 Chinese characters most commonly combine a radical, such as the "jade radical" 玉 or 王, that suggests meaning and a phonetic that hints at pronunciation.The "jade radical" frequently occurs in characters for names of gemstones (e.g., "bì" 碧 "green jade; bluish green" and "shānhú" 珊瑚 "coral"), and occasionally for words denoting "preciousness" ("bǎo" "treasure" and "bǎobǎo" "precious/darling baby").Jade has been used in virtually all periods of Chinese history and generally accords with the style of decorative art characteristic of each period.