighter than those found in
nephrite - and in black, blue, lilac, pink, purple, red, violet and
white.
Pure jade is white, the many
colors displayed come from impurities within the jade
itself.
To log this cache, you
must do the following:
1)
Visit the Jade Buddha in
Anshan, Liaoning Province, China.
2)
Identify four (4) different
colors of jade in the sculpture, AND describe the significance of
them. (For example; One area is pure
jade, what is significant about that particular area?)
NOTE: You will
need to consult a tour guide or a reference booklet to get the
answers to these questions...
3)
Submit a picture of yourself
(and GPSr or GPS enabled cell phone) in front of The Great Buddha
Hall. (You are NOT allowed to use a camera on the inside of the
hall, please respect our host’s wishes!)
4)
Describe the appearance of
the jade itself in the rock sculpture. For example: Does it
have crystals, does it have veins?
If
so, describe them. What other type of
rock does this remind you of?
A nominal admission fee is
charged, in 2010 the fee was about $3.00 US.
Mr.
Incredible! is a
Platinum EarthCache Master
Learn more about earthcaches at EarthCache.org.
