What was the inkstone in Song Dynasty like?

Song inkstone is both practical and ornamental. The reason why people in Song Dynasty attached importance to inkstone was that the inking effect of inkstone was good, which met the various requirements of calligraphy and painting artists for inkstone research. At the same time, Song people had a strong interest in the color and texture of inkstone, and even became a pursuit. Such as fish brain jelly, ice lines, stone eyes, fire, etc.; Eyebrows, ribs, Venus, etc. Duck head green and ink spots of Taoheshi; The purple, red, gray, yellow silk and yellow silk pattern of red silk stone are natural, unique and inherent, with rich colors and unpredictable. In the Song Dynasty, from the emperor to the literati, they were all addicted to love affairs, and their characteristics of the times were also reflected in the inkstone to varying degrees. In addition to paying attention to stone quality, it also pays great attention to the shape of inkstone, which tends to be diversified, sweeping away the single style of round tripod and dustpan in Han and Tang Dynasties. According to Song Dynasty and Yanzhou Ink Book, there are more than 40 kinds of inkstones, mainly including Yueyan inkstone, Fengyan inkstone, Guqian inkstone, Qinyan inkstone, Lanting inkstone, Penglai inkstone, Xiantao inkstone, Dingyan inkstone, Huyan inkstone, Guiyan inkstone, Zhong inkstone and Qiuyan. There are many styles of Duanyan, besides the various shapes of She Yan, there are Taishi inkstone, Fenghuang inkstone, Shiqu inkstone, rectangular inkstone, square inkstone, casual inkstone and so on. Sculpture pays more attention to the harmony of pattern layout, and its techniques include deep carving, shallow carving, shallow relief and line carving. The lines are delicate and neat, and the knife method is simple and smooth. Yan Song began to develop from a single stationery to a combination of appreciation and use. Liu Xinxiang believes that Song inkstone is characterized by simple and elegant outline, practicality and elegance, and its main style is calligraphy inkstone (Taishi inkstone). The so-called calligraphy inkstone can be named after intercepting the bottom of the inkstone by hand, which is one of the main characteristics of Song inkstone.