Inkstone Making Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
Its making can be traced back to the Western Han period, reaching its heyday in the Tang and Song dynasties and further developing in the Ming dynasty.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Jiangzhou Chengni inkstone is produced in Xinjiang County, Shanxi Province, and is the only ceramic inkstone among China's famous inkstones. Across successive dynasties, the Chengni inkstone was honored as a tribute item. The Jiangzhou Chengni inkstone making technique takes advantage of the unique natural conditions of the Fen River bay, selecting sedimentary silt that is processed through dozens of steps—filtering, shaping, carving, and firing—to yield a finished product after more than a year. The characteristics of the Chengni inkstone are a hard, lustrous, and moist body; breathing on it produces moisture, and touching it feels like a child's skin. Its textures are varied and its coloring is plain and elegant. In use it is crystalline and fine, does not damage the brush hairs, holds water without drying up, and does not freeze in severe cold; it produces ink extremely fast and the ink shows a glowing luster. The Chengni inkstone can be divided by color into several varieties, among which 'eel yellow' (shanyu huang), 'mung-bean sand' (lvdou sha), 'rose purple' (meigui zi), and 'cinnabar red' (zhusha hong) are rare, superior pieces deeply loved by emperors and literati of past ages. For historical reasons, the Jiangzhou Chengni inkstone making technique had essentially been lost by the late Ming and early Qing periods. At present, the newly revived Chengni inkstone making technique is still in a developing phase and urgently needs government support and assistance.
Archival Process Records
The Jiangzhou Chengni inkstone making technique takes advantage of the unique natural conditions of the Fen River bay, selecting sedimentary silt that is processed through dozens of steps—filtering, shaping, carving, and firing—to yield a finished product after more than a year.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Jiangzhou Chengni inkstone takes a different path from other stone inkstones: its material is the sedimentary silt of the Fen River bay, processed through dozens of steps—filtering, shaping, carving, and firing—over more than a year, making it the only ceramic inkstone among China's famous inkstones. The finished inkstones are classified by color through kiln transformation; the 'eel yellow', 'mung-bean sand', 'rose purple', and 'cinnabar red' varieties are rarely seen. This craft was essentially broken off by the late Ming and early Qing periods; in 1983 Lin Yongmao sought out materials from many sources and repeatedly experimented, and together with his son Lin Tao founded the Jiangzhou Chengni Inkstone Research Institute in 1986, bringing the craft back.
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Precisely for these reasons, this kind of inkstone is produced in small quantities and is of considerable value. In order to rescue this precious national cultural heritage, Lin Yongmao and his son Lin Tao—descendants of Lin Xiangru, a native of Jiangzhou—gathered materials from many sources, devoted themselves to research, experimented repeatedly, and refined their craft through arduous effort, finally restoring the production of the Chengni inkstone and allowing this treasure of the nation to shine again. Lin Yongmao (per the official inheritor archive): male, Han ethnicity, born in February 1968, a native of Xinjiang County, Shanxi Province. A representative inheritor of the third batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage items, for the inkstone making technique (Chengni inkstone making technique). Senior craft artist. Graduated from the fine arts program of the Art Department of Shanxi University, he devoted many years to the study and research of printmaking art and created a large number of prints and lacquer-carving works. In 1983 he began collecting materials and set about restoring the long-lost traditional inkstone making technique. In 1986 he founded the Jiangzhou Chengni Inkstone Research Institute of Xinjiang County, Shanxi Province, and through several years of unremitting effort in cooperation with his son Lin Tao, finally brought the Jiangzhou Chengni inkstone back into existence. Using specially filtered fine clay, he skillfully exploited the law of kiln transformation of the clay during firing to produce the inkstone; because its earth characteristics and firing temperature differ, it possesses a unique character. In recent years the Chengni Inkstone Research Institute has recruited more than twenty technicians, carefully passing on the craft so that its making technique can be inherited and developed.
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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