Introduction to Yingshi
Yingshi, originated in Yingde and is therefore also known as Yingde stone. Yingshi is a delicate and translucent limestone sculpted from thousands of years of sudden cold exposure, arrow rain, wind knives, and divine axes in nature. The four words "thin, wrinkled, leaking, and transparent" succinctly describe the characteristics of Yingshi. The large ones can be built into gardens or courtyards with mountain views, while the small ones can be made into landscape panels and placed on tables, with great ornamental and collectible value.
In terms of its texture, quartz can be divided into two types: yang stone and yin stone. Yangshi is exposed to the ground, weathered for a long time, with a hard texture, a green color, a thin body, multiple wrinkles on the surface, and a crisp sound when pressed. It is suitable for making rockeries and bonsai. The Yin stone is deeply buried underground, with insufficient weathering, a loose and smooth texture, a green and black color, some with white lines in between, a transparent shape, a majestic shape, and a subtle sound of clashing, suitable for independent landscape formation. On April 27, 2006, the former General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine approved the implementation of geographical indication product protection for "Yingshi".Yingshi is a limestone in sedimentary rocks, mainly produced in the Yingde Mountains in the middle reaches of the Beijiang River in Guangdong Province. The karst landform in this area is well-developed, and the rocks are prone to dissolution and weathering, forming rugged folds; Combined with sufficient sunshine, abundant rainfall, and extreme heat and cold, mountain rocks are prone to collapse into valleys. After being corroded by acidic soil, they appear embedded and exquisite. The natural color of quartz stone is white, but due to weathering and impurities (such as metal minerals copper, iron, etc.), it appears in multiple colors, including black, green gray, gray black, light green, etc. Black and green gray are commonly seen, with black as paint being preferred. The stones are often interspersed with white calcite stripes. Yingshi is divided into two categories: Yangshi and Yinshi: Yangshi is exposed in the sky, Yinshi is hidden in the soil, Yangshi is divided into straight grain stone, diagonal grain stone, stacked stone, etc. according to its surface morphology, and Yinshi is jade smooth and transparent; Yangshi wrinkled, thin and transparent, each with its own characteristics and strengths. According to expert estimates, there are 600 million tons of exploitable quartz stone resources, ranking first among the four famous stones in China.According to the research of experts from the 706 Geological Brigade of the former Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, before the Lower Paleozoic, the Yingde area only had sedimentary strata of the Cambrian and Cambrian systems, and like most areas in northern Guangdong, it lacked Ordovician and Silurian strata. After a considerable period of erosion, from the Middle Devonian period (about 380 million years ago), there was a sea invasion from southwest to northeast, and the Yingde region only accepted sedimentation. From the Zhongzi Bridge Formation of the Middle Devonian to the Hutian Group of the Middle Upper Carboniferous, they were all shallow marine facies, with some areas dominated by reef carbonate formations. As the crust rises, the Anglo German region becomes land, and limestone is distributed throughout the vast area of Anglo German. Due to its unique geographical and climatic features, England and Germany are located in the humid and hot south, with abundant rainfall, sufficient groundwater supply, high temperatures, and the decomposition of a large amount of carbon dioxide due to bacterial reproduction and plant photosynthesis, making the England and Germany region have good karst conditions. During the long geological history, when carbon dioxide rich groundwater (surface water) flowed along the pores (surface) of limestone, it dissolved the limestone, and the CaCO3 in the limestone became Ca (HCO3) 2 and flowed away. The dissolution process enlarged the pores inside the limestone, and the original surface of the limestone suffered a large amount of dissolution and subsidence, forming quartz. Due to the differences in chemical composition, structure, fractures, and strength of dissolution and collapse of limestone in various places and points, the formation of quartz stone is exquisite, magnificent, and varied, with characteristics such as "thin, wrinkled, leaking, and transparent".Regional Scope
The protection scope of Yingshi geographical indication products is based on the scope proposed in the "Letter of the People's Government of Yingde City, Guangdong Province on Applying for the Protection of Yingde Yingshi Origin Regional Products" (Yingfu Letter 84), which is the current administrative area under the jurisdiction of Yingde City, Guangdong Province. What are the product features of Yingshi? Yingshi is a weathered stone produced in Yingde City. Mainly used for landscape gardening, rockery, etc. There are several types, including light green, gray black, light green, dark black, white, etc., with black being the most expensive. The front and back of the Yingshi stone are obvious, with many concave holes and stone eyes on the front, exquisite and diverse, while the back is relatively smooth. Yingshi is hard and brittle, with a resonant sound when struck, and has always been loved by collectors.
