The ancients said, "Those who benefit from ink will get a good horse if they are famous." Ink is one of China's "Four Treasures of the Study". It is a black pigment used for writing and painting, and it is also the emotional sustenance of literati in past dynasties. A good ink can bear the essence and charm of China's traditional culture for thousands of years. Among Four Treasures of the Study, Huimo is the most valuable one.
China's ink culture has a long history. From Oracle Bone Inscriptions to Ming and Qing Dynasties, Mexican culture developed to varying degrees. According to historical records, "licking the pen and licking the ink" in Zhuangzi during the Warring States Period is the earliest literature record about ink. The Western Zhou Dynasty's Shu Ancient Calligraphy Compilation said "Xingyi ink making", which represented the beginning of artificial ink making.
During the Qin and Han Dynasties, the artificial ink making technology represented by Song Yanmo made great progress, and the artificial ink became mature during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. Jia Sixie's "Qi Yao Min Shu" has a record about ink making, saying: "Ink mixing is not allowed in February or September, and it stinks in warm weather, and it is difficult to dry in cold weather. Tong Rong sees the wind break, but he weighs no more than two or three. Small is better than good. " It can be seen that people at that time were quite skilled in ink-making methods.
Brief introduction of Four Treasures of the Study
1. Paper is a great invention of China. Although there are tens of millions of kinds of paper in the world, "Xuan paper" is still a unique handmade paper for brush painting and calligraphy. Xuan paper is flexible, white and smooth, durable in color and strong in water absorption, and has the international reputation of "paper lives for thousands of years".
2. Brush is a unique tool for writing and drawing, and there are different writing styles with feathers between ancient China and western countries. Although pencils, ballpoint pens, pens, etc. In today's world, the writing brush is irreplaceable.
3. Ink is the pigment for writing and painting. The fine ink made by Chao Heting, a famous Mohist in the Tang Dynasty, was appreciated by Li Yu, the queen of the Southern Tang Dynasty, and the whole family took "Li" as the national surname. From the world-famous "Li Mo". In the Song Dynasty, Shexian, the birthplace of Li Mo, was renamed Huizhou, and Li Mo was renamed Huimo.
4. Inkstone, commonly known as Inkstone, is a tool for China to write, paint and grind pigments. Ink was very popular in Han Dynasty, but it was widely used in Song Dynasty. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there were many kinds of inkstones, including Yan Tao, Duanyan, She Yan and Chengni, and they were called "four famous inkstones". The literati in ancient China attached great importance to inkstone, not only accompanied them all the time, but also used it as a martyr after death.