‘No, not at all. Generally a scholar’s rock is used for decoration in a garden. They have interesting shapes, holes, and perforations. The texture of the rocks is smooth. The smoother the better. The preferred method of getting them is simply finding them, but sometimes artisans helped nature along by cutting stones into interesting shapes and immersing them in running water or a lake so the sharp edges would wear away.’
Rory’s brow furrowed. ‘That would take years.’
‘Of course it took years. But the texture was prized. A lot of scholar’s stones come from lakes, such as from Taihu Lake, and they’re used in gardens. Once the Chinese started using scholar’s rocks, the Koreans picked the art form up in their country, as did the Japanese in their suiseki art.’
‘The lesson, you see, is to learn to find and appreciate art in nature.’ Shamar nodded in satisfaction. ‘Now let me show you the cavern that gave this place its name.’ With the easy grace of a child, he stood and walked toward one of the doors.
Ang took down one of the oil lanterns and fell into step with him.
Caught off guard, Lourds quickly scrambled to his feet, gave Hu a hand, and followed.
11
From the interview chamber, Lourds followed Shamar and Ang down a twisting passageway into the mountain. Lourds took a mini-Maglite from his backpack to add to the glow given of Ang’s lantern. As the cold from the mountain surrounded him, he regretted leaving his coat behind. He’d assumed that since the monks hadn’t bundled up, where they were going wouldn’t be cold.
Hu slapped at his upper arms. ‘Nothing like a brisk walk, eh?’ His breath puffed out in small white clouds. ‘Especially after the long trek up a mountainside.’
‘I could have done with some more heat. And I honestly thought we were going to bed soon.’ Lourds yawned and shined his light around. There were no tool marks on the wall, which meant the passageway was natural. ‘I have to admit, I’m looking forward to sleeping in a warm bed.’
‘So am I.’
They continued down for several more minutes before the passageway widened into another cavern. When Lourds entered the new room, he saw dozens of scholar’s rocks standing before him. They looked like a massive chess game set out to be played.
Stunned, he wandered among them, drawn by the enigma they presented. Nearly all of them were taller than he was and weighed several hundred pounds. He ran his fingers along many, discovering the same smooth texture.
Amazed, he turned back to Shamar, careful to keep the bright light out of the old monk’s eyes. ‘How many are there?’
‘One hundred sixteen.’ Shemar stood with his arms in the sleeves of his robe.
‘Why are they here?’
‘No one knows. This is one of the things the monks that arrive here for training are told to contemplate. We are still awaiting an answer.’
Overwhelmed, Lourds walked through the forest of stone figures. Many looked like people, the rudimentary shapes showing men, women, and children. He touched oval faces that held only the hint of features, eyes, nose, and mouth. Ears were conspicuously absent. The majority of the outer ring of statues depicted common people.
‘This is a farmer. See his hoe?’ Lourds traced the image of the hoe in bas-relief along the rock.
‘All I see is a rock.’ Rory stood on the other side of the large stone.
‘That is because you choose to see with only your eyes.’ Shamar’s voice echoed over the chamber, and Lourds knew the old man had chosen his spot because the acoustics in the cavern allowed him to be heard like that. Upon further inspection, Lourds saw the small platform cut from the stone floor. The area had been clearly marked.
‘Who chose that spot?’ Lourds pointed his flashlight beam over the low rise.
‘The speaker’s post was already inscribed when we got here.’
‘Look! I found a pig!’ Over to the left, Thompson pointed excitedly.
The lump of rock was definitely piggish in shape, with a snout and huge hindquarters.
‘Here’s a tortoise!’ Gloria Chen strode through the figures and laid her hand on a low figure that was unmistakably that.
Lourds made his way to her, thinking that perhaps the tortoise would offer a clue as the other one had in Jiahu. The scholar’s rock did indeed look like a tortoise, but instead of having a high, rounded back, it had a flat one. Still, the head, feet, and tail were all in the appropriate places. The creature even seemed to be smiling.
He got down on one knee and played his flashlight beam on the tortoise’s underside. Gloria joined him, adding her beam to his. He hardly noticed the cold, even though every breath they breathed plumed out white. Her glasses were slightly fogged.
‘You think there’s another clue here, don’t you?’ Gloria didn’t act angry now, but she seemed determined to find whatever might be there first.
Lourds smiled. Competition was something he knew all about. He flicked his light back and forth.
Unfortunately, nothing appeared to be there.
‘Maybe something’s hidden inside. Maybe there’s a hidden space.’ Gloria crawled under the massive tortoise and started pushing at the rock.
‘You’ll want to be careful under there. This thing has got to weigh a ton at least.’
‘I got here first. If anything’s here to be found, I’m going to find it.’ Gloria shoved herself farther under the tortoise while on her back.
Lourds flattened himself as well and played his light over the tortoise. ‘It would be poetic symmetry if this tortoise did, in fact, yield another clue, but the likelihood of that is small.’
‘You’re just trying to get me out of here, aren’t you?’
‘No, but I don’t think this tortoise is going to tell us anything.’ Lourds shoved himself out from under the tortoise and started to look around.
‘This is a woman.’ Professor Hu flashed his beam over a smaller figure with a thin woman’s gentle curves a few rocks over.
‘She’s carrying a fan.’ Hu flicked his beam down the rock’s side and revealed the familiar fan shape in the woman’s hands.
‘A fan?’ Rory walked through the figures to join them.
‘A winnowing fan.’ Lourds touched the stone fan and felt its sharp edges. ‘The Peligang people, who lived in Jiahu along the Yellow River in 7000 BC, raised foxtail millet and rice to eat. After the millet was harvested and threshed, the grain was separated from the chaff by tossing it into the air. The wind blew the chaff away while the grain fell back into the fan.’
‘Uh, Professor Lourds.’
Lourds looked up at the BBC reporter.
‘I’m going to need you to repeat that in front of the camera.’ Rory waved the cameraman over.
Sighing, Lourds shook his head.
‘Look, whenever you feel like you’re going to pontificate or go on about something, maybe you could give me a sign. It would save us both a lot of time and effort.’
Hu chuckled. ‘Unfortunately, a professor is at the mercy of his own knowledge and interests. Poor Thomas never knows when he’s going to launch into a presentation till he finds himself in the middle of it.’
‘Rory.’ Lourds clapped the young reporter on the shoulder. ‘You’re going to need to be a little more responsible for getting your material. I’m not going to stop at every moment and repeat myself. Take notes. When you get a spare moment, research things. Learn things. Trust me, you’ll be much better at your job. Everyone needs an education, and most people never realize how responsible they are for their own edification. Do you understand?’