The four treasures of the study, Chinese ink, were called gold inexchangeable by the ancients.
Ink may seem a bit monotonous, but it is an indispensable tool in ancient writing. With the help of this original material, the fantastic and wonderful artistic conception of Chinese calligraphy and painting can be realized. The world of Mo is not boring, but rich in content. As a consumable item, it should be very precious if ink can be presented intact today.
Before the invention of artificial ink, natural or semi-natural ink was generally used as writing materials. Ink was invented probably later than the pen. Prehistoric painted pottery patterns, oracle bone inscriptions from the Shang and Zhou dynasties, bamboo slips, silk calligraphy and paintings, etc., leave traces of the original use of ink everywhere. Documents record that ink was also used in ancient ink punishment (tattooing), ink rope (used in carpentry), and ink turtle (divination).
Identification of ink
The identification of ink is mainly based on the judgment of age. The so-called counterfeit products are mostly imitations of ink from a certain famous artist. Most of the ink has the name of the maker, so you need to be familiar with the names and houses of the main ink makers of each generation. The name of the room is very important. Only by knowing who belongs to which era can you tell the approximate age of the ink.
From the appearance and style of ink, we can also observe one or two things, such as: Ming ink is solid, mostly large pieces, the patterns and characters are mostly yang characters, and there are few yin characters. The fonts have the style of the Ming Dynasty, so The ink patterns produced are also vigorous and angular to the touch, the clear ink calligraphy is beautiful, and the ink mold carving skills are delicate, giving it an elegant and soft look.