The story of ink and water reveals the darkness of ink.

Both ink and Mo Ding are used to write calligraphy. But the latter needs grinding, and it is not convenient to prepare water and inkstone. However, the prices of the two are quite different. Have you ever heard of anyone collecting ink? Have you ever heard of the surge in ink paintings at antique auctions?

There is ink! There are more than 10,000 spindles of Mo Bao in the Palace Museum on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. At an auction in Chinese mainland in 2007, there was a round Mo Bao with an ingot diameter of only 8.8 cm during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, and the transaction price was as high as RMB 654.38+0.288 million. That's terrible!

How can ink be so noble and valuable? I remember the ink I used when I was a student. It's dark and unremarkable, and it smells strange. No one should go near it except the calligraphy class. Only when you want to play tricks on girls or get back at teachers who like to repair people will you think of the benefits of ink and secretly splash some ink on it.

The stereotype of ink actually came from all the students who came into contact with it at that time, and it was cheap student ink. Ink shops have long had the concept of market segmentation, knowing that students can't afford good ink, and they don't need good ink to practice calligraphy. Of course, the quality is poor and the smell is strange. However, at least students are the future masters of the country, and they are also intellectuals. There are some inspirational words on the ink, such as "have a confident mind", "Longmen" and "don't exchange gold", at least for decoration.

As for the ink sold to merchants for bookkeeping, the quality is often worse. It is shaped like a round bar without any decoration. Make a hole at one end at most, so that a thin rope can be hung on the beam. In this way, it is convenient to pull it down when grinding ink, and it is convenient to hang it when not in use, which does not occupy the desktop and does not need cleaning.

It is definitely not these two inks that are heating up rapidly in the antique market. In the history of using ink for more than 3000 years, the quality and types of ink have been developing continuously, the relationship with ink users has become more and more cordial, and the words and carvings on ink have become more and more exquisite. With these changes, the use of ink is more colorful, increasing the collection value of ink. It's just that all this is often ignored under layers of black veil!

Although almost no one uses ink now, ink played a very important role in the life of China literati before the popularity of pens, ballpoint pens, typewriters and computers. In addition to calligraphy and painting, it is also used to appreciate and play, and has the functions of giving gifts and educating people. Some people even record their own events or travel notes on ink, so that ink can be used for memory and commemoration. In the early years of the Republic of China, under the condition of underdeveloped media, commemorative ink was also used as a tool for minority propaganda. It's hard to imagine! The most amazing thing is that ink is made into an effective medicine. If it were you, would you dare to eat?

First of all, have fun.

Just as it is popular for modern people to bring some dolls and ornaments, ancient people also like to get some Yu Pei and tooth carvings to play with at any time. Ink and wash, because of its inherent intimate relationship with literati and plasticity in the production process, has also been carefully made into Wan Wen, which is very popular.

Look at this ink. The business card is about two-thirds in size, with lotus leaves and bamboo leaves engraved on the front and two overlapping lotus leaves engraved on the back, with distinct branches and leaves. Small and exquisite is very pleasing. In addition, the ink body is as smooth as silk, and the hands are not dirty when playing. No wonder Wang Cihou, a Mohist of Hui school, righteously named it "Literati Appreciation" during the reign of Kangxi, and I believe literati will appreciate it.

Wang Cihou made Confucian scholars enjoy lotus leaf-shaped inkstone ink. The words "apprentice" and "Wang Cihou antique" are written on both sides of the border. Length and width 7.6x4x0.8, weight 28g ..

Once you start to like something, you often can't stop, and similar things will always want to have it. This kind of psychology is the same at all times, whether at home or abroad. Therefore, Wang Cihou's "Sharing Confucian Scholars" ink and a full set of nine ingots

Since ink can be made into any shape, the carvings on it can also be colorful. If you have a heart, why not think about it from the perspective of giving gifts and expand the application market of ink?

Third, give gifts.

This move is very successful! China people have attached importance to etiquette since ancient times, and the best way to express etiquette is obviously to send a gift. If ink can be made into a timely gift, it is not tacky and can be preserved for a long time. As long as the price is reasonable, there must be a market.

So all kinds of gift inks appeared one after another. One of the most popular "birthday ink" is to congratulate you on your happy birthday. Ink and wash themes include Shoutao, Antarctic fairy Weng, Shou and so on. There are many ingenious changes like modern birthday cakes. In addition, wedding inks such as "Bai Zi" and "Jiufeng Chicken", as well as hand-rolled ink and ink used in exams to congratulate students on their success in the imperial examination are very popular. Birthday and wedding ink is often painted with gold, bright and beautiful, and the characters and words are simple and lovely, which means good luck. But because it is not used for writing, the raw materials used will be worse.

What did Wang Jiean do? It is 234.74.5cm long and weighs 804g. ..

Not only ordinary people, but also officials like to give gifts in ink, especially Huizhou people. On the one hand, because the ink maker is under his jurisdiction, he can get good ink at the cost price; On the other hand, it can highlight his elegance and lofty. Again, you can sell local products by the way. Why not? Gift givers are naturally mainly members of bureaucratic groups, and even senior officials at the governor level also send ink to the emperor. Its intention is self-evident. The emperor also has imperial ink in ouchi, which leaves open to drive away animals for personal use or reward liegeman. Top grade official ink has a characteristic: the ink surface has the official title of the other party. For example, Mo Bao, who was verified and appreciated by Tang Qi Fangbo, built a tile and gave it to Cheng Yucai, who was the political envoy of Anhui during Daoguang's reign.

Take a break and enjoy Fang Bo's ink painting. Tile-shaped, with ink on the front, decorated with five bats of Xiangyun on the back, inscribed with "Gong Yan", printed with "100,000 pestle" on the bottom and "Made in Hu Kaiwen, Huizhou" on the side. It is13.74.21.3cm long and weighs 90g..

