1 Appreciation of Duan Inkstone, the Four Treasures of the Study
Duan Inkstone is one of the four famous inkstones. Zhaoqing is the place where Duan Inkstone is produced. The production of Duan Inkstone has a history of more than 1,300 years. It is the first inkstone and has a long-standing reputation. Duan inkstone should be appreciated from four aspects: texture, color, variety and workmanship.
Stone
The Duan Inkstone was a tool used by the ancients to grind ink. Therefore, when the ancients appreciated the Duan Inkstone, they first looked at whether it produced ink. The key to producing ink lies in the quality of the inkstone. Cai Xiang, a native of Song Dynasty, believed that it is not easy to grind ink when making ink. The inkstone shines brightly, the pen rotates, and the inkstone is completely wiped out. This is because the stone is strong and moist and can be activated, and it does not stagnate in the ear of the inkstone. Therefore, those who know it think that ink that is easy to grind is called lower ink (falling ink), and ink that spreads like oil is called rising ink. Those who are good at inkstone use both lower and higher ink. Ji Nan from the Qing Dynasty taught people to appreciate the quality of the stone by tapping the inkstone lightly and distinguishing its sound in "Duanxi Inkstone Examination". He said: "If the stone is tender, its sound is clear and distant. If the stone is as tender as clay, its sound is quiet. Dongpo (Su Shi) called it the sound of the rock, and Mi Shi (Mi Fu) said that the fine buckles of the rock are the clearer it is. But the old man The sound is sonorous, but the ink is not emitted." It can be seen that emitting ink is a prerequisite for appreciating Duan inkstone.
Stone color
Duan inkstone is based on purple, but the color of each pit inkstone is different. When observing, comparing, and distinguishing the color of Duan Inkstone, you must immerse the stone in water (preferably submerged in water) to see clearly and accurately. For example, if you take a piece of high-quality Laokeng inkstone and wet it with water and observe it, you will find that its color is purple-blue as the main color of the inkstone. On the purple-blue tone, you can see that the color of the Laokeng inkstone is variegated. Rich in change, the texture is clear, bright and pure. And the color seems to come out of the inkstone rather than floating on the surface. Therefore, it gives people a real rather than virtual feeling, a dignified and vigorous feeling rather than a thin and frivolous feeling.
In addition, depending on the era of inkstone mining, the direction of the stone layers is different, and the color of the stone is also different. Inkstones from the same Duanxi inkstone pit will not have exactly the same color due to different eras or mining periods. Even if mined at the same time, in the same pit, the color of the inkstone will be slightly different due to different directions of stone veins or different quarrying surfaces. According to historical records, the vast majority of Duanxi inkstones collected during the Tang and Song Dynasties were dark purple. Therefore, when people evaluate the color of Duanxi inkstones, they always think of them as “blue-purple in color, expensive in color”, and as low-grade inkstone in “grey” color. In Shuiyan (Laokeng), there were Daxi Cave and Shuigui Cave excavated in the Ming Dynasty. The color of the stone cannot be regarded as purple. It is based on purple-blue, commonly known as sapphire blue, with blue-black, purple-red, and pale colors. On the purple-blue base, the more colors, the richer, and the more valuable it is.
To accurately identify, observe and appreciate the color of Duanshi, natural light is the best. In addition to various well-known pit inkstones with "purple" as the main color, Duanxi stones also include Lvduan with emerald green as the main color, and Baiduan with white as the main color (such as Qingbai Duan inkstone). Green end is a minority among Duan inkstones, but it has a certain position among Duan inkstones. The white end is not very suitable for grinding ink, and there is no "inking" or "inking" to speak of. It is mostly used to grind cinnabar, lime green, white lead (zinc) powder and other pigments required for painting. In recent decades, it has been used Not engraved.