Inkstone, when did it start? The ancients didn't know it, so they attributed it to the Yellow Emperor, the ancestor of humanities. Li You of the Eastern Han Dynasty wrote "Inkstone Inscription" and said: "As soon as the book and deed were made, the inkstone and inkstone were Chen." This means that with the invention of writing, inkstone and inkstone came into being. In fact, before there was writing in the world, there were inkstones. Inkstone was originally used for painting to grind pigments. A stone millstone used by the ancestors to grind pigments when making pottery was found in Banpo, Xi'an, and there are traces of grinding. This is the original known stone inkstone, dating back about six or seven thousand years. It is one or two thousand years earlier than the Huangdi era in ancient history!
1. Duan inkstone
Duan inkstone is produced in Zhaoqing, Guangdong. There is a mountain called Huke. There is water at the foot of the mountain named Duanxi. There is a Duan stone on the mountain, which is the best for making inkstones. It is called Duan inkstone.
Duan inkstone, the purple one is the best, the purple one is like pig liver. The ink comes out quickly without damaging the hair. The ink is not easy to dry and is not easy to freeze in cold weather.
2.She inkstone
She inkstone is named after the inkstone material produced in Shezhou in the Tang Dynasty. Many counties under the jurisdiction of Shezhou produce She stones, but the She stones produced in Longwei Mountain (in today's Wuyuan, Jiangxi) are the best, so She inkstones are also called Longwei inkstones.
Sheshi is generally dark in color and slightly green. Biyun is a very appropriate way to describe its color. Most of the She stones with excellent texture include Venus, Golden Halo, etc. Venus and golden halo, the big one is like a bean and the small one is like a fish roe. The golden stars and halos are droplets of iron sulfide. They are very hard and can easily smear the ink and damage the pen. However, their luster is shining like flying stars, making people love and care for them. The inkstone workers carefully arranged the work and used imperfections to carve out the star halo as the inkstone bed and the center without star halo as the inkstone hall. There are beautiful jade carvings that turn imperfections into beauty, complementing each other.
3. Tao Yan
Produced in ancient Taozhou. Today's Tao Inkstone Township in Zhuoni County, Gansu Province is the concentrated production area of Tao Inkstone. Tao inkstone is made of Tao stone. The Tao stone came out of the Lintao River, so it was named Tao. Tao inkstone is hard and moist, produces ink quickly, and retains ink for a long time, making it one of the famous inkstones.
The most famous Tao inkstones are green Tao and red Tao. Green Tao is made of green ripple stone. The dark green is called parrot green, and the light green is called willow green. The color is green with waves, beautiful and natural. Hong Tao was called wild duck blood in ancient times: today it is called rose red. The color is red and elegant, fine and pure.
The common characteristics of the three famous inkstones are: the texture of the inkstone is firm and delicate, firm but not dry, and greasy but not slippery.
If it is firm and moist but not dry, it will be easy to produce ink. If it is delicate and not slippery, ink blocks will appear.
If you are new to writing, you should buy a stone inkstone. As long as the stone is not too smooth and not too rough, you can use it. But choose an inkstone with an inkstone cover. This kind of inkstone is convenient for storing ink and prevents the ink from drying up due to wind. Inkstones should be washed after use. Store less water in the center of the inkstone to nourish the inkstone. Especially prevent oil stains.
