Thinking Rocks, Living Stones: Reflections on Chinese Lithophilia

Abstract

One of the most fascinating features that distinguish Chinese culture from the world's other great traditions is its enduring passion for stone. As in many other places, there is prehistoric evidence in China of religious practices in which stone plays a key role, but the Chinese veneration for stone in its natural, unworked state is unparalleled in its intensity and range. A classic historical text from around the 3rd century BCE mentions ‘weird rocks’ or ‘strange stones’ (guai shi) being sent as tribute to the mythical emperor Yu, and records of rocks being arranged in emperors’ parks go back some two thousand years. At first a prerogative of the imperial families, enthusiasm for stone spread subsequently to the literati, and it remains widespread in the culture to this day. This enthusiasm manifests itself not only in the art of garden making, where sizeable rocks constitute both the framework and the primary features of classical gardens, but also on a smaller scale in the practice of collecting and displaying stones of more modest size to be placed in trays or on the desks of scholars. After assessing the nature of this love of stone in China, and then sketching the philosophical presuppositions for it, I conclude with a brief outline of implications for our experience of, and interactions with, stone and rocks.