Scholar’s rock
Artifact from the Qing Dynasty

Rocks have long been admired in China as an essential feature in gardens. By the early Song dynasty (960–1279), small ornamental rocks were also collected as accoutrements of the scholar's study, and the portrayal of rocks, often joined by an old tree or bamboo, became a favorite and enduring pictorial genre. Especially prized are stones that have been sculpted naturally by processes of erosion or that appear to have been shaped by nature even if they have been artfully enhanced by man. Pitted, hollowed out, and perforated, such rocks, which are often displayed on end, are seen as embodiments of the dynamic transformational processes of nature. By the Tang dynasty (618–907), four principal aesthetic criteria—thinness (shou), openness (tou), perforations (lou), and wrinkling (zhou)—had been identified for judging scholars' rocks as well as the larger examples featured in gardens. Besides these formal qualities, rocks were also admired for their resemblance to mountains or caves, particularly the magical peaks and subterranean paradises (grotto-heavens) believed to be inhabited by immortal beings. Some rocks were appreciated for their resemblance to animals, birds, human figures, or mythical creatures.

Purchase through the Brian R. Endowment Fund