gzi

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གཟི
1) zi onyx [IW]

1) zi onyx [divsions: zlum po stag log, rkang ring, khra chung, good for gza' nad khrag la babs pa zi-stone, burnishing stone (Kind of onyx w zebra-like banded designs, two eyes--regular, three eyes--good, 9 eyes--best), shine, brightness, clearness, splendour, burnisher] [IW]

Zi stone. Divine agate [RY]

agate [thd]

onyx; zi-stone. Kind of onyx, has zebra-like designs, two eyes--regular, three eyes--good, nine eyes--best; burnished, a banded onyx commonly used for burnishing. 2) shine, brightness, clearness, splendor [RY]

shine, brightness, clearness, splendor, a precious stone, onyx kind of onyx? (zebra-like designs; 2 eyes is regular, 3 eyes is good, 9 eyes is best), cat's eye stone, a type of precious stone, multi-colored [JV]

(sman) Onyx (Yeshi 2018)
Varieties : nag khra, kham khra, zlum po stag log etc. (Yeshi 2018)

gzi rnying gza' yi nad dang gdon gzer 'joms / zhes pa / rtogs sla la gsar pa mi 'byung / dbyibs mdog nag khra ser khra kham khra dang / zlum po stag log / rkang ring / khra chung rnams 'byung / sngon bzo khra 'khyogs dang ma nor ba gces / srung ba'i mchog ni stag log zlum po dang / rkang ring 'gyur dgu yin / 'dis phyis pas mig nad la phan pa dang / chu grang du zhag gcig sbangs pa'i chus khrag gis gzer ba la lcags su brdegs pa / btung bas gza' nad khrag la babs par phan / kheng sman du 'gro ba'ang yod / mde'u ra sbyar nas bya gdon gzir thabs dang / lus la 'chang bas gza' nad srung bar yang bshad / 'di klus 'chos nas klu sgrub la sngar phul phyis ma bud zer ba'i kha bshad tsam las khungs ma mthong // (Shel gong shel phreng, pdf p 092.2)

Illustrations : 'Phrin Las (25_121) gzi rigs kyi lig bu mig. dGa' ba'i rDo rje 2018 (n°039) gzi rnying (n°040) dzi dmar, Red agate sardonyx

dGa' ba'i rDo rje (1998) discusses briefly the opinions about the origin of the gzi stone, particularly the black and white one, gzi rnying. If it does occur naturally, comes forth miraculously or is fabricated by people in former times, and says that it is natural as well as fabricated. He describes the gzi as slightly different from the agate (mchong), but close enough to count them together, and mentions a white, purple and red type of gzi.
dGa' ba'i rDo rje (2018) shows the black and white variety under gzi rnying (n°039), and the brown one under gzi dmar (n°040), both more or less opaque stones. He identifies the latter as ‘Red agate sardonyx’, a name which he also applies to ma na ho dmar po, a type of the translucent agate mchong. The images (n°041) mchong, and (n°042) ma na ho dmar po, show translucent, partly transparent agate (http://purl.bdrc.io/resource/MW8LS68421). On mindat.org, sardonyx is depicted as an opaque mineral, but the chinese characters given on the website corresponds to the those of the translucent ma na ho dmar po in dGa' ba'i rDo rje.
Onyx is a black and white variety of agate (mchong), a microcrystalline quartz, with parallel bands, or sometimes a monochromatic banded one. The brown varieties are named sardonyx. The black & white variety is the most famous, but not the most common one and is mostly coloured artificially. Onyx as a descriptive term is applied to a number of minerals, and the majority of today's 'onyx' is a banded calcite, much softer than the true onyx, a silicate. Artificial onyx is produced from chalcedony and agates since the antiquity as described already by Pliny in the 1st c. The traditional method to make onyx is reported to have involved soaking the stone for months in honey or some sugar-rich solution, and then into concentrated sulphuric acid, which turned the sugar-infused bands black.
dGa' ba'i rDo rje (1998) does not present mchong as a general name, yet he mentions a number of minerals, indicating that they are of the mchong type (mchong gi rigs) or identifies them as Agate : khra man, rdo'i snying po, chu snying, bel snabs, chu yi nor bu. Or he alludes to their similarity with mchong (khyung skyugs, gzi). Others are ambiguous with respect to their identification (chu chung ni la, lig bu mig).
Johannes Schmidt (talk) 12:07, 29 February 2024 (EST)