Page 62 - BSAM 2017 Q4

rivers such as the Namhan and Kyungho rivers. Some suseok are also collected along the coast of the Korean peninsula. Suseok has been known since 100 BC when stones were brought to Korea by Chinese Daoist monks. Korean collectors will not tolerate any cut or alteration on the stone to get better shapes or fat bottom. Tey prefer a deeper suiban or thicker daiza to cover the stones rather than having them cut. Originality is very well appreciated. It is diferent from Japanese suiseki where cuts or alterations to enhance the stone are tolerated. It is said that besides the shape, color and quality of the stone, Chi or inner strength of the stone is a very important factor. Chi is a Daoist concept to describe inner power or life force that is usually trained through breath practice.Some of the stones exhibited are symbolic stones, others are landscape stone and pattern stones. It is interesting to see a tortoise, a frog, a lion, a bowing person, a hut, a sitting monk, a mountain and lake, a waterfall, a fower and a universe symbol. It was really a great pleasure for me to fnd such beauty at a time when I least expected it. Mountain and LakeA TortoiseChi in Human Beings