Appearance features:
(1) Color: Colors include black, gray black, bluish gray, light green, red, white, yellow, etc. Pure black is a good product, red and colored are rare products, and those with evenly distributed stone bars and clear color are top-grade.
(2) Characteristics: thin, wrinkled, leaking, and transparent. Thin fingers with a rugged physique; The wrinkled finger stone has a deep texture and prominent edges and corners; The distribution of dripping and dripping marks is moderate and orderly; The finger holes are connected to each other. The surface of the Yin stone is round and glossy, with multiple pores and a focus on "leakage and transparency". The surface of Yangshi is angular, wrinkled, and has few holes, emphasizing "thinness and wrinkles".
(3) Yingshi quality: divided into precious, exquisite, and qualified products. It has the four characteristics of "thinness, wrinkles, leakage, and transparency", and is considered a treasure among all four sides; Products with the four characteristics of "thinness, wrinkles, leakage, and transparency", and with pure black, pure white, pure yellow, or colored colors, are considered as high-quality products; Products with one of the four characteristics of "thinness, wrinkling, leakage, and transparency" are considered qualified. How did the history of Yingshi come about? Yingshi has been developed and utilized since the Song Dynasty. The famous writer Su Dongpo of the Northern Song Dynasty regarded the Qiu Chi stone as the "treasure of Xi Dai" as Yingshi. According to the "Great General" supplement in "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio", this stone was gifted by Wu Liuqi, the commander of the Guangdong Navy, to the benefactor Cha Shi in Haining, Zhejiang during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. The stone was solitary and wrinkled, leaping and rushing towards the clouds, hence the name Caiyun Peak. The ancients praised it for its "bone towering and thin, wind piercing through the jade cave". The<>written by Du Wan of the Southern Song Dynasty; The Ming Dynasty's' Ji Cheng '; There are records of stones. Throughout the ages, literati from the northern regions who came to Guangdong returned home to reminisce about the mountains and rivers of Lingnan, and there were many who brought back their heroes and stones. As Zhu Yizun, a poet from early Qing Dynasty in Zhejiang, once said, "Taking advantage of the new village outside Qujiang Gate, quarrying stones is not as good as painting in Yingzhou. In the sleeves of the six peaks of Rhodes, carrying them back is like accompanying jade toads.
The main mountain of Lingnan Historical Garden often takes English names and stacks them on site. The Twelve Stone Studio in Songguili, Foshan was originally the residence of Ming Dynasty governor Cheng Keze. When the Qing Dynasty scholar Liang Fucao returned by boat from Hunan, he purchased twelve strange stones from Qingyuan and placed them here to improve the finished stone garden, earning the elegant name of "Twelve Stone Studio". There is an ancient poem that goes: "The thin bones and pale roots are each unique, the twelve shadows on the blue railing are uneven, the flat chapters are exquisite in the hands of poets, half by the book curtains and half by the black pool. The Lion Mountain and Dou Cave in Shunde Qinghui Garden, which were built and repaired during the Ming Dynasty, were also made of quartz stone. Shishan Mountain has three peaks, with the main peak floating abruptly, resembling a male lion holding its head high. It looks around the peaks and stands together, with a lively and natural posture, like three lions playing with a ball. The mountain is located between the pond pavilions, with a staggered pattern of reality and virtuality. The stone steps are interdependent and embrace each other, and the pavilion, platform, road, water, mountain, and stone are integrated into one, with extraordinary grandeur. The Doudong Cave is stacked next to the Pen and Flower Pavilion, which can be described as a "magnificent hall with strange stones". The shape of the stones in this scene dances, transparent and exquisite, with natural joints. The green bamboo beside the cave is opposite, which is quite profound and spiritual. In 2005, the Chinese Collectors Association approved the awarding of the honorary title of "Hometown of Chinese Yingshi" to Yingde City. On April 27, 2006, the former General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine approved the implementation of geographical indication product protection for "Yingshi".