The Sung dynasty poet Su Tung-p'o was said to have been the first to create miniature landscapes with small, soft rocks on which he cultivated mosses and vegetation.
但因風化石質地較軟，時間久了易剝落；青苔照顧不佳也會枯死，頗難維護。然而，眼看秀石在自己悉心澆灌之下，生出綿綿密密、綠意盎然的青苔來，其間所感受的生機與回報之感，也是旁人難以享受的。