In many ancient books in my country, some jade jewelry that glows at night are often mentioned. For example, Wang Jia of the Jin Dynasty recorded in "Supplementary Notes": "There was a person who looked like a pig, carrying a luminous pearl, and its light was like a candle." "Warring States Policy·Chu Yi": "He sent envoys to offer chickens, rhinoceros, and luminous jade to the King Qin. "Dongfang Shuo of the Han Dynasty" "Records of Ten Continents in the Sea": "During the reign of King Mu of Zhou Dynasty, Xihu offered Kunwu a jade knife and his arms were always full of luminous... The cup is the essence of white jade, which shines brightly at night." After all, these rare treasures are myths and fictions. Or is it the real thing?
The ancients once said that the night pearl is the whale. Liang Renfang's "Shu Yi Ji" volume: "There are bright pearls in the South China Sea, which are the pupils of whales' eyes. The whales are dead and their eyes are spermless, which can be seen. They are called night lights."
Some modern scientists believe that they are Possibly several special gem minerals. According to research by geologists, there are indeed a few minerals in nature, such as certain impurity-containing diamonds, apatite, barite, fluorite, scheelite, quartz and crystal, etc., which can react when stimulated by external energy, such as heating. , friction, electricity, and irradiation of short-wave light such as ultraviolet rays, X-rays or cathode rays will produce luminescence.
In 1916, Japanese gemologist Satoshi Suzuki wrote in his book "Gem Chronicle" that Japan's luminous pearl is a special red crystal and was called a "sacred gemstone". Contemporary British scholar Joseph Needham believes that luminous jade is fluorite. Some people in our country also speculate that certain gemstones can emit light at night after being exposed to sunlight during the day. The ancients may have processed these things into round beads or other shapes. This is the luminous jade or luminous pearl recorded in legends or history books at home and abroad.
According to a 1984 "Hebei Science and Technology News" report, a kind of light brown fluorite was discovered in a mining belt in Guangdong, confirming that the luminous pearl described in historical records does exist and is not contained in our country. However, these light-emitting minerals need to receive external energy stimulation in advance, which is different from what is described in ancient books. Are there any jewelry that can emit light without the need for light? It is said that the Empress Dowager Cixi had such a luminous pearl in her mouth after her death.
In the "Liangzhou Ci" of the Tang Dynasty: "The luminous cup of Portuguese wine will prompt you to drink Pipa immediately." It has been widely praised for many years. It is impossible to verify when and where the luminous cup first originated. In recent years, Jiuquan, Gansu Province, the hometown of Liangzhou, has also produced luminous cups. The raw material is collected from Qilian jade in the Qilian Mountains, which some people also call luminous stones. However, this kind of Qilian jade belongs to the Yangyan jade type and does not glow at night at all. Some people pointed out that today’s luminous cup is not the ancient luminous cup. But some people believe that the ancient night light cup itself cannot emit light. So why is it called a luminous cup? There are different explanations. Some people say that the luminous cup is thin, and when it is full, it reflects the moon. The moonlight is poured into the cup. The moonlight penetrates the wall of the cup and reflects the color of the wine, giving it a strange brilliance, so it is called the luminous cup or luminous cup. The cup is always full.
In view of the fact that archaeologists have not excavated real luminous pearls, luminous stones, luminous cups and other cultural relics underground so far, and similar minerals have not been seen in nature, it is still unclear whether they have strange properties. A mystery.