The production of these inkstones gradually divorced from practicality and moved towards arts and crafts. Thus, inkstone can be divided into practical inkstone and ornamental inkstone. Of course, there are also some inkstones that can be used and played.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Duan and Zou paid more attention to stones, carving patterns and modeling styles. And engraved famous sentences on the inkstone, but also pursued the exquisite decoration and gorgeous beauty of the external inkstone. At that time, there were many famous inkstone craftsmen, such as Wang Xiuyun and Wang Fuqing. In the sculpture art, the pursuit of nature led to the appearance of a conformal inkstone. This conformal inkstone has a variety of materials and forms, which transformed the use value of inkstones into artistic value in the Ming Dynasty, and it was very popular for dignitaries to be arty and collect inkstones. Because of the direct participation of literati, literati and artists, they chose materials, designed and made them themselves, which greatly improved the texture and decoration of inkstones in Ming and Qing Dynasties.
In the early Qing Dynasty, Qianlong Dynasty reorganized and vigorously developed inkstone resources, so the texture and pattern of Duanyan produced by Qianlong Dynasty were better than any previous dynasty. In the late Qing Dynasty, Governor Zhang Zhidong took measures in Guangdong and Guangxi, and gained a lot, and it was a big deal.
With the development of social economy, the materials of inkstone in Qing Dynasty are more abundant and diverse, including end stone, soft stone, pottery stone, mud stone, red stone, strange stone and chrysanthemum stone, as well as jade inkstone, jade miscellaneous stone inkstone, lacquer sand inkstone, iron inkstone and porcelain inkstone, with dozens of kinds. Because the rulers of Qing Dynasty attached great importance to the Northeast, the birthplace of ancestors, at this time, they strongly praised the "Songhua Stone Inkstone" produced in the northeast mixed river and designated it as the imperial inkstone.
In Qing Dynasty, the production of inkstone platform paid great attention to carving, and the methods and themes were similar to those of stone carving, tooth carving and jade carving. The technology of inkstone making is more developed, and the variety of inkstone materials, carving skills, exquisite modeling and inkstone box decoration are all very beautiful. Like the Ming Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty inkstone tended to value beauty over practicality and became an ornamental. In particular, the use of some less inky materials, such as jade, jadeite, crystal, etc., makes the inkstone more beautiful, but its practicality is greatly reduced.
Ming and Qing dynasties are an important historical stage for inkstone to become a kind of arts and crafts. During this period, the variety of inkstone was increased in the technology of inkstone making, and some materials unsuitable for grinding, such as jade, ivory and feed, were also selected as inkstone materials, purely for the needs of arts and crafts.
In the Ming and Qing dynasties, inkstone won with stones, and it also paid special attention to sculpture and modeling, with diverse styles and became a major landscape. At this time, inkstone shapes, such as tripod, harp, bamboo couplet, vase, horseshoe, crescent moon, lotus leaf, ancient money, ganoderma lucidum, toad and so on. , are all wonderful. There is also a natural inkstone, which retains the simple beauty of natural stones. Scholars often carve inscriptions and even portraits on inkstone, making it not only a research tool, but also a precious handicraft.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the materials of inkstone were more abundant. Besides Guangdong inkstone, rolling stone, peach pit, mud stone, HongLing, strange stone and chrysanthemum stone, there are dozens of jade inkstones, jade miscellaneous inkstones, tile inkstones, lacquer sand inkstones, iron inkstones and porcelain inkstones.
With the development of history, Zhaoqing, Anhui, Gansu, Ningxia, Shandong, Henan, Hebei and other places in Guangdong have been added as the main producing areas of China inkstone, all of which have the advantages of exquisite inkstone, exquisite carving, fast ink development, no damage to pens, difficulty in drying up and easy washing.
Artists are experienced. They often make full use of the natural form, color, sweat texture and transparent stone eyes of the inkstone, and skillfully carve various inkstones with beautiful and elegant styles, which can be called "the treasure of the study".