Jade Conditioning

Seeing Yuan Hongjian's excitement and enthusiasm, Chu Chen and Uncle Wu exchanged a smile. In fact, Yuan Hongjian was not the only one—almost everyone acted much the same when they found their first bargain in their life.

After Yuan Hongjian calmed down, Uncle Wu reminded him, "Old Yuan, let me be frank. With your current level of discernment, you should buy less when browsing the markets in the future. Take this jade pendant of yours, for example. If it really came from the Ming Dynasty, you could add at least two more zeroes to the price. Remember, sellers aren't fools either."

Yuan Hongjian chuckled. "Don't worry. I know my own limitations now. In the future, if it's something I'm unfamiliar with, I definitely won't buy it. By the way, there's something I'd like to ask you two about. How should this jade be conditioned?"

Uncle Wu said, "Speaking of which, your piece was artificially aged. Fortunately, the forger used the Kouxiu method, so it can still be conditioned."

"What's the Kouxiu method?" Yuan Hongjian asked hurriedly.

Uncle Wu explained, "It was a method invented during the Qing Dynasty to create artificial earth encrustation. The method involved mixing jade with iron filings, quenching it with hot vinegar, and then placing it in 'damp' soil. After a dozen or so days, it would be buried beneath a busy street. Several months later, when it was dug up, the jade would have been corroded by the iron filings, leaving orange-peel patterns all over its surface."

"Afterward, it would be boiled in water, causing the jade's 'color' to darken and earth spots to appear. The gray soil was difficult to remove, making it look extremely similar to ancient jade. However, on ancient jade artificially aged this way, the red 'color' floated on the surface.