| Viewing stones' origins can be traced to China, where literary scholars collected them with the belief that nature was an artist creating unpredictable forms. Their choices leaned toward the dramatic. The vertical stones seem to reach for the heavens. Chinese viewing stones still are referred to as ``scholar's rocks.''
Gathering viewing stones then spread to Japan, where collectors hoarded more graceful, subtle rock forms. In Korea, viewing stones are called Soosuk, or ``water rock,'' and tend to boast strong and hearty shapes.
Nearly all Korean viewing stones are discovered in rivers that create silky-smooth surfaces, caressed by water over thousands of years. Chinese and Japanese stones can be found not only in rivers but deserts and other dry-land environments as well.
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). |
