Chrysanthemum Stone
Chrysanthemum Stone
Dear friends,
Hello, everyone! Among the Hunan specialties I introduced earlier, the world-famous specialty — fireworks — is produced in Liuyang. Now the other famous specialty I want to introduce — Chrysanthemum Stone — is also produced in Liuyang. The Creator has favored Liuyang in this way: not only does the Liuyang River, with its nine bends and eighteen shoals, absorb the essence of the sun and moon and nourish two great leaders of the People's Republic of China and one founding general, but it has also left this place with rich and world-renowned specialties.
Chinese culture has a long history. Through the ages, the chrysanthemum, beautiful in both form and character, has always been listed among the "Four Gentlemen" — plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum — because of its resilience against severe cold and its pride in defying frost and snow. Famous figures and refined scholars have praised chrysanthemums and painted them in countless masterpieces, their love for chrysanthemums evident in their words. Yuan Zhen wrote in "Chrysanthemum": "It is not that I favor chrysanthemums among flowers; after this flower blooms, there are no more flowers." Tao Yuanming's "Picking chrysanthemums by the eastern fence, leisurely I see the southern mountains" has been celebrated through the ages and regarded by later generations as a model. Tao the Magistrate became the symbol of chrysanthemum love; he used the chrysanthemum's elegance and purity to describe himself, refusing to bow for five pecks of rice. Lu You of the Southern Song Dynasty "gathered chrysanthemums to make pillows." Pu Songling said of himself: "I once loved chrysanthemums to the point of obsession, and did not fear seeking fine varieties a thousand li away." It was said that Zhang Henshui's works often captured the spiritual essence of chrysanthemums, and a poem praised him: "Still retaining the lofty aspirations of a noble scholar, leisurely and unadorned, never dressing to please." Huang Chao even used chrysanthemums to express his ambition: "Wait until autumn comes on the eighth day of the ninth month; after my flower blooms, all other flowers will die," and "If one year I become the Lord of Spring, I will make them bloom together with the peach blossoms." The "Three Chrysanthemums" of Yangzhou were all infatuated with painting chrysanthemums. Wu Yangeng cultivated more than 300 varieties of chrysanthemums, and for years "immersed" himself in growing famous chrysanthemums by the Slender West Lake. From evening drums to morning bells, he was neighbor, friend, and student to the chrysanthemums. The contemporary master of calligraphy and painting Qi Gong used chrysanthemums as a metaphor for people: "Fallen flowers are silent; a person is as understated as a chrysanthemum." The great leader Mao Zedong had an especial fondness for chrysanthemums and named the study in his residence at Fengze Garden in Zhongnanhai "Juxiang Shuwu" — the Chrysanthemum Fragrance Study. His verse "Not like spring light, yet surpassing spring light; the yellow flowers on the battlefield are especially fragrant" pushed the technique of praising chrysanthemums to the utmost.
It is against this cultural background that Chrysanthemum Stone became a uniquely Chinese ornamental stone. Chrysanthemum Stone, also known as "stone chrysanthemum," is found in the rock layers at the bottom of the Daxi River, a tributary of the Liuyang River in Hunan. Its "flowers" were nurtured more than 200 million years ago and were formed from primitive marine algae and animals through geological changes into animal fossils, naturally forming in the rock through geological movement. Long immersed in the clear waters of the river, "taking the essence of the sun and moon and absorbing the spirit of heaven and earth," the stone is especially fine-grained. Its flower shapes closely resemble brilliantly colorful autumn chrysanthemums. Vivid white or pink chrysanthemums are embedded in the dark black stone body, pure as jade and crystal clear, ancient and elegant, lifelike. Chrysanthemum Stone, sought for "the truth of natural wild charm, the wonder of quality, color, and shape, the antiquity of simplicity and loftiness, the strangeness of chrysanthemum beauty, and the rarity of solitary excellence," is praised by people as "chrysanthemum water stone" and a "wonder stone."
