Available for Purchase!
Cultivated Stones: Chinese Scholars’ Rocks from the Kemin Hu Collection at the U.S. National Arboretum
order your copy today!
The National Bonsai Foundation has released a stunning, immersive photo book commemorating the gift of more than 100 Chinese scholars' rocks to the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum from long-time patron and noted expert Kemin Hu. Curated by Kathleen Emerson-Dell with captivating photography by Stephen Voss and elegant writings of Dr. Phillip E. Bloom, it’s the perfect gift for the art and nature lover in your life!
Critical Acclaim for Cultivated Stones:
“A must have volume....”
Thomas S. Elias
Chairman of the Viewing Stone Association
One hundred and seven stunning photographs allow readers to plumb the depths of the ancient yet dynamic art form of Chinese scholars’ rocks, or gongshi.
Lose yourself in the unfathomable appeal of Chinese scholars’ rocks, or gongshi, in this catalogue featuring a major gift of Chinese stones to the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum at the U.S. National Arboretum. The gift from recognized scholars’ rocks expert Kemin Hu includes 50 types of stones, ranging from the traditional to the modern. Lingbi, taihu, ying and other stones have been collected from all over China and are presented here in nine thematic groupings, curated by Kathleen Emerson-Dell. Phillip E. Bloom, Curator of the Chinese Garden and Director of the Center for East Asian Garden Studies at The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, guides readers through gongshi’s 2000-year-old history and introduces them to some of China’s most passionate “lithomaniacs.”
Lose yourself in the unfathomable appeal of Chinese scholars’ rocks. Featuring numerous illustrations and historical aficionados’ own musings in both translation and the original Chinese, Bloom’s essay cracks open gongshi’s history for a Western audience. A collector’s preface by Hu introduces one of the greatest viewing stone collections on public display in the United States. Reflections on stone collecting by American enthusiasts Richard Kahn, Joseph and Jana Roussel and Robert Stern complete the catalogue.
Stone appreciation is on the rise in the United States, although the English-language literature remains slim. Cultivated Stones is a valuable contribution to this growing field, not just an introduction for the interested novice but a scholarly advancement in its own right.
Words By Thomas S. Elias*
Chairman of the Viewing Stone Association
Peek Inside the Book
“We can’t stop looking at these unusual rocks.”
- Washingtonian Magazine (February 2023)
Learn About the Collection That
Inspired the Book
At the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum’s Exhibit Gallery
Closed March 17, 2024
*Excerpted Thomas S. Elias’ full book review on VSANA’s English Book Reviews (10th listing) here, and an article about the Hu gift on VSANA’s blog entry from April 2023.