Authenticating Su Shi's Snowy Wave Stone in Premodern China

Denis Dutton claims that the issue of authenticity is “much broader than one of simply spotting and rooting out fakery.” This paper follows Dutton's lead and attempts to explore alternative interpretations of the authenticity of antiquities in premodern China, in the case of Snowy Wave stone 雪浪石, the only stone that is believed to be owned by Su Shi蘇軾 (1037-1101) and has survived to the present day. Pervious scholarships have attempted to determine which Snowy Wave stone is authentic because multiple stones have claimed status as being the genuine Snowy Wave stone throughout history. However, no one has questioned whether it is appropriate to judge the authentic quality of the stones according to our modern definition and whether the perception of authenticity itself has changed over time. 

Based on the discussions surrounding the Snowy Wave stone(s) in premodern China, this paper provides three models to understand authenticity. Prior to the eighteenth century, the perceived authenticity of the Snow Wave stone came from its historical site rather than from the stone itself.
The stone could be repaired or replaced and this would not impact its authenticity, showing its loose bond with stone's originality. After removed from its historical site in the seventeenth century, the Snowy Wave stone(s) had to prove their authenticity with a reliable origin when they reappeared in public, which was convinced by lost-and-found stories. Due to the coexistence of two Snowy Wave stones, Emperor Qianlong researched for many years to determine which one is authentic. Although he ostensibly turned to material evidence as a supplement to textual authority, the authenticity primarily came from the recorded characters and calligraphy engraved on the stones rather than the nature of stones themselves.
 

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