For many centuries, certain rocks have been highly prized by the Chinese. These include gemstones, particularly jade, treasured for their beauty; inkstones, valued for their usefulness in calligraphy and art; and garden rocks, huge limestone structures appreciated for their natural beauty. Since the time of the Song dynasty (960-1279), however, Chinese scholars have also collected intricately shaped rocks with exceptional aesthetic and spiritual qualities to use inside their studios as vehicles for contemplation.

The first major exhibit in the West of these scholars' rocks will be on display Feb. 2-June 13 at the Yale University Art Gallery. Titled "Worlds Within Worlds: The Richard Rosenblum Collection of Chinese Scholars' Rocks," the show contains 80 examples of these prized pieces. The exhibit was organized at Harvard University by Robert D. Mowry, curator of Chinese art at the Arthur M. Sackler Museum. The Yale Art Gallery's curator of Asian Art, David A. Sensabaugh, is responsible for the New Haven show.

"The meanings that accrued to rocks in the Chinese scholarly tradition are quite different from meanings in the European tradition," says Sensabaugh. "In the Chinese world view, the cosmos is self-generating, thus ultimate authority is found in the material traces of the world, and rocks are such traces. They came to be defined as 'kernels of energy,' representing the very formative processes of the world."

Ranging in size from one inch to five feet, scholars' rocks were valued for such qualities as their translucency, softness and color. The most highly prized ones were made of limestone so dense that the stones emit a bell-like ring when tapped. Still other scholars' rocks were made of soapstone, marble, jade, malachite or turquoise. While some collectors believed that their pieces were entirely shaped by Nature, most show signs of having been worked with tools.

Most scholars' rocks resemble mountainous landscapes, and some in the exhibit have been given such names as "Snow on Mount Yi" and "Soaring Jade Peak." Still others bear such descriptive titles as "Seated Tiger" or "Large Rock in the Form of a Phoenix." The most famous rock in the exhibit, titled "Honorable Old Man," is a dark gray Ying stone loosely resembling an early Chinese sage.

According to Mowry, "Those who seek meanings often interpret the perforations that enhance many rocks and the flat tops with cantilevered overhangs that crown others, as the abodes of the immortals."

The rocks in the Yale Art Gallery exhibit were selected from the collection of American sculptor Richard Rosenblum, which is considered one of the finest such assemblages in the world. Rosenblum began collecting scholars' rocks in the 1970s and now has more than 250 examples.

A talk titled "Chinese Scholars' Rocks: An Overview" will be presented by Mowry at 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 5. A reception will follow the talk, which is free and open to the public. This and other lectures being presented in conjunction with the exhibit were made possible by support from the Martin A. Ryerson Lectureship Fund. Information about other upcoming events will appear in future issues of the Yale Bulletin & Calendar.

The Yale University Art Gallery, located at 1111 Chapel St., is open to the public free of charge 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and 1-6 p.m. Sunday. There is an entrance for people using wheelchairs at 201 York St., with an unmetered parking space nearby. For information on access, call 432-0606; for general information, call 432-0600.