''Gongshi'' (), also known as scholar's rocks, are naturally occurring or shaped

rocks In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's ...

which are traditionally appreciated by Chinese scholars.Metropolitan Museum of Art
"The World of Scholars' Rocks Gardens, Studios, and Paintings"
retrieved 2012-12-20. The term is related to the Korean '' suseok'' () and the Japanese '' suiseki'' (). 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 hundreds of pounds or less than one pound. The term also identifies stones which are placed in traditional

Chinese garden The Chinese garden is a landscape garden style which has evolved over three thousand years. It includes both the vast gardens of the Chinese emperors and members of the imperial family, built for pleasure and to impress, and the more intimate ...

History

In the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...

, a set of four important qualities for the rocks were recognized. They are: thinness (瘦 shòu), openness (透 tòu), perforations (漏 lòu), and wrinkling (皺 zhòu). Gongshi influenced the development of Korean '' suseok'' and Japanese '' suiseki''.

Sources

There are three main Chinese sources for these stones. * Lingbi stone (''Lingbishi'') (Chinese: 灵璧石) from

Lingbi Lingbi County () is a county in the north of Anhui Province, China, bordering Jiangsu province to the north and northeast. It is under the administration of Suzhou Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately roman ...

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

province, limestoneCousins, Craig. (2006)
''Bonsai Master Class,'' p. 246
Lingbi Stone and Asian Art Collection
. (2014) * Taihu stone (''Taihushi'') (Chinese: 太湖石) from

Lake Tai Taihu (), also known as Lake Tai or Lake Taihu, is a lake in the Yangtze Delta and one of the largest freshwater lakes in China. The lake is in Jiangsu province and a significant part of its southern shore forms its border with Zhejiang. Wit ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its c ...

province, limestone * Yingde stone (''Yingshi'' or ''Yingdeshi'') (Chinese: 英石 or 英德石) from Yingde,

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020 ...

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 Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms wh ...

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 In geology, bedrock is solid rock that lies under loose material ( regolith) within the crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet. Definition Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface material. An exposed portion of be ...

). On a still larger scale, the dissolved caves collapse, gradually creating

karst topography Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ...

, such as the famous landscapes of

Guilin Guilin (Standard Zhuang: ''Gveilinz''; alternatively romanized as Kweilin) is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is situated on the west bank of the Li River and borders Hunan to the n ...

in the South China Karst. As rocks are broadly

fractal In mathematics, a fractal is a geometric shape containing detailed structure at arbitrarily small scales, usually having a fractal dimension strictly exceeding the topological dimension. Many fractals appear similar at various scales, as il ...

(geology journals require a scale to be included in images of rocks), the small rocks can resemble the larger landscape.

Aesthetics

The

aesthetics Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, Epistemology, knowledge, Ethics, values, Philosophy of ...

of a scholar's rock is based on subtleties of color, shape, markings, surface, and sound. Prized qualities include: * awkward or overhanging

asymmetry Asymmetry is the absence of, or a violation of, symmetry (the property of an object being invariant to a transformation, such as reflection). Symmetry is an important property of both physical and abstract systems and it may be displayed in pre ...

Mendelson, John
"Chinese scholars' rocks simultaneously original and simulacrum" at ArtNet.com
1996; retrieved 2012-12-20> * resonance or ringing when struck * representation or resemblance to mountainous landscapes, particularly these believed to be inhabited by immortal beings or figure * texture * moistness or glossy surface The stone may be displayed on a

rosewood Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. True rosewoods All genuine rosewoods belong to the genus ''Dalbergia''. The pre-eminent rosewood appreciated in ...

pedestal that has been carved specifically for the stone. The stones are a traditional subject of Chinese paintings.Harvard Museums
"Scholar's rock", 1993 painting
Linrothe, Robert N. (2004)
''Paradise and Plumage: Chinese Connections in Tibetan Arhat Painting,'' p. 24
retrieved 2012-12-20.

Gallery

File:太湖賞石-Rock in the form of a fantastic mountain MET DT208239.jpg, Taihu limestone File:山形靈璧石-Rock in the Form of a Fantastic Mountain MET L37147 2011 575 3ab.jpg, Black Lingbi limestone File:靈璧賞石-Rock in the form of a fantastic mountain MET DP350726.jpg, Gray Lingbi limestone File:靈璧賞石-Rock in the form of a fantastic mountain MET DT208238.jpg, Black Lingbi limestone File:Taihu rock, China, Qing dynasty, limestone with hongmu wood base - Princeton University Art Museum - DSC07081.jpg, Taihu limestone

References

External links

{{Commons category-inline, Scholar's rocks
Visuals and examples of scholar rocks

Galleries of scholar rocks

Books on scholars' rocks

* ttp://shimagata.tripod.com/srclass.htm Classification of Chinese scholar's rocks
Scholar's rock at Metropolitan Museum of Art
Outdoor sculptures in China Chinese art Chinese gardening styles Rock art in China Garden ornaments