What are the similarities and differences between stone appreciation in the East and the West?

The eastern stone appreciation culture with natural rocks as the main aesthetic object has something in common with the western stone appreciation culture with mineral crystals and fossils as the main aesthetic object. Their emphasis is the same, that is naturalness and uniqueness. Both emphasize that ornamental stones should be natural, primitive and complete, and they are not allowed to be pieced together and deliberately processed. Of course, there are more differences between the two. Oriental stone appreciation pays attention to subjective experience, thinking in images and emphasizing poetry and painting; Western stone appreciation emphasizes intuitive feeling, logical thinking and exploring the formation mechanism. Oriental stone appreciation advocates play and appreciation, and people blend with stones; Western stone appreciation is only suitable for long-distance display, not for close-up play. The difference between them is caused by the difference of natural environment, cultural background and even living habits.

Oriental Stone Appreciation was born in Wei and Jin Dynasties in China, matured in Tang and Song Dynasties, and further influenced countries and regions in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It came into being in the heyday of feudal society, and it is an elegant culture advocated by literati. Although it was deeply influenced by Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, it was a perceptual and introspective cultural activity from the beginning, and a complete theoretical system was not established, but the Lieduo area accumulated experience and was established as an artistic style. This is an art of discovery and imagination. Ornamental stones are changeable rather than stereotyped, so that people can enjoy them according to their own experiences, travels and experiences, which are more manifested as a personalized and personalized aesthetic experience (of course, this does not exclude some recognized standards and fine products).

Looking closely at western stone appreciation, it was only 200 years old. It is the product of the peak of the capitalist industrial era, based on the scientific theories of mineralogy, petrology and paleontology born during the industrial revolution, so it is guided by science and theory from the beginning, and its advocates are mainly workers and museums engaged in natural science, so it is a rational collection activity, paying more attention to the scientific connotation of ornamental stones themselves. Emphasizing the unity of aesthetic feeling and science, paying attention to the exploration of the formation mechanism of ornamental stones, attaching importance to their academic research value, and evaluating their ornamental and artistic taste according to scientific vision and thinking are essentially different from the artistic appreciation (naming) emphasized by Oriental stone appreciation. There is no deep cultural accumulation in western stone appreciation, and the implicit and imaginative titles similar to many eastern stone appreciation are unique, which is why it is easy to popularize and establish a common evaluation standard.