Today one of my classmates bought a bracelet made from rain flower stones. Rain flower stones, 雨花石 (yǔ huā shí) can only be found in the Yangtze River here in Nanjing. They were formed over 12 million years ago, when minerals contained in volcanic rocks around Nanjing (quartzite, flint and agate) ware polished naturally by the Yangtze River. Rain flower stones can be red, pink, yellow, green, blue, and white.
There is an interesting legend behind the stones. It is said that during the Southern Dynasty (502-557) there was a monk named Yunguang 云光 (yún guāng) who used to travel around China to teach people. Once, when he was in Nanjing, he taught for three days without eating or drinking. Legend has it that Yun Guang’s teaching was so amazing that colorful flowers began to fall from the sky. When the flowers touched the ground, they turned in to rain flower stones. I wish that happened when I taught class!
The price of a rain flower stone depends on its shape and the pattern on the stone. Every rain flower stone is unique. The more beautiful, the more expensive. There are also a lot of fake rain flower stones you can buy by accident if you are not careful. Rain flower stones can be made into jewelry. They are also sometimes kept in a white pan filled with water. When you put a rain flower stone in water, the tiny cavities on the surface are filled with water molecules which deflect the light, making the colors easy to see. Sometimes the patterns on the stones look like animals, plants, landscapes, and people. Can you see the butterfly on the stone below?
There is an interesting legend behind the stones. It is said that during the Southern Dynasty (502-557) there was a monk named Yunguang 云光 (yún guāng) who used to travel around China to teach people. Once, when he was in Nanjing, he taught for three days without eating or drinking. Legend has it that Yun Guang’s teaching was so amazing that colorful flowers began to fall from the sky. When the flowers touched the ground, they turned in to rain flower stones. I wish that happened when I taught class!
The price of a rain flower stone depends on its shape and the pattern on the stone. Every rain flower stone is unique. The more beautiful, the more expensive. There are also a lot of fake rain flower stones you can buy by accident if you are not careful. Rain flower stones can be made into jewelry. They are also sometimes kept in a white pan filled with water. When you put a rain flower stone in water, the tiny cavities on the surface are filled with water molecules which deflect the light, making the colors easy to see. Sometimes the patterns on the stones look like animals, plants, landscapes, and people. Can you see the butterfly on the stone below?
Aren’t rain flower stones beautiful?