Rocks and shapes

One thing I find intriguing about Chinese culture is that when they choose naturally weathered rocks to decorate their gardens and open spaces, which they do with great frequency, the ones they choose are entirely irregular in shape. In the west, we are fascinated with rocks which have geometrically regular shapes and patterns through natural processes and it is hard for us to see why many of the rock sculptures have been chosen (the one in the photo is probably an exception which proves this rule).

In contrast, when we build in stone, we dislike the fresh cut edges and faces and look forward to the effects of weather and time to 'soften' our works. But here they like to keep their craved and cut stonework looking as fresh as if it had just left the stonemasons' yard yesterday. I have even seen teams with angle-grinders 'cleaning' public stonework.

This one is in the new Summer Palace, a huge pleasure garden of the Qing dynasty which was destroyed by western bombing twice in the 19th century but restored and re-opened in 1902, and open to the public since 1924. Look LARGE to see the pagoda in the distance.