Everyone knows pen, ink, paper, and inkstone! These are the four traditional treasures of the Chinese study, and they are essential tools for calligraphy lovers. Today the editor will focus on introducing inkstones to you! Inkstones have a history in China for many years. Duan inkstones from Zhaoqing, She inkstones from Shexian County, Taohe inkstones from Zhuoni, and Chengni inkstones from Jiangxian County are known as the four famous inkstones in China. How much do you know about the use of inkstones? Today I will introduce to you how to use inkstones and how to identify them!
How to use inkstones
1 . Daily water storage: Inkstones also need to be moistened. They need to be replaced with fresh water every day to store them. The inkstone pool should not be short of water. People in the past called it "Yangyan".
2. Clean water must be changed when using it: use a small pot Drop water on the surface of the inkstone and grind it with an ink pad. Note that hot water may damage the ink.
3. Brush after use: After using the inkstone, the remaining ink must be washed away, and it must not be allowed to condense on the inkstone. Otherwise, the remaining ink will dry out and form slag, which will hinder grinding, damage the pen surface, and damage the surface of the inkstone. If it is mixed with new ink, there will be no benefit in placing ink or making ink. When washing, you can use silk 4, melon rope and other objects to help, but do not wipe hard with hard objects to avoid damaging the smooth inkstone surface. If it needs to be taken out, it is best to dry it in the shade and do not wipe it with paper to avoid residues remaining and mixing with the ink.
5. Light grinding of new ink: New ink has sharp edges and corners. If you grind it hard, it will easily damage the surface of the inkstone. Just grind it lightly when using it.
6. Take out the ink: After grinding the ink, you must take out the ink. Do not put it in the bubble, otherwise the ink and the inkstone glue will be sticky and difficult to remove, and the surface of the inkstone will be easily damaged. If it accidentally sticks, you can first moisten it with clean water, rotate the ink in place, and then take it out after it becomes loose.
What kind of inkstone is good?
Mi Fu once said: "The stone is best for inkstone, color second, shape and workmanship, third, the weeds and algae edges are naturally useless for inkstones. "Generally speaking, there are four aspects to an inkstone: quality, quality, workmanship, and inscription. First of all, you need to look at the material of the inkstone. The stone is warm but not dry, fine in texture, firm but not stubborn. At the same time, touch it to feel its fineness, and then knock it to hear the sound of its denseness. Different stones have different sounds. The inkstone sounds like wood. The highest is the sound of tiles, the second is the sound of tiles, the second is the sound of gold, and the clear and crisp sound of She inkstone is better, while the clear sound of Helan inkstone is better, but crisp is not good, the texture is not good, and the degree of density is not high. After looking at its appearance, it is elegant and connotative, so it is a good product. Later, we will study the skills in detail. The skills of the north and the south are different, and the carving techniques of various inkstones are different. It mainly depends on the fineness of hand carving. Finally, it is necessary to taste the inscription. If the inkstone has an inscription, its value will double.
As long as a good inkstone produces ink sharply, the accumulated water will not dry up, and it is naturally moisturizing without drafts. If you use a good inkstone and use it for a while, the water vapor on it will not evaporate quickly.
How to identify the quality of an inkstone
1. Look: Look at the quality, workmanship, quality, inscription, decoration, whether it has been repaired, etc. If the inkstone has been repaired, the color of the repaired area will always be different from the original color of the inkstone.
2. Touch: When you get an inkstone, you can touch it with your hands. If it feels smooth and tender like a child's skin, it means the stone is of good quality; if it feels rough, it means the stone is of poor quality.
3. Knock: Hold the surface of the inkstone empty with five fingers, hit it gently, or play the inkstone with your fingers and listen to the sound. If it is a Duan inkstone, the sound of wood is the best, followed by the sound of tiles, and the sound of gold is the worst. These three different sounds reflect the tenderness and age of the Duan inkstone respectively. The crisp metallic sound of "dang, 4, dang" is the best when struck by Sheshi inkstone. If the sound is "pop, pop", it means that the stone is made of mud, or the stone has dark scars, and it is of low quality.
5. Washing: It is best to clean the inkstone, especially the ancient inkstone because the ink marks on the surface of the inkstone cover up the natural beauty of the inkstone, and it is also difficult to distinguish the age of the pit mouth of the stone, so it needs to be washed off Check the ink marks on the inkstone to see if there are any scratches or repair marks on the inkstone.
6. Weigh: Weigh the weight of the inkstone with your hands. Generally speaking, for stone inkstones of the same size, they are tightly cemented and have fine particles; if they are light, they are loosely cemented. The weighing method is especially suitable for She inkstones.
7. Engraving: The first thing to consider when choosing an inkstone is the quality of the stone. Those who are familiar with inkstones can immediately feel the quality of the inkstone by lightly carving a few lines on it.
Nowadays, most intellectuals already have the Four Treasures of the Study! They are needed for daily writing, drawing and so on. In fact, we can regard writing and drawing as a kind of pleasure in life, so that we can have some entertainment while working.
However, everyone must correctly understand how to use the inkstone, so that everyone will not be a dexterity. Of course, there is a big difference between inkstones and inkstones. Everyone must also learn how to identify inkstones. Only in this way can we buy a good inkstone.