According to the stone texture, it is divided into five categories: ribbing, eyebrow lines, Venus, golden halo, and caviar, with more than 100 varieties. According to "Yi Tong Zhi", there are five varieties of inkstones: the first is Meizi stone, with seven types; the second is Waishan rib pattern, with thirteen types; the third is Lishan rib pattern, one type; the fourth is Jinxing, with three types; and the fifth is donkey. Pit, kind of.
Venus: It is golden yellow, dot-like distributed in the blue-black inkstone, and looks like the twinkling stars in the sky, which is very dazzling. There is a record in Mi Fu's "History of Inkstones" that "stars of purple gold are like goose-eye coins." Venus is large and small, gathers and disperses, and has various shapes. The mined inkstone has golden dots arranged in stone patterns. Some are as small as dust and sand, some are as large as grains; some are like slanting wind and drizzle. People roughly named Venus according to its changes, including halo Venus, golden flower Venus, drizzle Venus, ox-haired Venus, raindrop Venus, cloudy Venus, etc. Often distributed in Shuibangkeng, Shuifenkeng, Bilikeng and Jinxingkeng.
Golden halo: The clouds are like golden clouds in the sunset, which are about to disperse when blown, and the pine trees are like clumps of catkins, which are about to rise when touched. The size of the gold halo is clearly variable, giving people a unique hazy beauty. Product names include Jade Belt Golden Halo, Eyebrow Golden Halo, Golden Flower Golden Halo, etc. Most of them are located in Shuixiankeng, Jinxingkeng, Shuifenkeng and Bilikeng.
Ribbing: The texture of ribbing is as graceful as silk, giving people a crystal clear and elegant beauty. The ribs may be shaped like spring water wrinkles, rippling in the gentle breeze; or they may be shaped like a gorgeous skirt, floating indefinitely. Song Mifu's "History of Inkstones" records: "Today's people regard fine ribbed without stars as the top priority." Zhao Xihu wrote in "Dongtian Qinglu Collection": "The texture of She inkstones has three types: ribbed brush silk, gold and silver brush silk. "The product names of ribs include water wave ribs, drizzle ribs, Venus ribs, brushed ribs, etc. Ribs are generally distributed in Shuibangkeng, Shuifenkeng, Bilikeng, Ribokeng, Ribolishan, etc.
Meizi: Meizi is also called eyebrow lines. It is in the shape of long black strips, like a woman's willow-leaf eyebrows. The background color of the eyebrow lines is green and translucent. The stone is hard, fine and warm. It is both ink-producing and elegant. It has been highly praised by literati and scholars of the past dynasties. There is a record in "Dongtian Qinglu Collection" written by Zhao Xihu of the Song Dynasty that "the eyebrows are as big as armor marks or as big as silkworms". Cao Jishan of the Song Dynasty said in "The Theory of Bian Sheshi": "The stone lines are as horizontal as the eyebrows, with gold halos in between." The eyebrow lines are small and dense, often vividly called ox hair lines. The main varieties include tiger skin eyebrow lines, wild goose eyebrow lines, horn wave eyebrow lines, etc. Eyebrow lines are distributed in Meizikeng, Shuibangkeng, Shuifenkeng, Yejiushankeng, etc.
Caviar pattern: There are tiny black spots in the inkstone, evenly distributed and densely packed. Its shape is like a fish egg, and the egg is also called a roe, just like Wuyuan calls eggs a chicken roe. Due to the different stone colors of caviar, it is divided into herring roe pattern, loach back pattern, tea green, eel yellow, red caviar pattern, white caviar pattern, stone eyes, etc. Caviar lines are generally distributed in the eyebrow pit.