Shang Dynasty Art Tools What Are the Brushes Made of That the Shang Dynasty Used

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Blazon of solid ink used in several East Asian cultures for calligraphy and castor painting

Inkstick

An old Chinese inkstick made in the class of lotus leaves and flowers.

Traditional Chinese

墨

Simplified Chinese

墨

Transcriptions

Inksticks (Chinese: 墨 Mò ) or ink cakes are a blazon of solid Chinese ink used traditionally in several Chinese and Eastward Asian fine art forms such as calligraphy and brush painting. Inksticks are made mainly of soot and animal glue, sometimes with incense or medicinal scents added. To make ink, the inkstick is ground confronting an inkstone with a small quantity of water to produce a dark liquid which is and so applied with an ink brush. Artists and calligraphers may vary the concentration of the resulting ink according to their preferences past reducing or increasing the intensity and duration of ink grinding.

Along with the inkstone, ink brush, and paper, the inkstick is considered one of the Four Treasures of the Report of classical Chinese literary culture.

History [edit]

Commemorative Chinese inksticks for collectors.

The earliest artifacts of Chinese inks can be dated dorsum to 12th century BC^{[ commendation needed ]}, with charred materials, institute dyes, and animal-based inks being occasionally used, mineral inks being most common. Mineral inks based on materials such as graphite were footing with water and applied with brushes. The mineral origins of Chinese inks were discussed by the Eastern Han dynasty calligrapher, politician, and writer Xu Shen (許慎, 58 – c. 147). In his Shuowen Jiezi, he wrote "Ink, whose semantic component is 'earth', is black." (墨，從土，黑也), indicating that the character for "ink" (墨) is equanimous of the characters for "black" (黑) and "soil" (土), due to the earthly origins of the dark mineral used in its product.

The transition from graphite inks to soot and charred inks occurred prior to the Shang dynasty. From studies of ink traces in artifacts of various dynasties, it is believed the inks used in the Zhou dynasty are quite similar to those used in the Han dynasty. However, these early inks, up to the Qin dynasty, were likely stored in liquid or powdered forms that take not been well preserved and thus their existence and constitution can simply exist studied from painted objects and artifacts.^[one] Physical proof for these start "modern" Chinese soot and animal glue inks were found in archaeological excavations of tombs dated to the finish of the Warring States catamenia around 256 BC. This ink was formed by manual labor into pellets which were footing into ink on pinnacle of a flat inkstone using a smaller stone pestle. Many pellet-type inks and grinding implements have been found in Han dynasty tombs, with large ingot-type inks appearing in the belatedly Eastern Han. These latter inks have physical markings which indicate that kneading was used in their production.^[one]

One of the offset literary records of inkstick product in Japan is from qimin yaoshu (齊民要術)^[2] written during the Northern Wei dynasty. Elaboration of the techniques, technical requirements, and ingredients were also noted in scroll 10 of yunlu manchao (雲麓漫鈔)^[3] and the "ink" chapter of tiangong kaiwu (天工開物), the notable Ming dynasty encyclopedia by Vocal Yingxing (宋應星).^[4]

Production [edit]

Image from the 17th-century technical certificate Tiangong Kaiwu (天工開物) detailing how pine is burned in a furnace at one end and its soot nerveless at the other.

In full general, inksticks are fabricated of soot and animal glue, with other ingredients occasionally added as preservatives or for aesthetics:

Soot: Soot is produced by hypoxic burning of oils such as tung oil (桐油), soybean oil, tea seed oil, or lard, or from forest such as pine.^[5]
Animal glue: Egg white, fish skin, or ox hibernate glues are used to bind the inkstick together.
Incense and medicines: To improve the physical aesthetics of the inkstick, incense and herb extracts from Traditional Chinese medicine such as clove, comfrey, ash (Fraxinus chinensis) bark, sappanwood, white sandalwood, Oriental sweetgum, or even deer musk, and pearl grit were added. These ingredients may serve as preservatives for the inkstick.

The ingredients are mixed together in precise proportions into a dough and then kneaded until the dough is smooth and fifty-fifty. The dough is then cutting and pressed into a mold and slowly dried. Badly fabricated inksticks volition crack or craze due to inadequate kneading, imprecise soot to gum ratio, or uneven drying.^[6]

The almost common shape for inksticks is rectangular/cuboid though other shapes are sometimes used. Inksticks oft have various inscriptions and images incorporated into their design, such every bit indications of the maker or the blazon of inkstick, poetry, or an creative epitome.

A good inkstick is said to be as hard equally rock, with a texture like a rhinoceros, and blackness like lacquer (堅如石，紋如犀，黑如漆). The grinding surface of a quality inkstick should in reflected light take a sheen that is blue-purple, black if non so skilful, and white if bad. The all-time inksticks make very lilliputian noise when grinding due to the fine soot used, which makes the grinding action very polish, whereas a very loud or scratchy grinding noise indicates an ink of poor quality with a grainy soot. Likewise, a quality inkstick should not damage or scratch the inkstone.

Types [edit]

At that place are many types of inksticks produced. An artist or calligrapher may use a specific ink for a special purpose or to create special effects.

Oil soot ink is made using the soot of burnt tung oil or diverse other oils. At that place is more glue in this type of ink than the other kinds, so it does not spread as much. It gives a warm black color and is good as a general purpose painting and calligraphy ink.
Pine soot ink is made from the soot of pine woods. Information technology has less mucilage and so spreads more than oil soot ink. It gives a blueish-black color and is good for calligraphy and gongbi painting.
Lacquer soot ink is made from the soot of dried raw lacquer. It has a shiny appearance and is well-nigh suitable for painting.
Charcoal ink is made using ordinary wood charcoal. It has the least corporeality of mucilage and so spreads on paper more than other inks. It is mainly used for freestyle painting and calligraphy.
Blueish ink (青墨) is oil or pine soot that has been mixed with other ingredients to produce a subtle blueish-black ink. Mainly used for calligraphy.
Coloured ink is oil soot ink that has been composite with pigments to create a solid ink of color. Well-nigh popular is cinnabar ink, which was reportedly used by Chinese emperors.

An artist might commission a custom ink to suit his/her needs. Medical ink is produced past mixing standard ink with herbal medicines, and can be basis and taken internally. Some inks are made in highly decorative and odd shapes for collectors rather than actual utilize.

Within each type of ink at that place are many variations regarding additional ingredients and fineness of the soot. An artist selects the best blazon of ink suited to their needs depending on subject area, paper type, and and so on.