J.J. Lally & Co., Oriental Art / New York City, New York

Ying rocks are named after Yingde in central Guangdong province, where the earliest examples were found and harvested in caves. The “dimpled” irregular texture and glossy surfaces of Ying rocks is attributed to the action of water and many Ying rocks are said to have been formed as stalactites.

In his seminal text on Chinese scholar’s rocks, Worlds Within Worlds, Harvard University, Cambridge, 1997, p. 26, Mowry notes the high opinion accorded to Ying rocks by Ming artists and aesthetes, and mentions as one example: “…Wen Zhenheng (1585-1645) ranked them second among scholars’ rocks, trailing only those of Lingbi.” in his treatise Zhangwu zhi (On the things of the world).