Jade is a material that from ancient times has been associated with longevity and immortality. It is therefore a particularly appropriate medium from which to carve representations of the mountainous realm of the Daoist immortals. During the Qianlong reign, the emperor requested that jade mountains, as well as plaques and panels with mountainous landscapes, should take their artistic influence from the work of famous painters.

On the present boulder the theme of longevity is clearly evident with the depiction of Shoulao on the main side and the deer under a pine tree on the reverse. The elongated form of the boulder and the skilful layering of rockwork help to create a magical atmosphere, thereby contributing to the Daoist themes of mysticism and immortality.

A slightly smaller boulder of similar shape and composition of three sages, is illustrated by Roger Keverne (ed.), Jade, London, 1991, p. 174, fig. 117. Jade boulders of this type range considerably in size, with the largest and most famous in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, measuring over seven feet tall and three feet wide; cf. Zhongguo Yuqi Quanji, vol. 6, no. 255; and nos. 252-256 for the series of boulders in the Palace collection. Cf. a boulder of similar shape and size, included in the exhibition The Refined Taste of the Emperor: Special Exhibition of Archaic and Pictorial Jades of the Ch'ing Court, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1997, illustrated in the Catalogue, no. 47. An extensive range of large white, celadon and spinach green jade boulders is illustrated in A Romance with Jade from the De An Tang Collection, Hong Kong, 2004, pls. 41-42, 47, 49-51, 55, 60-61, 66, and 69-70.