Zhaoqing Duanyan is the first of the four famous inkstones in China. Duan inkstone, Xuan paper, Hui ink and Hu pen have always been regarded as "the best products in Four Treasures of the Study". Zhang Jiucheng, a poet in the Song Dynasty, praised it as: "Gu Yan, Duan Xi is a wonder on earth, with purple flowers and rainbows in the middle of the night."
According to Yin Shi's Yan Tan, "Dongpo: Duan Xi Stone began in the world of Tang Wude." This shows that as early as 1350 years ago, Zhaoqing began to produce Duan inkstone. Duan Xi inkstone is produced in the Duan Xi River area on the south bank of the eastern end of Antelope Gorge (Axek Mountain). Su Dongpo's inkstone platform is a proof of its mining hardships: "A thousand people hold ribbons, a hundred people carry Jin, and the bonfire hangs down as treasures."
Guangdong inkstone is famous for its solid and smooth stones, fine textures and moist jade. Grinding ink with an inkstone is not stagnant, the ink is quick to show, and the water is not dry or damaged. A good Guangdong inkstone, whether it is hot in summer or cold, is blue-green when pinched by hand, and will not dry after being put in water for a long time. The ancients said that "breathing inkstone" can be used to describe the characteristics of Duanyan. Literati and writers of past dynasties spoke highly of Duanyan. Liu Gongquan, a famous calligrapher in the Tang Dynasty, wrote in On Research: "Qingzhou is the first place to store ink, followed by Jiangzhou; After the beginning, we will focus on the end, the company and Lintao. And the busybodies use the bronze sparrow terrace tile in Weiyang Palace, which comes second. " After a long period of observation, Liu Gongquan listed Duanyan as one of the four famous inkstones. Li He, a famous poet in the middle Tang Dynasty, also wrote a famous sentence of praise: "Duanzhou stonework is as clever as a god, stepping on the sky to sharpen the knife and chop Ziyun." Tang Li Zhao's "Supplement to Tang Shi" has: "The porcelain in the inner hills and the purple inkstone in Duanzhou are universally applicable."
It is said that the first person who made Duanyan was a girl named Gu. On one occasion, Miss Gu went up the mountain to stone, and accidentally found a purple-black stone, which was hard and dense, so she took a piece home and carved it into an inkstone. She found that the ink ground with this kind of inkstone is not easy to dry in hot weather and not easy to freeze in cold weather, so it is shiny. After the news came out, Duanzhou people regarded this purple stone as an inkstone, called "Duanyan", which was in short supply at the moment. When Tang Zhenguan tried in Beijing, the invigilator found that Duanyan was really a treasure of the study and immediately presented it to the emperor, so he listed Duanyan as a tribute and became famous all over the world.