According to these standards, the Tang Dynasty chose Duan Xi inkstone in Zhaoqing, Guangdong. Duanyan stone is beautiful in beauty, grinding ink silently, not consuming water, greasy but not slippery, not damaging ink, so it was widely popular in the Tang Dynasty.
"Supplement to Tang Shi" said: People all over the world, regardless of rank, are using Duan Xi Zishi inkstone. 1965, a Tang Dynasty wind-shaped inkstone was unearthed in Guangzhou Zoo. Now in Guangzhou Museum, it is a physical specimen of Duanyan in Tang Dynasty. This inkstone is unpretentious and should be a work of the early Tang Dynasty.
In the late Tang Dynasty, the shape of inkstone became more and more exquisite. Pi Rixiu's poem about Duan inkstone said: "The sample is as small as gold, but light, and the emblem will melt purple. Graphite is a phoenix tail, and half a spoonful of cold spring is a dzi bead. "
As you can see, at this time, various characters have been engraved on the inkstone. In addition to Duan Xi stone, Suixi stone in Wuyuan, Anhui Province also began to be mined in Kaiyuan period. In addition, Cheng Ni inkstone was produced in the Tang Dynasty and is the most famous product in Jiangzhou, Shanxi. The inkstone in Cheng Ni is usually made in the shape of a wind or a turtle, and the cover of the inkstone is in the shape of a turtle's back, which has a unique taste.
In the Song Dynasty, the inkstones of Duan, Hui, Lu and Tao were widely used by calligraphers. In addition to rectangular calligraphy inkstones, there are various pictographic inkstones, as well as special Lanting inkstones, Shiqu inkstones and miscellaneous inkstones. At this time, we have noticed the beauty of the stone texture, while Duanyan takes its stone eyes as the most precious, such as eyebrow eye, Ying Ge eye and phoenix eye.
The Northern Song Dynasty 10 1 Inkstone You 10 1 round stone eye collected by China History Museum is a treasure in the inkstone. There are many excellent works in Song Yanjin, and there is also the earliest history of inkstone written by Mi Fei in Song Dynasty.
In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, inkstone not only won by stone, but also paid special attention to sculpture and modeling, with diverse styles and great views. At this time, inkstone shapes, such as tripod, harp, bamboo couplet, vase, horseshoe, crescent moon, lotus leaf, ancient money, ganoderma lucidum, toad and so on. , are all wonderful. There is also a natural inkstone, which retains the simple beauty of natural stones.
Scholars often carve inscriptions and even portraits on inkstone, making it not only a research tool, but also a precious handicraft.
With the evolution of history, the modeling of modern inkstone has its own characteristics, full of rich flavor of the times. At present, China's inkstones are mainly produced in Zhaoqing, Anhui, Gansu, Ningxia, Shandong, Henan, Hebei and other places, all of which have the advantages of exquisite inkstones, exquisite carving, fast ink development, no damage to pens, difficulty in drying up and easy washing.
Artists are experienced. They often make full use of the natural shape, color, sweat texture and transparent stone eyes of inkstones, and are good at carving various inkstones. Their style is beautiful and elegant, which can be called the treasure of the study.