At the age of 22, Wang Xun (1915-69), then a student at Tsinghua University, published an essay titled The Value of Jade in Chinese Culture, in which he investigated the philosophical, cultural and aesthetic meanings embodied in jade.

It was written during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45), when Wang and his teachers and schoolmates were forced to move from place to place to escape the invaders. The young philosophy major was determined to commit himself to the research of Chinese art history and aesthetics.