Wandering geologists and treacherous paths
Dear Editors
Huge thanks to Mike Stephenson and Jingwen Luo for their article concerning the poetry of Li Bao and geo-poetry more generally (The Wanderer of the Chinese Landscape. Geoscientist 35(1), 18-26, 2025). These translations and the artwork are very beautiful and evocative. This indeed deserves to be, and will surely become, far better and more widely known. It would be good to learn more; perhaps following links to Jingwen’s websites and elsewhere.
So much of our work as geoscientists takes us to fascinating places, not just physically but also virtually and even spiritually, incidentally well captured in Mountains of the Mind: A History of a Fascination and other books by Robert MacFarlane. So many insights start from wandering about, reflecting and recognising patterns in the rocks and landscapes, perhaps thinking ‘we’ve been here before’, but now we see and understand in new ways. This can be helpful not only in research and new discovery, but also in forensic investigations, learning and reflecting on why the material world doesn’t always behave as expected.
The pictures in the article suggest some brilliant early rock engineering. I wonder what more has been invented and discovered since the poet first wandered along these mountain roads. The Shudao does indeed appear hard; too hard for many of us, but the rewards are great even in gentler terrain. I look forward to further voyages into these mindscapes.
Dr Dave Tonks FGS, CGeol, CEng
Technical Director, Coffey Geotechnics
Further reading
- Macfarlane, R. (2003) Mountains of the Mind: A History of a Fascination. Granta Books. 320 pp.
