Note 6 — Chapter XIII · The Symbolism of Jade
Reading edition
Gold and jade were used in like manner. Laufer quotes from Ko Hung the significant statement: “If there is gold and jade in the nine apertures of the corpse, it will preserve the body from putrefaction”. A fifth-century Chinese writer says: “When on opening an ancient grave the corpse looks like alive, then there is inside and outside of the body a large quantity of gold and jade. According to the regulations of the Han Dynasty, princes and lords were buried in clothes adorned with pearls and with boxes of jade for the purpose of preserving the body from decay.”6