Let's talk about Jade

Just a start on a random thought.

Is it just me or is it weird that the most common form of jade used in currency should be white instead of green on account of most of it being sourced from the huge mines in the Imperial Mountain? I just was having a look at the part of the core book talking about currency and it threw me when I realised all the bars and coins depicted were green.

I, for the life of me, cannot remember where I saw it, but I'm almost positive that white jade is the standard for jade coinage. One of the reasons for it is that white jade is associated with permanence and stability, thus it has a minor effect against the Wyld. Thus the movement of white jade throughout Creation would allow a semblance of the Order Conferring Trade Pattern.

Captain Hesperus

Also has to do something with the pole of Earth and the vast quantities of jade found in the Blessed Isle IIRC.

I just get a bit of cognitive dissonance because the type of jade that is in most common circulation in Creation is white for the above mentioned reasons, while the real stuff is known for mainly being green.

I did once debate changing the colour of Earth aspected jade to green, but that ended with shuffling around four of the five jade colours. Wood ended up with black jade. Seemed a bit much to do over such a little thing though.

Something of an Americanism.

The important thing to remember here is that only the Imperial Treasury has the right to make Jade currency and they stamp each and every Talent, Mina, Bar, Shekel and Obol. Those people who do forge Jade currency make unmarked currency because to falsify the Treasury's marks take the penalty for discovery from confiscation of the currency to execution. Green Jade is as common as White Jade (there are sufficiently large forests all over creation where it forms). Since the disappearance of the Empress and the subsequent recalling of much of the Realm's influence abroad, legitimate Jade currency has become scarce. It's only really used by the Dynastic Dragon-Blooded and now that Big Red has gone the currency has fallen out of favor since it was a means by which she maintained control over the Great Houses.

Captain Hesperus

Not really. There's a fair few different coloured varieties that can be found, including blue, lavender, orange, pink, brown and white, but green jade was the most common as far as I could determine. Although it doesn't help that serpentine and a few other precious stones seem to get conflated with jade.

The little bit of research I did turned up a interesting little coincidence though. Apparently white jade was quite prized by the Chinese nobility.

I forgot to mention it before but I just loved this idea.

I suppose another reaosn for it being predominately white jade is that the Realm has the mines of the Imperial Mountain directly under its control. As such it would naturally tend to have more white jade than the other varieties.

Oh, I misread the "Real stuff as green" as money being green.

Silly me. Not being specific enough. Again.

Captain Hesperus