Travels of Floating Stones
Date: 13/05/2021
Site: China Academy of Art
Member: Zixuan HONG, Baohan RAN, Yu LIN
Travels of Floating Stones was my work during my sophomore year. The concept of the work originated from the stories of the Song Dynasty.
In the year of Zhenghe Jian (1113), Emperor Huizong of Song referred to Laojun Meng as a mad believer in the Dao, and later called him the "Dao Jun Emperor". Taoism reveres stones, and Emperor Huizong of Song believes in the existence of the Panlong God in stones, who is placed in a strange stone dish and can help him ascend to heaven. Emperor Huizong of Song searched for stones and rocks for twenty years, which is known as "Hua Shi Xi" in history, and pioneered the trend of ancient Chinese stone appreciation. Taoist's advice: Raise the northeast area outside the wall, and there will be blessings for children. So, Zhao Xinyan piled up a long live mountain, like the roots listed in the Eight Trigrams of the Tao, and stacked the soil into several feet, hence the name 'Root'. It lasted for six years and accumulated wealth.
Cai Jing was ordered to take flowers and stones from Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces and present them to the authorities in Suzhou and Hangzhou. He specifically requested flowers and stones to be transported to Tokyo. In 1117, Emperor Huizong of Song built a stone in Lingbi County, Anhui Province, which was four zhang high and carried on a giant ship with thousands of laborers. In the county, there were dismantled water gates, beams, and city walls for residents. Those who were supposed to follow the original plan should not be allowed to do so. Instead, thousands of grain ships were used to the fullest extent, even to the side of commerce. The stone boats were too big and small to be sufficient, so why did they rely on the rocks as their homes. Like a floating immortal, from Jiangnan to Kaifeng, along the Huai River and Bian River.
In ancient times, the transportation of giant stones was based on the use of stones to occupy boats, making it impossible for people to settle down. Therefore, they searched for caves to settle in, and sought every convenient place as a bed, chair, or table. The relationship between people, mountains (stones), and boats is intertwined, with mountains being boats and boats being occupied by mountains; People walk on boats and live in the mountains.
The fusion of people and boats and stones creates three perspectives: firstly, living inside the stones is like swimming in the mountains; 2、 From the side of the boat, one can observe the rocks as if they were mountains, and from below, one can look up at the mountains; 3、 Watching rocks by the shore is like standing from afar, gazing at a mountain. Similar to the panoramic composition in landscape paintings, the fusion of the mountains, the mountains below, and the mountains outside is integrated into the scenery of one painting. When appreciating paintings, one should also immerse themselves in them. Under the guise of tracing history, I am amazed by the marvelous views of the Song Dynasty.