Why should be full of respect for ink

Because ink represents traditional Chinese culture, but also one of the four treasures of the literary house, is a symbol of culture, but also the inheritance of history, so we should protect the ink culture, full of respect for ink.

The reason why ink can occupy an important position in the four treasures of literati is established through the wash of history. On the color, red, orange, yellow, green, green, blue, purple, there is no ink, red, yellow, blue, white, can not see the word ink, however, people ultimately chose it as a pigment for writing and creation.

This seemingly simple ink color can express a mood that other colors do not. In the field of Chinese painting and calligraphy, other colors can be missing, but not ink. If ink is missing, at least two types of art are missing: calligraphy and Chinese landscape painting.

All kinds of calligraphy posters, almost all are written in ink, that is, the landscape painting masterpieces that have been handed down to this day, either only see one color of ink, or ink is the main color, supplemented by other colors. Ink is an indispensable color for the expression of Chinese paintings, and it is also a color that cannot be replaced by any other color.

The Cultural History of Ink

Before the invention of artificially produced ink, natural or semi-natural ink was generally utilized as a writing material. Ink was invented approximately later than the pen. Prehistoric colored pottery decorations, Shang and Zhou oracle bone inscriptions, bamboo and wooden documents, thick silk calligraphy and painting have left traces of the original use of ink everywhere.

The Qin and Han Dynasty used pine smoke and tung coal to make ink. The earliest known smoked ink, found in Hubei Yunmeng Sleeping Tiger Earth Qin tomb and Jiangling Phoenix Hill Western Han Dynasty tomb. At that time, the ink, is some small round pieces, not molded into ingots. To the Han Dynasty, finally began to appear artificial ink products. This kind of ink raw materials taken from the pine smoke, initially by hand kneaded together, and later molded, the ink is solid.

Wei, Jin, North and South Dynasties ink quality continues to improve. The Tang Dynasty ink famous workers Xi Chao, Xi Tinggui father and son, made a "rich and creamy, glossy as lacquer" of good ink. Qing Dynasty ink production, mainly to the "fine ink" and "home ink" two aspects of the development, becoming a fine arts and crafts.