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generally referred to rocks for garden and studio alike surfaces enlivened by rhythmically spaced hollows
as qishi 奇石 , guaishi 怪石 , or yishi 逸石 ,8 all of which and furrows.14
are correctly translated as “fantastic rocks”. In those
compounds, the characters qi 奇 , guai 怪 , and yi 逸 More highly regarded by traditional Chinese
mean “unusual” or “strange”, with the added and very connoisseurs, scholar’s rocks are much smaller than
favorable connotations of “interesting”, “wonderful”, garden rocks; they range from miniature examples
and “special”. Such rocks are sometimes also called no more than 2 or 3 cm in height to large ones that
lingshi 靈石 , a name that is generally translated as may stand 1½ m tall. By Song times, these smaller
“spirit stones”, even though the term likely originated rocks were taken into the scholar’s study: some
as a contraction of Lingbishi 靈璧石 , and thus would functioned as brushrests, inkstones, or censers;
be more correctly rendered as “Lingbi stones”,9 a those in soapstone 滑石 occasionally were carved
reference to the geographic origins of the most to function as seals; but most served as vehicles for
celebrated family of scholar’s rocks. The Chinese contemplation, appreciated more for their aesthetic
term most frequently used today for scholar’s rocks is merits than for their functional possibilities.
gongshi 供石, which, again, is often translated as “spirit
stones” and which refers to aesthetically pleasing Considered “stand alone items”, scholar’s rocks are
rocks. Modern authors sometimes distinguish garden displayed individually on desk, table, or bookshelf,
rocks as yuanlin lifeng 園林立峰 (“upright peaks for the though an especially large example would be
garden”) and scholar’s rocks as wenfang yashi 文房 anchored in an appropriate stand and set directly on
雅石 (“elegant rocks for the scholar’s studio”).10 Such the floor. Paintings from the Tang and Song dynasties
stones sometimes are also termed wenshi 文石 , which reveal that precious rocks were mounted in basins in
literally means “literary rocks” but which, by extension, early times, the rocks held upright by pebbles placed
connotes “scholar’s rocks”. on the basin floor. In the Ming dynasty, collectors
began to feature their scholar’s rocks on finely crafted
As their name implies, garden rocks are placed in wooden stands, or zuozi 座子 , in the same way that
gardens, where they are often grouped to suggest they might display a fine bronze, jade, or porcelain.15
a series of mountain peaks,11 though an especially Like the frame of a traditional European painting, the
large or handsome specimen might be set against a stand distinguishes the object from the mundane
whitewashed wall or positioned in the center of the and marks it as special. In addition, because it
garden to accord its pride of place.12 Typically grey determines a rock’s orientation, a stand critically
or off-white, garden rocks are often relatively tall, influences the viewer’s perception of a collected rock:
sometimes rising more than 6 m; those from Taihu 太 mounted vertically, a particular rock might resemble
湖 , a lake in southern Jiangsu province long famous a lithe human figure; presented horizontally, it might
for its rocks, are usually perforated,13 but examples suggest a mountainscape or even a bridge over a
from other areas may be solid, their weathered stream.
CHINESE SCHOLAR’S ROCKS FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION 9
