Gongshi (Chinese: ??), also known as scholar's rocks, are naturally occurring or shaped rocks which are traditionally appreciated by Chinese scholars.
Scholars' rocks can be any color, and contrasting colors are not uncommon. The size of the stone can also be quite varied: scholars' rocks can weigh either hundreds of pounds or less than one pound. The term also identifies stones which are placed in traditional Chinese gardens.
Video Gongshi
History
In the Tang dynasty, a set of four important qualities for the rocks were recognized. They are: thinness (shou), openness (tou), perforations (lou), and wrinkling (zhou).
Chinese scholar's rocks influenced the development of Korean suseok and Japanese suiseki.
Maps Gongshi
Sources
There are three main Chinese sources for these stones.
- Lingbi stone (Lingbishi) from Lingbi, Anhui province, limestone
- Taihu stone (Taihushi) from Lake Tai, Jiangsu province, limestone
- Yingde stone (Yingshi or Yingdeshi) from Yingde, Guangdong province, limestone
The geological conditions needed for the formation of stones are also present at some other sites.
Formation
Scholar's stones are generally karstic limestone. Limestone is water-soluble under some conditions. Dissolution pitting dissolves hollows in the limestone. On a larger scale, this causes speleogenesis (when caves dissolve in limestone bedrock). On a still larger scale, the dissolved caves collapse, gradually creating karst topography, such as the famous landscapes of Guilin in the South China Karst.
As rocks are broadly fractal (geology journals require a scale to be included in images of rocks), the small rocks can resemble the larger landscape.
Aesthetics
The aesthetics of a scholar's rock is based on subtleties of color, shape, markings, surface, and sound. Prized qualities include:
- awkward or overhanging asymmetry
- resonance or ringing when struck
- representation or resemblance to mountainous landscapes or figure
- texture
- moistness or glossy surface
The stone may be displayed on a rosewood pedestal that has been carved specifically for the stone. The stones are a traditional subject of Chinese paintings.
Gallery
See also
- Penjing
- Suseok
- Suiseki
References
Further reading
- Little, Stephen, Spirit stones of China, the Ian and Susan Wilson collection of Chinese stones, paintings, and related scholars' objects, Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago, 1999, ISBN 0-86559-173-3
External links
Media related to Scholar's rocks at Wikimedia Commons
- Visuals and examples of scholar rocks
- Galleries of scholar rocks
- Books on scholars' rocks
- Chinese scholar's rock history, an introductory historical background
- Classification of Chinese scholar's rocks
- Scholar's rock at Metropolitan Museum of Art
Source of article : Wikipedia
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