The Wisdom of Nature – Scholar Stone

The JBeauti Bamboo Shadow, Sweet Garden and Window Dreams pieces feature dark inlayed scholar stones with magnificent detail. This post will describe the history and cultural significance of the precious stone.

In the West, people mostly learn philosophy from books. In the East, people believe much of philosophical wisdom comes from nature, such as the example of the scholar stone. This magic stone earned the name of the scholar stone due to its mysterious natural powers and symbolic shape. The stone has been traditionally admired by ancient Chinese scholars, especially for its ability to capture nature’s essence and energy.

Auspicious Dragon Rock (祥龍石圖) by the Chinese Emperor Huizong (1082-1135) of the Song Dynasty, who is also a well-known calligrapher and painter. He created this piece depicting a water-eroded Taihu rock that was likened to a dragon.

The popularity of the scholar stone spread to Japan and Korea and became a similar cultural icon as it had been in China. Suseok (수석), also called viewing stones or scholar's stones, is the Korean term for small, naturally occurring, or shaped rocks which are a very traditional element of Korean culture. Much like in Korean culture, suiseki (水石) is the Japanese version of these rocks appreciated for their aesthetic or decorative value. These stones are not just any stones which can be found in nature; they must be meaningful stones and have a special shape, color or texture to be categorized as suiseki.

During the past centuries, high quality and uniquely shaped scholar stones have been actively pursued by collectors in art markets. The price of scholar stones has been constantly rising in the past decades. An example of the appearance of a scholar stone occurs in the Korean movie ‘Parasite,’ which won four Academy Awards this past year. In ‘Parasite,’ the Kim family is gifted a scholar stone by Ki-woo's friend, Min. However, it appears at first that the stone does bring them the good luck that they have been missing.

JBeauti jewelry has a scholar stone inlayed in many pieces as a unique feature of our designs. The scholar stones represented in JBeauti jewelry are of Taihu Rock from Lake Tai in China which are the most precious kind. The hollow and twisting shape of these stones is the result of water erosion and calcification. The beauty and elegance are enhanced by craftsmen polishing and sanding the stone. We hope that JBeauti jewelry pieces inlayed with the scholar stone will enhance your wisdom and charm by absorbing a magic essence and energy from nature.

• by Jian Li

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