A humble cabbage became one of the Forbidden City’s treasures (2025)

> The cabbage is often referred to as one of the institution’s “three treasures,” along with two other popular artifacts — namely the Meat-Shaped Stone, a piece of jasper carved to resemble braised pork belly, and the Mao Kung Ting, a traditional cooking vessel featuring the longest known inscription of ancient characters on any item of Chinese bronzeware. The trio are often collectively described as “pickled cabbage pork hotpot” by tour guides and as a marketing gimmick.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jadeite_Cabbage

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meat-Shaped_Stone

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mao_Gong_ding

• https://theme.npm.edu.tw/exh106/npm_anime/cabbage/en/index.h...

• https://theme.npm.edu.tw/exh106/NorthandSouth-4/en/index.htm...

• https://theme.npm.edu.tw/exh104/npmforfun/en/mediaworks/medi...

It really is beautiful. It also makes me think of Sir Terry Pratchett, which is a good thing. If this were Ankh-Morpork, it would be a stunningly realistic carving of a cabbage—carved from another, larger cabbage.

Why is Chinese cabbage so commonly seen in high-end jade carvings in China?

It's because the Chinese word for cabbage, baicai(白菜), sounds like "hundred fortune(百财)".

And there are many similar symbolic expressions in traditional Chinese culture.

I have seen this in person, it really is remarkable how the artist used the natural color gradient in the stone. The entire museum is well worth a visit.

Older than Liz Truss chuckles