In addition to the jade’s color, the depiction of the carving has significance also. In general, most Chinese jade carvings represent animals, parts of animals, or mythical animals. Some of the favorite jade depictions are of horses, tigers, rabbits, birds, bats, fish, toads, tortoises, dragons, unicorns, phoenixes, and hydras. Gods and god like characters are also represented. Most of the animals depicted are usually more god like and represents natural forces more than they represent the animal.
Buddhism brought many aspects to jade art. With the inception of Buddhism, jade soon depicted pagodas, mountain masses, and religious symbols. Some jade carvings were dedicated to depicting Buddhist figures for worship and were placed at temples. The necessity for these carvings soon led to the expanding of dimensions for jade carvings. The largest jade Buddha was over five feet high, three feet wide, and one foot deep. Prior to Buddhism, most jade carvings were relatively small
