Perhaps you’ve wondered why the Chinese have such a fascination with rocks. In any self-respecting Chinese garden, you’ll find a fantastically twisted rock standing there waiting to be admired.
Today we are standing in front of \u65e5\u751f\u5ca9. It is a great example of the strange relationship that the Chinese have with rocks. The Forbidden City has a very large rock. A number of the famous gardens in Suzhou have examples that are more to the human scale.
When the Chinese catch sight of one of these rock sculptures, they often exclaim and take a group photo. This fascination extends to internal spaces. You can find smaller versions in Ministries and public buildings. Even scholars often had a small rock sculpture on their desks. It sat among the brushes, ink stand, rice paper, and other scholarly items. Chinese sculptors are continuing to create these rock sculptures.
Chinese garden designers brought the natural landscapes around them into their gardens. The landscapes in question are often the karst landscapes common in many parts of China. One such landscape in Yunnan is known as the Stone Forest. It is famous enough to be a UNESCO World Heritage site.
These rock sculptures often have whorls, curlicues, knobs, and piercings. This fascination with large rocks has taken on a modern twist. It has become a sign of class for any organization to have a large rock placed before its important buildings. The organization’s name is carved on it in classy Chinese characters. These rocks signal the solidity and power of the organization.
However, there are also spare and simple rock sculptures. In the courtyard of a museum in Suzhou, there is a rock sculpture designed by I.M. Pei. It evokes a range of mountains in the distance. This spare style is similar to Japanese rock gardens in Kyoto. These gardens feature small stones and strategically placed plants. The stones are raked to create a vision of ripples around rocky islets.
\u65e5\u751f\u5ca9 is a cultural symbol. It represents the Chinese appreciation for nature and art. It also reflects the changing times and the enduring spirit of the Chinese people.