The Scholar's Rock - practicing the art of patience, appreciation, and observation:

"In China, viewing stones (scholars rocks and spirit stones known by the Chinese as "Gongshi") have been an art of appreciation for over a thousand years. During the Tang dynasty (618-907AD), it was said that a garden could not be beautiful without such rocks, and that a studio lacked elegance without gongshi. They were transported to Japan and Korea and presented as fine tributes. Dating back to the Han Dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE), Chinese religious and aesthetic interest in collecting rocks was first based on decorating their courtyards and gardens. Evolving from the appreciation of larger garden rocks, "Scholars rocks" are smaller stones appreciated for the ability to carry them and to display them indoors for meditation and beauty." (http://www.suiseki.com/history/chinese.html)

History of Viewing Stones

The British Museum

A Modern Take on an Ancient Art Form

Ceramic Scholar's Rocks by artist Zhao Meng

The Formal Qualities of Gongshi

Structure  &  Absence Craig Burnett on Chinese Scholar’s Rocks (video)

Go back: The "Way" of Art

Go to: Chinese Painting