Investigation on Gemmological Component of "Fire Bead"

There was a kind of gemstone named "Fire bead" in the sutras and the Chinese historic records.But the controversy was the gemmological component of "Fire bead".In the Three Kingdoms Period, "Fire bead" was firstly imported from foreign countries, seen as the auspicious symbol by the imperials.In Jin Dynasty, it was used to decorate the jade-embellished-sword of the crowns.During Sui and Tang dynasties, the value of "Fire bead" was higher and specially used for the jade-embellished-sword of the imperials.Since the end of Tang Dynasty, the gemmological significance of "Fire bead" had diminished.So, it is helpful to understand the usage of the Chinese ancient stones for investigation on "Fire bead", and important to construct the Chinese ancient gemmology.The gemmological component of "Fire bead" is demonstrated in detail by its locality, colour, rarity and comparison with the unearthed gemstones.The results show that "Fire bead" was translated from the Pali word "Phalika" and the Sanskrit word "Sphatika", which is not rock crystal in China, but possible colourless corundum.