Inkstone Making Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
The making of Yishui inkstones began in the Warring States period, flourished in the Tang and Song, and gradually matured by the Ming dynasty.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Yishui inkstone is a famous handicraft of Yi County, Hebei Province, named after the Yishui River that flows through its producing area. Connoisseurs of the time gave the Yishui inkstone the highest praise, considering it 'firm and moist in substance, smooth in carving, luminous in color, clear and cool in sound, weighty in body, and complete in preservation—the foremost among inkstones.' For a thousand years the Yishui inkstone has been valued by the world for its natural superior material and unique artistic style. The stone used for Yishui inkstones is a sedimentary rock from Xiyu Mountain in the Taihang range; some pieces are of a soft purplish-gray, some are dotted with natural dark-green or pale-yellow markings, and others are of stacked leaf-like dark purple and emerald green—commonly called 'purple-emerald stone' and 'jade-black stone'—with a glossy, fine, jade-like surface, most suited to inkstone making. Yishui inkstone making shapes the form according to the material, follows the grain to its conclusion, uses fine knife work, and produces vivid patterns. After obtaining the stone, the inkstone masters carve figures, flowers and plants, dragons and phoenixes, birds and insects, and other motifs upon it using traditional relief techniques, according to its shape. Common patterns include two dragons playing with a pearl, nine dragons playing with a phoenix, a golden tortoise offering longevity, and the twelve zodiac animals. From a practical standpoint, this inkstone has a fine, even texture, moderate hardness, produces ink quickly without harming the brush hairs, and the ink stored in its well stays moist and does not easily evaporate, making it an ideal creative tool for calligraphers and painters. In recent years, the development of the Yishui inkstone craft has shown a stagnating trend, and it urgently needs protection and support.
Matching the stone to the design
Before any cutting, the block is judged by form, colour and veining so that the intended shape and technique follow from the stone rather than override it.
Carving the relief face
Figures, plants, dragons, phoenixes, birds and insects are raised in traditional relief, cut finely so that the design animates the stone's natural form.
Two dragons chasing a pearl, nine dragons with a phoenix
Frequent subjects are two dragons and a pearl, nine dragons and a phoenix, the tortoise of longevity and the twelve zodiac animals, all auspicious and carefully composed on a limited surface.
Grinding and ink-holding tests
The stone is judged in use: ink must release quickly without fraying the brush and stay moist in the well, and the block must ring woodily and metallically when struck.
Producing monumental inkstones
A monumental branch alongside small desk stones, running from hauling and shaping to overall composition; the returning-pearl and nine-dragon stones belong to it.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The stone for Yishui inkstones comes from Xiyu Mountain in the Taihang range, a sedimentary rock whose color ranges from soft purplish-gray to those dotted with dark-green or pale-yellow markings, and to those of stacked leaf-like dark purple and emerald green, which the stone workers call purple-emerald stone and jade-black stone. The inkstone-making villages and towns are distributed along the stone's place of origin, with workshops mostly built against the mountains; quarrying the stone, hauling the material, and cutting and shaping it are often done by the same team of artisans, so local masters generally understand the full craft from stone-reading to carving. The forms of the inkstones broadly divide by use into several lines: small pieces shaped to the material take their rounded, comfortable feel for daily use in the study, while large pieces that unfold following the stone's form emphasize appreciation, serving as display or gifts. In recent years giant inkstones have become a new direction for Yi County's inkstone industry; Zou Hongli pushed Yishui inkstone design and carving toward emphasizing artistry, appreciation, collectibility, serialization, and variety, pioneering giant Yishui inkstone making in China. The six-ton giant inkstone 'Return Inkstone' that he led the design of was collected by the Great Hall of the People, and the thirty-ton giant inkstone 'China Nine-Dragon Giant Inkstone' was collected by the China Millennium Monument, pushing the Yishui name from the desk to large-scale display. With natural superior material paired with a unique artistic style, the Yishui inkstone has been valued by the world for a thousand years, repeatedly rated a national high-grade famous inkstone and treasured by collectors; but in recent years its craft development has shown a stagnating trend and it urgently needs protection and support.
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Yishui inkstones are finely made, of primitive simplicity in form, elegant and dignified, with high appreciative and collectible value, long treasured by collectors, and repeatedly rated national high-grade famous inkstones. Zou Hongli (per the official archive of the associated inheritor): male, Han ethnicity, born December 1966, from Yi County, Hebei Province. Representative inheritor of the inkstone-making craft (Yishui inkstone making craft), a national-level intangible cultural heritage project, in the third batch. From childhood he loved Yishui inkstone carving art, visited many famous carving masters, and finally achieved mastery. He pushed Yishui inkstone design and carving toward emphasizing artistry, appreciation, collectibility, serialization, and variety, pioneering giant Yishui inkstone making in China. In 1997 the six-ton giant inkstone 'Return Inkstone' that he led the design of was collected by the Great Hall of the People. In 1999, together with other carving masters, he designed and made the thirty-ton giant inkstone 'China Nine-Dragon Giant Inkstone,' collected by the China Millennium Monument. His works have won awards many times in national and provincial competitions. The appraisal of the time—'firm and moist in substance, smooth in carving, luminous in color, clear and cool in sound, weighty in body, and complete in preservation, the foremost among inkstones'—connects stone, craft, sound, form, and state of preservation into a single set of criteria, which is still the measure used in judging inkstones today. On the practical side, the Yishui inkstone has a fine, even texture and moderate hardness, produces ink quickly without harming the brush hairs, and the ink stored in its well stays moist and does not easily evaporate—its actual help to calligraphic and pictorial creation is verifiable; on the making side, the masters shape the form according to the material and follow the grain to its conclusion, with fine knife work and vivid patterns, the relief technique building layers within a small space. The entire skill rests in the hand, and once the line of artisans breaks, the stone remains but the technique is nowhere to be found.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Zou Hongli 03-1394
- Lin Yongmao 03-1395
- Li Maodi 03-1396
- Yan Senlin 04-1895
- Lusuozhong 05-2828
- Lin Tao
- Lai Jianhua
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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