This is jade. Appreciation of this stone in Chinese culture can be traced back to the Neolithic period.See Jessica Rawson’s Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing During previous times, the mineral was often not only valued for its material and visual features, but was also ascribed with supernatural powers. The iconic jade suits of the Western Han dynasty (206 BCE–9 CE) that were made of thousands of tiny jade plates for the burial of the most wealthy and influential members of society, were believed to protect the body and the spirit of the deceased, and enable them to attain immortality.
The ancient belief in the special powers of protection of jade lives on in modern times when Chinese parents give jade bracelets or pendants to their children as talismans. Jade bracelets handed over from grandmother or mother to daughter appear frequently in literature where they figure as symbolic representations of wealth, heritage and fate.Travel-related narratives similarly give jade bangles bought in Asia special connotations. See “The Jade Bracelet” by Mega Vristian and “The day my mother's legacy was stolen” by Elissa Bernstein ; and “Three Jade Bangles. A Short Story (China)” by Terry
- Item at [MET](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/69630)](https://micrio.thingsthattalk.net/XKqYo/views/max/853x640.jpg)