The Stone of Heaven: The Secret History of Imperial Green Jade
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.99 (735 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0297645749 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 352 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2013-02-24 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
This is their first book. Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark are senior writers for the Sunday Times and have been nominated three times in the last three years for British Press Awards for their work in Asia, Europe and America.
This is their first book. . About the Author Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark are senior writers for the Sunday Times and have been nominated three times in the last three years for British Press Awards for their work in Asia, Europe and America
Inspired by legends of a gemstone 'that glowed as if lit by a hidden flame', armies have waged wars to seize its source, First Ladies have flaunted it and Hollywood stars have spent fortunes on pieces stolen from the tombs of Chinese Emperors. Royal collectors believed it could make them immortal. Today foreigners are barred from the place in northern Burma known as 'Jadeland', where thousands of soldiers guard the dictatorship's treasures. Those who returned from Burma in the fifteenth century came with stories of a kingdom built entirely from the green stone - a place they called the 'Lost Valley of Capelan'. In order to be the first Europeans ever to get there, Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark had to persuade Rangoon's generals to escort them. The Stone of Heaven brilliantly combines original historical research, travelogue and investigative journalism to relate for the first time this hidden history. What they discovered was jadeite's biggest secret: a human disaster of biblical proportions. For European explorers, it was legendary. Warlords ground it into powder and drunk it as an elixir. The stone's prestige derives from its intense beauty and extraordinary scarcity. Revolutionaries exploited it to fund coups and finance wars. This book reveals how they did so and in its final chapters takes the reader on a terrifying journey to the 'Lost Valley of Capelan'. Diamonds, sapphires