"A stone that has flowers is itself a wonder." Liuyang Chrysanthemum Stone is the most wonderful among the many wonder stones. Its wonder lies in the fact that on a pitch-black background blooms a white chrysanthemum, black and white sharply contrasted, with flower center and petals vividly lifelike, as if painted by a master. But when you touch it, it is hard and cold, and only then do you realize it is a naturally formed wonder stone. The black matrix limestone of Chrysanthemum Stone and the white "chrysanthemum" form a strong color contrast. The chrysanthemum "centers" of various forms are fluffy and dotted, and the "petals" stretch naturally, highly realistic. Occasionally other ancient biological fossils embellish it, making it even more vivid and peculiar. Without processing, it is already a spiritual picture painted by nature's divine brush. If it is carefully designed by craftsmen and processed with the superb skills of sculptors, skillfully using the matrix, the "chrysanthemum," ancient biological fossils, and different color contrasts to make exquisite handicrafts, it can become an art treasure of extremely high ornamental and collectible value. This is undoubtedly also the reason why carving artists are devoted to Chrysanthemum Stone all their lives.
Chrysanthemum ornamental stones in a thousand postures are endowed with divine charm: "look at them as if they were glass," touch them as if they were moist jade, tap them as if they were bells and chimes, "kiss them as if they were ice milk." Chrysanthemum Stone is beautiful in its naturalness and wonderful in its uniqueness. Collected and placed in halls, studios, and studies, seen morning and evening, it inspires self-awareness and self-enlightenment. It is a refined art of ornamentation and collection with profound cultural accumulation.
At first glance, Chrysanthemum Stone looks like rough coal gangue, with white chrysanthemums hidden in the stone. After being carved by a skilled artisan, it emerges like a white chrysanthemum revealed when the water recedes and the stone appears. This white chrysanthemum must have been a marine organism hundreds of millions of years ago. Through the transformations of fish and dragons and the overturning of heaven and earth, the organism lost its life and changed from soft to hard. The process involved must have been extremely slow and long. A poet, upon first seeing Chrysanthemum Stone, was astonished and wrote a poem in praise: "How could there be such a rare flower in stone? Searching the whole world, this family alone. A wisp of spirit bright as snow, its charm lies not in a bamboo fence." Chrysanthemum Stone is indeed a wonder stone that vividly resembles chrysanthemums. It is said that in the Liuyang area, after every heavy rain, fresh and beautiful white chrysanthemums are washed out, spread along mountain roads and dotted on cliffs, too beautiful to take in all at once.
Natural Chrysanthemum Stone resources are rare and uncommon. In the world, only China produces it, and in China only Liuyang, Hunan, produces it. Liuyang Chrysanthemum Stone is hailed as "the only one in the world." Liuyang Chrysanthemum Stone is fine-grained, with natural white flower shapes closely resembling blooming chrysanthemums, clear in texture, embedded in black or gray-black limestone. The center of the petals is composed of approximately round flint (SiO2), vividly like fully blooming chrysanthemums. The stone is naturally produced, with black and white clearly distinguished. The white part forms flower shapes in a thousand postures, crystal clear and translucent, like blooming white chrysanthemums, pleasing to the eye. Through the careful work of stone carving artisans, it is carved into ornamental wonder stones of distinct black and white and exquisite beauty, making people linger and forget to return when viewing them and unable to put them down when touching them. It has become a unique treasure of China's jade craftsmanship. The Ministry of Geology and Mineral Resources of the People's Republic of China listed it among gemstones and named it "Yudiefei." It is a precious wonder stone unique in the world today.
It is said that long ago, by the Liuyang River in Yonghe Town, there was a Butterfly Mountain. At its foot lived an old scholar surnamed Mei who loved chrysanthemums deeply, planting, loving, and speaking of them, with chrysanthemums as his neighbors. He named his most beloved only daughter Juhua, or Chrysanthemum. From childhood, his daughter grew up as beautiful and outstanding in character as a chrysanthemum. As she grew older, Juhua gradually fell in love with the study servant Jushi, her childhood sweetheart. Because of the disparity in social status, the old scholar obstructed them in every possible way. In the end, Juhua and Jushi died together for love, embracing as they jumped into the Liuyang River to show the purity of their love. The next day, the river was clear as a mirror, and on the bluestone at the bottom of the river bloomed crystal-clear white chrysanthemums. Bathed in the clear stream and illuminated by moonlight, they seemed to tell a poignant and beautiful story.
