The Story of Stones

By HUO JIANYING

THE history of humankind started hundreds of millennia ago when our ancestors learned to shape stones into working tools, thus distinguishing themselves from other anthropoid apes who knew only how to use stones to crack nuts. In this sense, stone initiated the development of humankind. The role of rocks in human development also testifies to humankind's innate affinity with the living environment.

The “Fortune Dissipating Stone” Lake Tai rock in the courtyard of the Hall of Happiness and Longevity.

Legends of Stone

    In Chinese mythology, the goddess Nüwa molded men and women out of clay. Not long after people were so created, a crushing catastrophe befell humankind: the God of Water, Gonggong, fought with the God of Fire, Zhurong, and Gonggong was defeated. In anger, he dashed his head on Buzhou Mountain, and within a second the mountain exploded, the earth cracked, and the pillar that stood between heaven and earth broke, causing half the sky to cave in. The battle also set forests ablaze and caused floods to inundate the earth. Seeing the living environment of her sons and daughters ruined, Nüwa was so worried that she determined to patch up the hole in the sky using stones. She fetched various kinds of stone and tempered them into five-colored blocks, with which she mended the sky. She also subdued the fire and floods and saved humankind from disaster.

    The importance of stone in human development is also evinced in Chinese literature. Three of the "Four Greatest Classic Novels" (Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Outlaws of the Marsh, Journey to the West, and A Dream of Red Mansions) open with a story of stone. Outlaws of the Marsh, which tells the story of a group of rebels, unfolds against the historic background of the late Northern Song Dynasty, when Emperor Huizong marshaled the nation's resources to quarry and transport fancy rocks and stones to the capital for the construction of his imperial garden. This operation made the lives of locals so miserable that many rose up against the imperial tyranny.

    Journey to the West introduces the Monkey King Sun Wukong, conceived and born from a supernatural stone. A Dream of Red Mansions was originally named The Story of the Stone. It opens with a description of the origin of the male protagonist, Jia Baoyu: a five-colored stone that Goddess Nüwa left behind after mending the sky acquired a spirit, having absorbed the essence of Heaven and Earth for millennia. It was then reincarnated as a human and came into this world as a grandson of the aristocratic Jia family. The child was born with a piece of luminous jade in his mouth – testimony to his preexistence. He was therefore named Baoyu, or "Precious Jade."

    In ancient times, people could not discriminate between emerald, agate, jade and other precious stones by their chemical makeup, so they referred to them under the general term "stone." To distinguish between different precious and unique stones and ordinary rocks, they defined them as "beautiful stones," which also included naturally formed, strangely shaped rocks of aesthetic value.

Fanatical Stone Lovers

    Chinese people, particularly intellectuals, have a special love for beautiful and unique stones as "masterpieces of nature," and often personify the rocks' features under the influence of a philosophical position stipulating the "unity of man and nature." They collect stones of aesthetic value – installing large rocks as garden and architectural decorations, and enshrining small ones on desks and shelves as ornaments in the home. Stone lovers can always discover an emotional link with unique stones, and perceive personal attributes in the rocks. Many famous men of letters in ancient China were fanatical stone lovers, such as the Tang Dynasty poets Bai Juyi and Du Fu, Song Dynasty calligrapher Mi Fu and poet Su Shi, Ming Dynasty artist Mi Wanzhong, and Qing Dynasty artist Zheng Banqiao.

    Mi Wangzhong (1570-1628) was a scholar official. He loved reading and was a polymath. His paintings and calligraphic works were highly respected for their elegance and good taste. He was also a notorious stone lover, nicknamed "Mr. Stone Friend." The huge rock that now prostrates on a white marble base in the courtyard of the Hall of Happiness and Longevity in the Summer Palace is a testimony to the degree of his obsession.