Project Description

The Jade I Know

中文名:《玉的故事》

Length: 1213

Director: Sufia Imam

This documentary highlights one of China’s most honored gem- JADE through the eyes of a foreign medical student, who after her exhausting clinical internship plans to visit ‘Sihui’ (四会) – the land of jade. The protagonist spends around 4-5 days at Sihui and visits many prominent Jade outlets, workshops, museum and whole sale markets. She also interviews Sihui’s famous jade craftsman, few sellers of jade, buyers of jade and a jade businessman. The more she explores, the more amazed and confused she becomes to find the craze of Chinese people for this lucrative stone. For some jade is all about its lucrative and shiny appearance which comes in the form of high price but for others it is connected to their cultural heritage, to their identity and spiritual belief. The protagonist then meets a research scholar who has spent his 30 years studying the history and types of jade. After a detailed research on jade’s history, resources, commercialism and cultural importance, the protagonist feels convinced that the modern day Chinese society is deeply divided into two groups – one of who buys jade just as a piece of jewelry and the others consider jade as a blend of value, virtue and craftsmanship. The protagonist ends the documentary with a thought provoking question – “Does the price of JADE reflects its worth or its worth reflects the price?”影片聚焦于中国最珍贵的的宝石之一:玉。主人公Sufia Imam是一名在中国学医的印度留学生,在临近毕业之际,Sufia Imam得到机会前往中国最知名的玉器加工城市之一,广东四会(SIHUI),随着对这座玉器之城探索的深入,她惊讶于中国人对于宝石的狂热并逐渐找到自己对于玉的理解。