Beijing Schist Appreciation

Author: Li Huiming
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: Xuan stone and Jinhai stone are both from Pinggu, Beijing. They are two distinct types of stone, one hard and one soft, complementing each other. The appreciation of Xuan stone lies in its form, while the appreciation of Jinhai stone lies in its shape and color. These two stone types are highly valued in terms of aesthetics, favored by collectors and scholars. In recent years, they have won numerous awards in various exhibitions and are renowned across China. However, there has been a lack of promotion in this regard. The main reason is that there are hundreds of people involved in stone mining and collecting in Pinggu, but the original participants were mostly workers and even pure farmers, limited by their cultural level, lacking both the ability and awareness to promote. External buyers, mostly wealthy entrepreneurs, purchase these unique stones primarily as high-end gifts, with little interest in research. Other lay cultural figures, after encountering this stone type, may wish to report on it, but it is difficult to obtain detailed information about Pinggu's stone mining and collecting practices, so they can only provide general promotion that falls short of the mark. In August 2004, the Pinggu Archives Bureau organized a team to visit the homes of stone miners and collectors, conducting on-site photography. Over a period of four months, they captured over 2,200 images, which were collected as cultural materials and stored in the archives. From these, over 200 were selected and compiled into this book.