She Inkstone Making Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
She inkstones appeared as early as the Han and Jin periods, and their fame grew steadily from the Tang dynasty onward. In the Song dynasty She inkstones developed rapidly: varieties increased and fine stones emerged continually, and their range of names, fineness of texture, and excellence of carving were unsurpassed among all inkstones. After the mid-1980s, She inkstones entered the forefront of China's inkstone industry and, for their excellent quality, received the National Quality Product award, a gold award for export earnings, and a "National Treasure" certificate from the relevant authorities.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
She inkstones are one of the four famous inkstones of China; their principal place of production and the place where they gained their fame is She County in ancient Huizhou, hence the name She inkstone. Wuyuan County in Jiangxi Province was formerly part of Huizhou, and its products are also called She inkstones. After the Kaiyuan era, Longwei inkstone stone was discovered, and She inkstones came to be treasured even more by the world. Li Yu, the last ruler of the Southern Tang, regarded She inkstones as "the finest under heaven" and established an inkstone office (yanwu) in Shezhou, promoting the inkstone craftsman Li Shaowei to serve as its director; the standing of She inkstones rose sharply from then on. From the late Yuan to the early Qing there are no records of official quarrying of She stone, and She inkstone making was merely maintained in a diminished state. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, She inkstone production developed for a time, and gold-star (Jinxing) She inkstones reappeared. After the reform and opening-up, She County and Wuyuan County successively established She inkstone factories, craft factories, and Four Treasures of the Study companies, with a full range of operations from quarrying inkstone stone and making products to decoration, and developed new varieties such as "douban" (bean speckle), "green brushed silk", "She red", and "purple cloud". The She inkstone making technique centers on carving and consists of many process steps, including stone selection, conception, finalizing the form, pattern design, carving, polishing, and fitting the inkstone case; according to the stone's veining, She inkstones are divided into five major categories - rib (luo) pattern, eyebrow (mei) pattern, gold star, gold halo, and fish roe - with more than one hundred varieties. The stone has a fine, dense texture, combining hardness with moistness; it is slightly abrasive without holding back the brush, and smooth without repelling the ink. She inkstones are praised as "the crown of all mountains' stones" and "a famed pearl of the inkstone realm". At present, raw She inkstone stone is extremely scarce and the traditional craft lacks successors; protection efforts urgently need to be increased.
Archival record of process steps
The She inkstone making technique centers on carving and consists of many process steps, including stone selection, conception, finalizing the form, pattern design, carving, polishing, and fitting the inkstone case; according to the stone's veining, She inkstones are divided into five major categories - rib (luo) pattern, eyebrow (mei) pattern, gold star, gold halo, and fish roe - with more than one hundred varieties.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
She inkstones are one of the four famous inkstones of China; their principal place of production and the place where they gained their fame is She County in ancient Huizhou, hence the name She inkstone. After the Kaiyuan era, Longwei inkstone stone was discovered, and She inkstones came to be treasured even more by the world; Li Yu, the last ruler of the Southern Tang, regarded She inkstones as "the finest under heaven" and established an inkstone office in Shezhou, promoting the inkstone craftsman Li Shaowei to serve as its director, and the standing of She inkstones rose sharply from then on. The She County Craft Factory of Anhui Province is the project protection unit.
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Cao Jieming (official archival record of an associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born 1954, from She County, Anhui. Representative inheritor of the She inkstone making technique, a first national-level batch intangible cultural heritage project; folk craftsman of Huizhou. Inkstone carving depends mainly on hand strength: the knife must be held steady, the cuts made accurately, and the pushing stroke delivered firmly; the knife work varies in weight and speed, combining strength and softness; the patterns should be well modulated, alternating dense and open, full of lively spirit, and diverse yet unified. His works have developed a unique artistic style, with well-proportioned designs, elegant and distinctive forms, vigorous knife work, and flowing lines; whether landscapes, figures, dragons and phoenixes, flowers and birds, or insects and fish, each has its own character. Cao Jieming has practiced the craft for more than thirty years and has trained several dozen outstanding young inkstone carvers; he now also serves as a teacher of She inkstone theory and production at Xingzhi Middle School in Anhui Province. Representative works include "Dongpo Excursion to the Red Cliff", "Tangmo Little West Lake Inkstone", and "Shezhou Bamboo Inkstone". Zheng Han (official archival record of an associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born June 1963, from She County, Anhui Province. Representative inheritor of the She inkstone making technique, a third national-level batch intangible cultural heritage project. While inheriting the tradition of inkstone carving, he fuses past and present; his knife work is vigorous, seasoned, and concise, and in carving he combines deep relief, openwork, pierced work, dotting, line, and plane, making clever use of the stone skin's natural colors, with ingenious and refined conception. His works "Huangshan Scenic Traces Inkstone" and "Chinese Dragon Inkstone" were presented as state gifts to Emperor Akihito of Japan and the then French President Jacques Chirac, respectively. In 2008, his work "Round Heaven and Square Earth Compass Inkstone" was presented as a gift to Samaranch, honorary life president of the International Olympic Committee. He has published scholarly works on She inkstone carving such as Zheng Han's Inkstone Collection and Between Jade and Stone.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Cao Jieming 01-0187
- Zheng Han 03-1335
- Wang Zuwei 04-1860
- Cai Yongjiang 05-2770
- Wang Hongxin 05-2771
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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