The true origin of Chrysanthemum Stone lies in the vicissitudes of the sea and land. According to scientists' research, more than 200 million years ago, the Dongxiang area of Liuyang was a shallow sea. After many changes, nature gradually formed radial aggregates of celestite with siliceous flint nodules, which were later replaced and filled by calcium carbonate (calcite), forming chrysanthemum-petal-shaped stone chrysanthemums composed of white calcite. Through nature's uncanny workmanship, embedded in dark jade, the stone chrysanthemums appear in varied forms and gorgeous postures. They are rare nonmetallic mineral products in the world. With color, shape, quality, meaning, charm, and character all present, their petals are as fine as jade, the texture is excellent, and the flower shapes are richly charming and subtly evocative. The milky-white natural flower shapes closely resemble blooming chrysanthemums, with clear texture, distinct boundaries, solid texture, and flower forms in a thousand postures, truly a spectacle.
Liuyang Chrysanthemum Stone is produced in the bed of the Liuyang River in Yonghe Town, Liuyang City. The mining site has a water depth of about 7 meters and is submerged year-round, making extraction truly difficult. In good Chrysanthemum Stone, the core of the flower center is quartz, while the edge is celestite and a small amount of quartz; the petals are pure celestite. Its flowers closely resemble brilliantly colorful autumn chrysanthemums. The flowers are milky white, with clear texture, distinct boundaries, vivid appearance, pure as ice and jade, and truly a spectacle. The chrysanthemum petals are multilayered and have a three-dimensional feel. The flowers vary in size: the largest diameter is 50 centimeters, the smallest 3 centimeters, and most are about 10 centimeters. Besides chrysanthemum shapes, the patterns in the stone also resemble embroidery flowers, butterfly flowers, copper coin flowers, crab claw flowers, chicken claw flowers, and so on, varied and never identical. The matrix rock around Chrysanthemum Stone is limestone or siliceous gravel limestone. The limestone occasionally contains fusulinid and gastropod coral fossils, adding vitality to Chrysanthemum Stone. The white, crystal-clear chrysanthemums set off the black background of the matrix rock, with black and white clearly distinguished and an antique flavor. Occasionally dotted with several ancient biological fossils, it appears even more vivid and peculiar. Therefore, unprocessed specimens collected from the site are already favored by ornamental stone collectors, because it is itself a natural and beautiful picture. If it is finely carved into handicrafts, it is even more beautiful and exquisite. With its unique appearance and steadfast symbolism, Chrysanthemum Stone has become a treasured collectible for many lovers of culture and art. Because Chrysanthemum Stone is produced only in Liuyang and its reserves are very small, many experts praise it as a "national treasure."
The discovery and processing of Chrysanthemum Stone occurred roughly during the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1736-1795), about two hundred years ago. According to legend, someone discovered this peculiar stone in the riverbed beside Yonghe Town and kept it at home. Later it was bought by an enthusiast and eventually passed into the hands of a scholar named Ouyang Xifan. Since Ouyang was usually skilled at carving, he was overjoyed to see the stone as if he had obtained a treasure. He took it home, studied it carefully, and carved it exquisitely according to the flower shapes. Before long, an elegant and distinctive chrysanthemum stone inkstone appeared in the living room, attracting men of letters and connoisseurs from all quarters to admire it.
Chrysanthemum stone carving is one of China's three famous stone carvings. At that time, people took stones to build dams and accidentally discovered this peculiar stone. It was different from other stones, gray or gray-black in color, bearing naturally formed white chrysanthemum-like patterns, pure white and crystal clear, wonderfully natural. So the local Yang Changhou opened the "Butian Stone" workshop and used this stone to carve inkstone pools. When ink was ground in them, they remained moist for a long time without drying, possessing "wonderful stone texture moist, color tight and sound clear," and were deeply loved by people. Although the excavation and carving of Chrysanthemum Stone into handicrafts began during the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1736-1795), at that time it was only used as a tribute to the imperial court and only later spread among the people. According to the Journal of the Palace Museum: "The Qing imperial household already stored several chrysanthemum stone inkstones, the largest nearly one and a half chi and the smallest about seven or eight cun." From then on, Liuyang Chrysanthemum Stone and chrysanthemum stone carving became famous for a time and were regarded by successive dynasties, officials, and wealthy merchants as fine items for collection and gifts.
