Note 49 — Chapter XIII · The Symbolism of Jade
Reading edition
An ancient Chinese writer says in this connection that when the handle (tail) of the Bushel (Great Bear) points to the east (at nightfall), it is spring to all the world. When the handle points to the south it is summer, when it points to the west it is autumn, and when it points to the north it is winter. In the Shu King (Part II, Book I) the Great Bear is referred to as “the pearl-adorned turning sphere with its transverse tube of jade”.49 The Polar Star is the “Pivot of the Sky”, which revolves in its place, “carrying round with it all the other heavenly bodies”. In like manner the Taoists taught that “the body of man is carried round his spirit and by it”. The spirit is thus the “Pivot of Jade”. That is why the Pivot of Jade is used in the ritual services of Taoism.50