▌Stone carving

Stone materials are not only important timbering in traditional architecture but also the focal manifestation of engraving art. There are three kinds of stone materials used in the Lin Family Mansion and Garden. The first one is yellowish, reddish granite, or “long-shi” which came mostly from the Southern Min area of China. Another kind is white granite called “bai-shi” from Quanzhou and the last one is green granite, known as “qing-dou-shi.” When descendants of the Lin family extended the construction of their residence, they also adopted “Guanyinshang stone” and long-shi found in Taiwan. Stone carvings are mostly shown on basements, steps, column bases, stone flower chairs, and stone windows.

A template is the base stone under a column. It is usually called “zhu-zhu.” Its function is to protect the foot of a column from corrosion due to moisture. It can also distribute the weight carried on a larger area.

▌Stone windows

The shutters on a stone window are often carved into barred bamboo joints. In Eastern culture, numbers can also be categorized into yin and yang. The number of window shutters is usually an odd number, such as three, five, or seven to match the concept of yan.

▌stone steps

Bases at the feet of an entire architecture have practical functions and are delicately carved to resemble the look of the cabinet feet. They are usually in the patterns of clouds, curling tendril designs, or hornless dragons. Most of them are surface carvings. 

▌Flower chairs

A flower chair is a stone flower stand for bonsais. As it looks as if it were the chair for flowers to sit, it is named flower chair, or flower base. Usually, it is composed of two vertical stone pallets and one horizontal stone pallet to form an upside-down U shape. It is carved with curved fretwork and cloud patterns, which is delightful to see. The flower chairs at the yard of Lai-Ching Hall are designed high and low and are finely decorated as well.