CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 2/10/2024

Enter the Year of the Dragon with ‘Cultivated Stones’

“On first encounter, Chinese scholars’ rocks perplex,” Phillip E. Bloom writes in the National Bonsai Foundation's enlightening study, Cultivated Stones: Chinese Scholars' Rocks from the Kemin Hu Collection. “Though composed of solid stone, they may appear to billow like clouds or dance like flames; though viewed atop stands or tables, they may evoke snowcapped mountains or turbulent seas, ferocious beasts or tranquil vistas. When tapped with a mallet—or even a fingernail—they may resonate like bells or tinkle like chimes. A good rock encourages close looking, inviting viewers to explore its wrinkles and crevices, to become lost among its peaks and holes, to embrace its alluring strangeness. One quickly becomes bewildered: ‘What is this odd thing that I am viewing? Why does it exert such a pull on me? What is so appealing about its weirdness?’" Featured here is the Hubei Province turquoise scholars' rock "Charm of a Verdant Peak," reflecting a classic cloud shape.