Note 4 — Chapter XIII · The Symbolism of Jade
Reading edition
It is not necessary to go back to the “Age of Stone” to theorize regarding Chinese jade beliefs. It has yet to be established that China had a Neolithic Age. “As far as the present state of our archæological knowledge and the literary records point out”, says Laufer, “the Chinese have never passed through an epoch which, for other culture regions, has been designated as a Stone Age.”4