Ruby is hard, only lower than diamond. Moreover, this blood-red ruby is the most cherished by people, commonly known as "pigeon blood red". This intense color, which can almost be called crimson and bright, shows the true face of ruby at a glance. It symbolizes nobility, love and kindness.
According to legend, before fighting, ancient soldiers sometimes cut a small hole in their bodies and embedded a ruby in their mouths. They think that this can achieve the purpose of invulnerability.
At the same time, because ruby is full of strong vitality and rich colors, people used to think that it is the embodiment of the immortal bird and have a warm fantasy about it. And it is said that wearing a red gem ring on the left hand or a ruby brooch on the left chest can turn enemies into friends.
China's Book of the Later Han Dynasty? There is a record about rubies in the Biography of Southwest China: "There is a Pearl Cave in Bonan County, Yongchang County. Beads include yellow beads, white beads, green beads and blue beads. " At that time, it was called "light bead", indicating that rubies and sapphires had been identified in the Eastern Han Dynasty.
And "once"? Ruby is called "Ruby" in The Story of Dongyi. According to records, in the Eastern Han Dynasty, "Fuyu Kingdom" was thousands of miles north of Xuantu. It is connected to Koguryo in the south, Drum Tower in the east, Xianbei in the west and Weak Water in the north. The place is two thousand miles away, and this place is also ... famous for horses, rubies, minks, dates and other big beads. "
Fuyu originated in the center of Songhua River Basin, from Changtu County in Liaoning Province to Taonan County in Jilin Province to Shuangcheng County in Heilongjiang Province.
"Once"? Biography of Dongyi also records: "Loulou is the country of ancient Sushen." It is more than a thousand miles northeast of Fuyu, facing the East China Sea in the south and lying in the north, and I don't know where it is in the north. The land is mountainous and dangerous. People look like husbands, but their words are different. There is grain, hemp, ruby and good mink. "The word" Lou "here is the second surname used by the Su Shen family after the title of" Su Shen ",which lasted for more than 600 years from the Western Han Dynasty to the Jin Dynasty, and was renamed" Buji "after the 5th century.
During the Qin and Han Dynasties, Lou lived in the northeast of Liaoning, the eastern half of Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces, and the vast areas north of Heilongjiang and east of Wusuli River. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Lou's power began to decline.
In the biography of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, ruby is called "fire jade": "Wear the crown of nine, drag six out of fire jade." Su E in the Tang Dynasty gave a detailed description of "Huo Yu" in Du Yang Miscellanies, which is quite literary:
In the first year of Wuzong Huichang, Fu Yuguo paid tribute to fire jade and pine wind stone. Fire jade is red, half an inch long and round at the top. After dozens of steps of illumination, you can burn the tripod, but it is no longer sleepy when you put it indoors, so people often fry sake.
"Half an inch" is probably the largest size of Huoyubao, which is easily exceeded by nephrite, agate, garnet or red obsidian.
The shape "pointed at the top and rounded at the bottom" shows that its crystal shape is good, and it can't be nephrite, agate or red obsidian without single crystal shape, nor can it be a round bead or a ruby-like garnet, but only a ruby.
"Fire jade three fights" shows that there are at least several hundred pieces, indicating that the exploitation of this gem was not small at that time.
"Ten Steps of Lighting" shows that the treasure has outstanding reflective ability, but it does not rule out exaggerated elements. "If you accumulate it, you can burn a tripod, but if you put it indoors, you will no longer be sleepy, so people often fry sake", that is to say, it can be used for cooking, heating and brewing. These are just vivid metaphors and imaginations of the fiery red color of this ruby.
"Old Tang Book" records: "The Bohai Sea is the end of millet, and the east is poor in Haixi and Qidan. Long live the sky, cross the Liaohe River, and then build the country. The place is 5,000 miles, full of Fuyu, recumbent, border Han, North Korea and Haibei. "
What is said here is that the ancient Fuyu became a part of millet flour after the Tang Dynasty. Millet flour is the millet flour that lives in Songhua River valley. Xiaomi and Heishui, which live in the present Heilongjiang River valley, are collectively called "cymbals" in the history books of China.
In the residential area of Mohong's family, there is a rich red gem named after Mohong's family. "Compendium of Materia Medica" says that "ruby is red, and Song people call it cymbals"; It is also said in the General Record of Lead Dan that "it is as big as a giant chestnut, and China calls it a cymbal".
Song Gaoru briefly quoted Tang Baoji as saying, "The red cymbals are as big as giant chestnuts, and the red cymbals are as rotten as, untouchable and unbreakable."
A large number of ornaments inlaid with plain rubies were found in the tomb of Princess Chen of Liao Dynasty in Naiman Banner, Tongliao City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Ruby was also found in the tombs of Liao nobles at Rose Peak in Aershan, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. These findings show that rubies in Northeast China have been developed at least since Liao Dynasty.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, rubies and sapphires were widely used in court jewelry, and the number of folk wearers gradually increased. During the excavation of the famous Dingling in Ming Dynasty, a large number of high-quality rubies and sapphires were obtained.
Jin 'ou Gu Yong Cup, a famous national treasure in Qing Dynasty, is inlaid with nine rubies. The "Jin Ou Gu Yong" Cup is a special wine glass for the emperor to hold the opening ceremony on New Year's Day every year. Dragon-shaped tripod ears, elephant-nose-shaped tripod feet, cups full of precious flowers, pearls and rubies as flower hearts. One side of the cup is engraved with the words "Jin Ou Gu Yong".
Empress Dowager Cixi loves rubies very much. There are rubies the size of pomegranate petals on her crown. After her death, she had a pair of ruby beads, 27 ruby Buddha statues, 60 ruby apricots, 40 ruby dates, and 3,790 other ruby and sapphire jewelry and small sculptures.
In the Qing dynasty, the titles of princes and ministers were distinguished according to the kinds of gems they wore on their heads. Among them, Prince and Yipin Guan are rubies, and sapphire is the top symbol of Yipin Guan.
According to a legend, people who wear ruby jewelry will live a long and healthy life, have a happy love, a harmonious family and be rich. Another legend holds that wearing a ruby brooch on the left breast or a red gem ring on the left hand can turn an enemy into a friend.
A ruby and sapphire symbiont weighing 67.5 carats was found in Changle County, Shandong Province. It is called "Yuanyang Gem" and is a rare miracle in the world. In addition, rubies and sapphires were found in the eluvial alluvial deposits in Muling and Ning 'an of Mudanjiang Valley in eastern Heilongjiang Province, among which rubies were purplish red, rose red, pink and other colors, with clear texture, good transparency and irregular blocks, with the largest reaching more than one carat.