In the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, relief carving, half-relief, openwork, and round carving began to be developed for tea sets, wine cups, tea tables, tabletop surfaces, rockeries, vases, and so on. Flower forms developed from simple to complex, such as works of the "Four Gentlemen" — plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum — butterflies gathering chrysanthemums, bees gathering flowers, golden roosters gathering chrysanthemums, and so on, becoming treasures of arts and crafts. In 1910, the antique-style chrysanthemum stone carving by master arts and crafts artist Dai Qingsheng was exhibited at the Encouraging Industry Exhibition held by the Qing government in Nanjing and won a rare treasure medal. In 1915, at the Panama Pacific International Exposition, Dai Qingsheng's "Reflecting Snow" vase and "Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, Chrysanthemum" screen were exhibited, astonishing the world, which marveled that "stone can bloom." They won the "Gold Medal for Treasures" in one stroke and are still preserved in the United Nations Museum. In 1959, not long after the founding of New China, the people of Liuyang presented a giant round-carved treasure called "Stone Chrysanthemum Forest Mountain," 1.2 meters high, 60 centimeters long, 48 centimeters wide, and 400 kilograms in weight, known as a national treasure, to the Great Hall of the People in Beijing for people of all ethnic groups to admire. Among them, the largest chrysanthemum reached 54 centimeters in diameter, the longest petal 36 centimeters, and the widest 9 centimeters. The "chrysanthemums" were pure white and crystal clear, elegant and unrestrained, with 56 chrysanthemums in total. In 1984, 12 treasures including the lotus and goldfish inkstone and chrysanthemum stone inkstone, finely carved by artisan Li Hezhang, caused a sensation when exhibited in Japan. In 1997 and 1999, to celebrate the return of Hong Kong and Macao, the people of Liuyang specially created two commemorative chrysanthemum stone carvings and presented them respectively to the governments of the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions. In 2000, at the "First Tourism Shopping Festival" held in Guangzhou, nine exhibits sent by Liuyang, including "Bright Chrysanthemums Welcoming Autumn," "Chrysanthemum Stone Mountain," "Plum Chrysanthemum" incense burner, and inkstone pool, won the "Tianma Silver Award" and were snapped up by merchants from Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. A chrysanthemum stone collected by the Zheng brothers of Guangzhou is 1.7 meters high and bears 66 chrysanthemums. At the time it was called the chrysanthemum stone with the most chrysanthemums among Liuyang chrysanthemum stones and was a rare treasure.
Recently, a chrysanthemum stone said to be the largest and heaviest in the world appeared in Changsha. Although Liuyang is long famous for producing natural chrysanthemum stone, it was the first time a whole piece had been carved into such a large-scale craft stone. This natural giant chrysanthemum stone originally weighed 3.5 tons. To display Hunan's unique chrysanthemum stone carving craft, three top-grade stone carving technicians spent more than six months carefully carving it. In addition to carving 188 natural stone chrysanthemums of varied forms and graceful postures, they also carved 18 jade dragons roaring toward the sky winding among the flower stones. At the bottom of the flower stone is the rippling Xiang River. Its profound Huxiang cultural symbolism is very deep. The finished work is 1.5 meters high, 3.5 meters long, and weighs 1.3 tons.
Chrysanthemum stone carving generally adopts techniques such as shallow relief, high relief, round carving, openwork carving, and penetrated carving. Works range from flat seedling leaves to round-carved three-dimensional flowers, and subjects have expanded from landscapes, flowers, and grass to ancient and modern figures, birds, and beasts, encompassing everything. But determining the grade of a chrysanthemum stone carving is not an easy matter; it involves the quality of the material, whether the modeling is accurate and vivid, whether the sculptural language is rich, and whether the craftsmanship is refined.
