{"product_id":"9780789211521","title":"Spirit Stones: The Ancient Art of the Scholar's Rock","description":"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBrilliant photographs of scholars' rocks, or Chinese ornamental stones, from a leading collection\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003eShaped by nature and selected by man, scholars' rocks, or \u003ci\u003egongshi\u003c\/i\u003e, have been prized by Chinese intellectuals since the Tang dynasty, and are now sought after by Western collectors as well.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThey are a natural subject for the photographer Jonathan Singer, most recently acclaimed for his images of those other remarkable hybrids of art and nature, Japanese bonsai.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHere Singer turns his lens on some 150 fine \u003ci\u003egongshi\u003c\/i\u003e, ancient and modern, from the world-class collection of Kemin Hu, a recognized authority on this art form. In his photographs, Singer captures the spiritual qualities of these stones as never thought possible in two dimensions; he shows us that scholars' rocks truly are, in Hu's words, \"condensations of the vital essence and energy of heaven and earth.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHu contributes an introductory essay on the history and aesthetics of scholars' rocks, explaining the traditional terms of stone appreciation, such as \u003ci\u003eshou\u003c\/i\u003e (thin), \u003ci\u003ezhou\u003c\/i\u003e (wrinkled), \u003ci\u003elou\u003c\/i\u003e (channels), and \u003ci\u003etou\u003c\/i\u003e (holes). She also provides a narrative caption for each stone, describing its history and characteristics.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Abbeville Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47042045477104,"sku":"9780789211521","price":95.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780789211521_p0.jpg?v=1763662566","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780789211521","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}