Gongshi

Yingde rocks, a type of scholar's rock.

Chinese scholars' rocks (Chinese: 供石; pinyin: gòngshí), also known as scholar stones or viewing stones, are small shaped or naturally-occurring rocks appreciated by Chinese scholars from the Song dynasty onwards, and quite frequently found in traditional Chinese gardens.

The most highly regarded stones are lingbi rocks (Chinese: 灵璧; pinyin: língbì) from Lingbi County of Anhui Province, with the finest examples dating from the Ming dynasty and Song dynasty. Taihu rocks are also prized, and are commonly used as garden stones. They influenced the development of Korean stone art and Japanese suiseki aesthetics and styles and were an important part of Confucian art.

Stone Appreciation

Stone and rock formations, natural, no artificial carvings at all. All the colors of the rainbow are possible, colors should contrast each other. They can be colorful or very usually in stone color. Some times patterns form natural paintings of wonder. These natural marks can look like anything in world. From nature to the abstract. The size of a stone can be big and weigh hundreds of pounds or it can be less than a pound. The stone should have subtle color, subtle shape, subtle markings and patterns. It can look like landscape, like an animal, a person, etc. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It should look beautiful in texture, color, and shape. The stone should also be unique for its characteristics. The stone should not feel too dry. A stone might remind people of something. Or the stone might convey some spirit, which makes people feel or moves them in some way. The stone should be set stable on something nice like a rosewood pedestal which has been carved specifically for the stone.

Aesthetic criteria

By the Tang dynasty, a set of four principal aesthetic qualities for the rocks had emerged consisting of: thinness (shou), openness (tou), perforations (lou), and wrinkling (zhou).

See also

• Bonsai
• Suiseki
• Korean stone art
• Chinese garden
• Floral Arrangement
• Lake Tai - source of many Chinese scholar's rocks

External links

• Visuals and examples of scholar rocks
• Galleries of scholar rocks
• World's largest collection of Scholar rock
• Books on scholars' rocks
• Chinese scholar's rock history, an introductory historical background
• Classification of Chinese scholar's rocks