Before 2000, it was mainly engaged in flowers and birds, but with the popularity of the ornamental stone industry in recent years, more than 200 stone merchants have been stationed.

There are 2 entrances and exits in the market, Hutai Road is the main entrance, which is very inconspicuous;

The back door of Zhidan Road can only pass 2 people side by side.

The two of Kowloon came to the first strange stone merchant corridor from the entrance of Hutai Road.

Most of the merchants in this area are operating first-hand strange stones in the market, the price of the stone is not high, and the base is relatively simple or simply not matched.

Continuing to walk inside, I came to the more decent corridor of the Strange Stone Pavilion.

The Lingbi stone, the delicate Taihu stone, the simple and magnificent Yellow River stone, the colorful Liuzhou stone, the crystal stone of ice and jade, from the priceless giant stone to the small and cute mini palm stone, everything is here.

The two of them walked into a strange stone hall called Cheng Laoer, and saw that this shop was all Gobi stones, and they were generally very small.

The owner is putting together a few inconspicuous pieces, and there are many decorative accessories next to them, such as small people, boats, small houses, screens, etc., Jiulong is curious, and can't help asking: "Boss, what are you playing?"

Boss Cheng raised his head and saw that there were guests, so he stopped what he was doing, got up and replied: "You see that these Gobi stones are so small, if they are placed individually, do they have momentum?"

Jiulong replied: "Now it is popular to play ornaments, at least more than 20 centimeters to be atmospheric, these are a few centimeters of sketches, hand play can be." ”

"yes, so I thought of combining them together with the base and accessories to form a scene, a story, and it would be brilliant. ”

Boss Cheng replied.

"Is this a popular way of playing in Shanghai?" Kowloon continued.

Boss Cheng did not answer directly, but talked about the current situation of playing stones in Shanghai.

He said that there is now a popular stone appreciation culture in Shanghai called Shanghai School, which is extended to the sea to embrace all rivers, connect China and the West, combine Chinese and Western cultures, and bring forth the new stone appreciation culture.

Shanghai does not produce stones, but almost brings together high-quality stones from all over the country, the collection of strange stone boutiques, good to the world at home and abroad to appreciate the stone industry impressive, therefore, known as the "collection of half of the country" reputation.

Due to the particularity of Shanghai's historical conditions, geographical location, economic environment and cultural background, Shanghai will inevitably become a hotbed for the formation and development of Shanghainese culture.

The exquisite mahogany seat of Shanghai stone is the "innovation" of the traditional stone;

Among the display utensils of Guangxi painted pottery stone, Dahua colored jade, and Moore water carving stone, many of them absorb the aesthetic taste of Western simple lines, heavy stone composition, and heavy color changes, reflecting the "combination of Chinese and Western".

This spirit, realm and pursuit of "embracing all rivers" has injected a lot of vitality into the development of Shanghai-style stone appreciation culture.

Kowloon is also sighing, Shanghai, as a metropolis, has a rich cultural atmosphere, and it is natural for a hundred flowers to bloom, but when I saw President Xu's big stones, and then looked at what Mr. Cheng played, it was the difference between heaven and earth.

Mr. Cheng may have seen Jiulong's thoughts, and said with a smile: "Playing with stones, one must play according to one's own conditions, and the other must play with one's own characteristics."

"I like the small stones on the Gobi very much, the style is varied, the price is not high, ordinary people can afford to play, in Shanghai, a place where every inch of land is valuable, it is very suitable for families.

"And after the combination of the sketches, the whole looks atmospheric, although there are not many people playing now, but I believe that one day, it will be recognized by the stone world. ”

Jiulong heard him say this, and also felt that it made sense, seeing that it was not early, and was about to say goodbye to Mr. Cheng, but he met a person, and he was an acquaintance - Teacher Yu Ying.

Jiulong's eyes lit up, and he suddenly shouted: "Hello Teacher Yu, I haven't seen you for a long time." ”

Master Yu obviously didn't expect to meet Jiulong here, so he hurriedly came over to shake hands with Jiulong, and glanced at Mr. Cheng suspiciously: "You know?"

"Fate! Fate! I have the fate to meet the two of them today, Brother Yu, what's the matter, do you know?"

Mr. Cheng was also puzzled.

"Yes, Xiao Huang is a Shi friend I met in Fujian, a young and promising young man. ”

"Okay, you guys talk more, I'm going to get busy. ”

As if he had met a savior, Mr. Cheng hurriedly pushed the two of Jiulong to Yu Ying, and fiddled with his combination again.

Kowloon introduced Mr. Lai to Mr. Yu, and Yu Ying politely shook hands with Mr. Lai, and then walked to the main seat on the tea table and made tea.

Kowloon has been in contact with classical stone appreciation in the past few days, and he has always had a question in his heart, what are the similarities and differences between classical stone appreciation and modern stone appreciation.

Master Yu smiled: "Xiao Huang, what you are asking now is getting more and more tricky, I just happened to participate in two stone exhibitions and awards with brand benchmarking significance, one is the stone boutique exhibition in Qinghui Park, Shunde, Foshan, Guangdong, and the other is the sketch and combination stone invitational exhibition of Deyunxuan."

"One south and one north, one classical and one contemporary, it can be said that there is a clear distinction and a strong contrast.

"Qinghui Garden Stone Exhibition, from the exhibition scene to the display of fine products, is all classical style, the building and the thin wrinkle and leakage of the stone, the classical garden and the classical stone appreciation reflect each other, the scene-like layout, make people think of the ancient feelings.

"Deyunxuan sketch exhibition, is the style of modern exhibition, although the classical stone appreciation and contemporary stone appreciation have their own beauty, but from the proportion of the gold medal, the classical stone appreciation accompanies the last seat, the contemporary stone advantage is leading, 25 gold medal works only Gobi stone occupies 11 places.

"When it comes to scenographic arrangements or exhibitions, classical stone appreciation undoubtedly has its advantages.

"Just like classical furniture (especially Ming-style furniture), whether it is a classical garden or a contemporary art museum, it can be entered into the room without any sense of disobedience.

"Even from the point of view of the performance of painting, classical stone appreciation is more suitable for painting, whether it is Chinese painting or Western painting, while contemporary stone appreciation seems to be unsatisfactory, and it is rare to see any painter express it.

"This is also a very interesting phenomenon, let me talk about it. ”

Master Yu is still the erudite master, and he talks eloquently, and Kowloon only listens carefully.

Master Yu analyzed, the so-called four elements of quality, color, shape and pattern stone appreciation, if you want to deconstruct it, then there is no doubt that classical stone appreciation is mainly based on shape appreciation, and contemporary stone appreciation is given priority to color appreciation.

The reason why the Gobi stone has become popular all the way has a lot to do with its bright colors (including pretty colors). The so-called "five colors are blinding." (Lao Tzu's "Tao Te Ching"), which is precisely the ancient stone appreciation is more avoided (at least before the Qing Dynasty). The silence and bleakness of the classical stone appreciation color seems to be quite consistent with the introspective character of the literati class on the surface, but at the same time, it happens to be the exaggerated and dangerous structure (Shanzi), which seems to indicate its outward and inwardly rich side.