Gongshi

[1] The term is related to the Korean suseok (수석) and the Japanese suiseki (水石).

In the Tang dynasty, a set of four important qualities for the rocks were recognized.

They are: thinness (瘦 shòu), openness (透 tòu), perforations (漏 lòu), and wrinkling (皺 zhòu).

The geological conditions needed for the formation of stones are also present at some other sites.

The aesthetics of a scholar's rock is based on subtleties of color, shape, markings, surface, and sound.

Gongshi (Scholar's rock) in Wenmiao temple , Shanghai
Lingbi stone from Anhui. Ming Dynasty, 15th century
Emperor Huizong of Song painted Auspicious Dragon Rock (祥龍石圖), depicting a water-eroded Taihu rock that was likened to a dragon