Basic Introduction to Foshan Stone
The Chinese treasure – Foshan Stone (Shoushan Stone), one of the traditional “Four Major Seal Stones” in China. It is distributed in the “Golden Triangle” area where the suburban areas of Jin'an District in the northern suburbs of Fuzhou City intersect with Lianjiang County and Luoyuan County. If we consider the direction of the mineral veins, it can be further divided into three systems: Gao Shan, Qi Shan, and Yue Yang. As the Foshan mining area was developed early, the old saying “field pits, water pits, mountain pits” referred to the minerals extracted from the fields, watercourses, and caves in this mining area. After 1500 years of mining, over a hundred varieties of Foshan stones have emerged. Foshan stone has become one of the significant bridges for economic and trade exchanges and cultural exchanges across the Taiwan Strait.
Product Characteristics
Foshan Stone belongs to the type of diatomite, with a moist texture, glossy appearance, and low hardness. The characteristics of Foshan Stone being “warm, lustrous, and easy to carve” have made it a preferred material for carving since ancient times.
History and Folklore
According to legend, when the Phoenix Goddess was dispatched by the Heavenly Emperor to tour the northern suburban areas of Fuzhou, she was so attracted by the beautiful scenery of Foshan that she descended from the clouds during her journey. She rested for a moment amidst the tranquil forests and hills of Foshan, drank from the Tianquan Spring atop Gold Mountain, tasted the lingzhi fruit from Monkey Pond, bathed in the clear waters of Foshan Creek, and then fell asleep on the peaks of Gao Shan. When she woke up, she found herself surrounded by singing birds and blooming flowers, and her feathers had become even more colorful and radiant, making her look even more graceful and noble. This made her fall in love with Foshan. As she prepared to leave, she felt reluctant to go and filled with sorrow. She wished that her descendants could thrive in this beautiful place. Later, the eggs she left behind transformed into the crystal-clear, multicolored Foshan stones.
How to Distinguish Genuine from Fake
This includes shape, corners, and surface features. For example, field pit stones are rootless and unformed, without any identifiable veins, naturally occurring in block form without distinct corners, and have a distinctive color layer. Mountain pit stones are found in the villages of Foshan and Yueyang. Their qualities vary due to different vein systems and origins, hence the names of mountain pit stones are particularly diverse. All stones mined from the various caves in Pitkou are collectively known as “water pit stones.” Due to the abundant groundwater in these mines, the stones are often translucent, and many of the “crystals” and “frosts” found in Foshan stones come from here.
Color
This primarily involves observing the distribution of hues and the aggregation of colors inside and outside the stone. Foshan stones come in a variety of colors, each with its own set of rules for coloration.
Tactile Quality
This encompasses visual perception (observing the texture on the surface and within the stone), tactile perception (feeling the surface texture), the sensation of weight (experiencing the heaviness, such as with water pit or old pit stones), and the sensation while carving (the ease or difficulty of carving, smoothness or resistance; Foshan stones are easy to carve).
Texture
This includes patterns and cracks (cracks refer to visible or invisible fissures, while lines are inherent separations or pattern lines in the stone). Most Foshan stones contain lines, and some types feature beautiful patterns, such as the radish thread pattern in Lichi Cave stones, wave-like patterns in Dashi stones, and the colorful patches in Shanyouyuan stones. Once you've acquired a basic understanding of these methods, you can apply them to identify Foshan stone carvings.
Awards and Honors for Foshan Stone
On February 19, 2000, during the second national stone selection, Fuzhou's Foshan stone came out as the top choice among all stone categories and was hailed as the “King of Stones.”