Ｔｈｅ　Ｓｔｏｒｙ　ｏｆ　Ｓｔｏｎｅｓ.docVIP

Ｔｈｅ　Ｓｔｏｒｙ　ｏｆ　Ｓｔｏｎｅｓ 　　 　　THE history of humankind started hundreds of millennia ago when our ancestors learned to shape stones into working tools, thus distinguishing themselves from other anthropoid apes who knew only how to use stones to crack nuts. In this sense, stone initiated the development of humankind. The role of rocks in human development also testifies to humankind’s innate affinity with the living environment. 　　 　　Legends of Stone 　　 　　In Chinese mythology, the goddess Nüwa molded men and women out of clay. Not long after people were so created, a crushing catastrophe befell humankind: the God of Water, Gonggong, fought with the God of Fire, Zhurong, and Gonggong was defeated. In anger, he dashed his head on Buzhou Mountain, and within a second the mountain exploded, the earth cracked, and the pillar that stood between heaven and earth broke, causing half the sky to cave in. The battle also set forests ablaze and caused floods to inundate the earth. Seeing the living environment of her sons and daughters ruined, Nüwa was so worried that she determined to patch up the hole in the sky using stones. She fetched various kinds of stone and tempered them into five-colored blocks, with which she mended the sky. She also subdued the fire and floods and saved humankind from disaster. 　　The importance of stone in human development is also evinced in Chinese literature. Three of the “Four Greatest Classic Novels” (Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Outlaws of the Marsh, Journey to the West, and A Dream of Red Mansions) open with a story of stone. Outlaws of the Marsh, which tells the story of a group of rebels, unfolds against the historic background of the late Northern Song Dynasty, when Emperor Huizong marshaled the nation’s resources to quarry and transport fancy rocks and stones to the capital for the construction of his imperial garden. This operation made the lives of locals so miserable that many rose up against the imperial tyranny. 　　Journey to the