The flower is the foundation of chrysanthemum stone carving, and chrysanthemum stone carving is named for its flowers. Because materials differ by place of origin, the appearance, texture structure, mineral composition, and the size, number, form, and color of the stone chrysanthemums also have their own characteristics, such as crab claw chrysanthemum, hydrangea chrysanthemum, bamboo leaf chrysanthemum, cattail leaf chrysanthemum, and coin chrysanthemum; there are double centers, single centers, and no centers; there are single petals and double petals, and fully open and half-open forms. Crab claw chrysanthemum and hydrangea chrysanthemum are the best. The characteristics of a good flower are large and complete form, beautiful and varied appearance, pure white and crystal-clear color, hard and fine texture, broad petals, even radiation, appropriate density, elegant and free from vulgarity, and clear spacing between petals. Combined with the artist's artistic treatment, it can truly be called natural artistic charm.
The level of a work's modeling depends on the artistic cultivation of the designer and carver. The modeling of chrysanthemum stone carving is limited by the stone flower, stone shape, and stone quality, and generally uses two methods. One is to apply skills according to the material; the other is to select material according to a fixed theme. Whichever method is used, it is required to pursue artistic conception, convey spirit and realism, strive for formal beauty, and ingeniously combine the work's form, spirit, and emotion. A perfect work has a complete external shape, novel composition, prominent theme, ingenious conception, and reasonable layout. The sizes of chrysanthemums and branches and leaves are appropriately matched, and their interweaving is just right; mountains, rocks, and water ripples turn and change in many ways, with continuous momentum. Based on the flower shape, number, and position of the stone material, the artist can design several types of modeling for single-side appreciation, double-side appreciation, and multi-side appreciation. Works for double-side appreciation are divided into primary and secondary sides; works for multi-side appreciation are especially particular about modeling and must meet the requirements of static, dynamic, and multi-angle appreciation.
In addition, there is the degree of fineness of the carving craft. The author's technical level determines the quality of the craftsmanship. Different themes and modeling should have different carving techniques and expressive methods. Chrysanthemum stone carving has many handling methods, such as openwork, relief, round carving, and line carving. The author uses appropriate carving techniques according to the requirements of the stone shape and theme. Openwork carving should be ethereal and transparent, fine and ingenious, with emotion in the object and layer upon layer overlapping; relief carving should fully display painting effects and decorative quality, with a strong three-dimensional feel, and there are distinctions between deep relief and shallow relief; round carving is fully three-dimensional, and front, back, left, and right must all be considered. The front should be carved finely, while the two sides and back can generally be simpler; line carving includes incised and raised lines, mainly used to depict the veins of chrysanthemum leaves and various decorative patterns, requiring rhythm and fluency, vivid and smooth. Usually, the creation of a carved handicraft requires many kinds of knives and carving methods to express the different textures of different objects and the overall artistic effect, requiring free transitions, clear outlines, and a strong overall sense.
Because chrysanthemum stone raw material is naturally formed, no two pieces are ever identical. Each work is carved according to its natural form and has its own characteristics. All are unique pieces, and therefore they have even greater collectible and ornamental value. Because chrysanthemum stone contains various trace elements essential to the human body, such as selenium, strontium, and iron, teapots carved from it brew tea with overflowing fragrance, clear the eyes and refresh the heart, feel cool in summer and slightly warm in severe winter. The ornamental stone tea sets, the four treasures of the study, vases, mirror bottles, and animals produced from it all have very high practical, collectible, and ornamental value, and are especially the best gifts for relatives and friends. In 2005, when James Soong, chairman of the People First Party, visited Hunan, one of the gifts presented by Hunan was a valuable chrysanthemum stone symbolizing peace year after year. The existence of chrysanthemum stone has undoubtedly greatly enhanced the fame of Yonghe Town and even Liuyang City. In a certain sense, chrysanthemum stone is a permanent calling card for Liuyang City.