Shou Shan Stone

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Birth Place of Shou Shan Stone

Four miles to the north of Fuzhou, Fujian Province, nestled deep in the thick forest is a small village named Shou Shan Village. It is a place of idyllic scenery, fine weather but more importantly, it is internationally known for producing the smooth and brilliant, jade-like Shou Shan Stone.

Types

There was little mining in the period from Song to Ming dynasty. The variety of the stone increased greatly during the Kang Xi reign of the Qing dynasty when there was large-scale mining. In a book titled "Records of Stone Observation", writer Gao Zhao divided Shou Shan Stone into the "water-mine" (shui keng) and "mountain-mine" (shan keng) categories. Another writer Mao Qiling further recorded in his book "After Records of Stone Observation" that there are three types of Shou Shan Stone, namely the field-mine (tian keng), water-mine (shui keng) and mountain mine (shan keng) stones, listed in order of quality. A third Qing writer Guo Bochang gave clear description to the types of Shou Shan Stone and established the methods of categorization by using "keng" (mine) as the basis of division and naming the stones after their place of production.

Tian Keng (field-mine) stone

Also known as Tian Shi (stone) and tian huang (yellow) because of its predominantly yellow colour. Its origin dates to a few hundred years ago, when part of the mineral rocks of the Shou Shan mineral ridge broke away from the ridge and fell into sunken parts of the earth. These stones were buried underneath the sand-and-soil layer and settled in the layer of rock situated under the water fields by the streams in Shou Shan Mountain. The characteristics of Shou Shan Stone are: traces of carrot-shaped grains; bright and deep colour on the outside and pale; whitish colour on the inside; a yellowish peach hue or black grey hue on the skin of the stone and red vein-like grains. There are four types named yellow tian, white tian, red tian and black tian. A very translucent type is called "tian huang dong" while another type with pure yellow colour inside and white colour outside is known as "yin li jin".

Shui Keng (water-mine) stone

This category is found un the upper end of Shou Shan streams that are extremely secluded and hard to reach. Quantity of production is small due to difficulty in mining. The most cherished shui keng stone are old items from a few hundred years ago and very rare. This type is translucent and has a rich lustre. Shui Keng stone can be divided into crystal freeze, fish brain freeze, huang freeze, peach blossom freeze and agate freeze, etc.

Shan Keng (mountain-mine) stone

Scattered in the rocks of Shou Shan and Yue Yang Village. They are named after place of birth or according to colour. Some examples are high mountain stone, red, white, yellow, purple, black and grey stones. There are further classifications within them according to the depth and intensity of their colour. A du cheng keng stone named after Du Cheng is thoroughly translucent and firm in texture and hence tops the list of stone. There are other newer types called Shan Bo Dong, Li Zhi Dong, Yue Wei, Qi Jiang, Lai Ling, Liu Ping, Fu Rong and E Mei.

Why Are Tian Huang Stone So Precious?

1. It is charming and has a magnificent lustre. Its texture is moist and fine and it displays carrot-shaped grains, with the body emitting a light. With excellent carving it becomes more elegant.

2. Rarity: Shou Shan Village is the only place in the world that produces this treasure and with hundreds of years of mining, it is near extinction. Hence a top-grade tian huang is a treasure.

3. Historical and legendary reasons: tian huang stonehas been loved by the Chinese for generations. In ancient time officials sought it for tribute to the emperor, while emperor Qian Long is said to place a huge piece of it in the centre of the altar table when he conducts prayer session offered to the heaven and earth gods. In legend tian huang is the stone left behind by Nu Wa, a goddess who mends the broken sky with rainbow-coloured stones. Some believe it is transformed from the egg of the phoenix and can ward off evil spirits and bestow longevity.