China's Taoist Bible Engraved on Agate

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 ◆ China's Taoist Bible Engraved on Agate

China's Taoist bible, The Way and Its Power (Dao De Jing) in Chinese, has been inscribed on a rare agate. The oval-shaped brownish agate is seven centimeters (2.76 inches) long and 5.5 centimeters (2.17 inches) wide, weighing 2.6 kilograms, and contains a tiny pool of water the size of a ping-pong ball. The central text of Taoist philosophy consists of 5,570 characters and they have all been minutely engraved on the agate. Hu Shaoyu worked on this gem for five months. Hu is the vice director of Jiangxi Jinggangshan Painting Studio and was once recognized by the UNESCO as Chinese Folk Craftsman for his skills, especially with pottery and porcelain.