The superiors should curry favor with each other, and the peers in the same grade should not be neglected. Especially when passing through their territory and having to pay a courtesy visit, hand-in-hand ceremony is absolutely indispensable! For some honest and self-disciplined officials, heavy gifts cannot be given. This gift is often your own poem, plus your own custom ink. Be friends with words, become attached to pen and ink, and benefit at no cost. This ink won't have the name of the recipient, but it says "a gift". In those days, Hong Jun, the champion of Suzhou, ordered such ink.

Red is covered with tiles and covered with gold foil, and the red letter "Huangshan Mou"

Speaking of top scholar Hong Jun, even if you are not familiar with him, you should have heard of his concubine. Because this little wife is more famous than him, she is Sai Jinhua, a famous prostitute who entered the special industry after his death. It is said that when Eight-Nation Alliance went to Beijing because of the Boxer Rebellion, Empress Dowager Cixi fled to the west, leaving no one in the city. Thanks to Sai Jinhua, who was sent to Germany with Jun Hong, he and the German general Videsi, commander-in-chief of Eight-Nation Alliance, are old friends and have some friendship, which has exerted some influence and reduced the atrocities of the allied forces.

Four. Recording and memory

Of course, being good to others can't be bad to yourself. Some people like reading and writing. They order ink from the use and appreciation, and the quality is very good. Most of the words above are my own calligraphy, and I often briefly describe my heart by the way. These inks, even if they are not gorgeous, show humility, courtesy and generosity. Such as Liu Yong in Qianlong period, Tao Shu in Daoguang period, and the ink made by Peng Yulin, a Confucian general of Xiang Army who fought against the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Looking at Peng Yulin's ink, can you feel its narcissism?

Peng Yulin mo. On the front, "Shi Xue Qinjiacang" painted plum blossoms, and on the back, the inscription "My lifelong confidant is plum blossoms". Length 16.23.7 1.5cm, weight 122g.

Some people go further, write their stories, socialize with friends, travel, etc. On the ink. Let the ink have the function of recording and even commemorating. Zhang Daqian, a China painter who is as famous as Picasso in the world painting circle, has Ding, who wrote The Return of the Sea of Clouds, and recorded his visit to Huangshan Mountain with his brothers and disciples in the autumn of 20 years of the Republic of China.

Zhang Damo. On the front, it says "Returning from the Sea of Clouds", and on the back, it says "Zhang Shanma, Daqian's nephew Xu Ming and Wu Zishengquan visited Huangshan Mountain in September, and autumn is here". It is 9.72.40.85 centimeters long and weighs 30 grams.

At the end of the Qing Dynasty, with the trend of ordering ink by literati, ink shops also opened their hearts and began to cooperate with famous painters and painters, taking their creation as the theme of ink. In fact, this is a return to tradition, because in the late Ming Dynasty, Huizhou ink master Fang had already cooperated with painters and painted many wonderful ink samples. However, after entering the Qing Dynasty, perhaps due to the influence of the literary inquisition, ink shops tended to be conservative, and the themes of the ink produced were mostly limited to landscapes, antiques and folk customs, which were out of touch with reality.

Until the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement in the late Qing Dynasty, some ink shops set up bases in Shanghai, and their ideas tended to be open under the influence of the prosperous industrial and commercial environment. In addition, the influence of Han governors increased greatly, and the scruples of ink shops became smaller, so they cooperated with Wu Changshuo, Ren Bonian and other Shanghai painters to produce many inks with novel themes, which were called "Shanghai Hui Ink". Look at this four-year-old ingot of Guangxu. This is made by Cao Sugong, the most famous ink shop in Qing Dynasty. Ren Bonian painted ink with the theme of screw essence. In The Big Screw, there is a beautiful woman with a big pearl in one hand and an absurd poem attached. Very interesting, subverting tradition.

Ren Bonian screw fine ink. Draw a fine picture of a screw on the front, and recite a poem on the back: "Peach Blossom's face is still hung with pearls, and Peach Blossom's face is still changing. The whole body is like a dragon, and Yao Qian can't be seen smoking in Cao Sugong. " . Length102.4438+0cm, weight 38g.

Treatment of verb diseases

Ink also has a function beyond ordinary people's imagination, which is to treat diseases. The ancients thought that ink was a necessity for staying at home, visiting friends and visiting mountains, and life had ups and downs, so they encouraged the ink industry to explore another function of giving ink, that is, taking medicine and making dreams come true.

At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, many medical inks appeared on the market, claiming to be able to treat nameless swelling, nosebleeds, gastrointestinal ulcers, convulsions and coma in children. In addition to Tong Ren Tang in Beijing, Xianfeng had "Eight Treasures and Long Fragrance" in Cao Sugong Mosi Branch in Suzhou in nine years, and "Eight Treasures and Five Gallery Medicine Ink" in Yuningtang in Beijing in Guangxu years. Bazhong contains Calculus Bovis, Lignum Aquilariae Resinatum, Rhinoceros Horn, Musk, Amber, Pearl, Borneolum Syntheticum, Gold Foil, etc. The fifth gall is pig gall, bear gall, snake gall, fish gall and tiger gall. When in use, the ink is first ground into juice, and then the ink is applied to the wound or taken with warm water.

Eight dragon incense, eight treasures and five gallbladder medicine ink. The left ink is 8.4x2x0.85, weighing 52g, and the right ink is 8. 1x2x0.9, weighing 54g. ..

From a modern point of view, these raw materials are incredible, but these medical inks really had a market at that time! It is only the main raw material of medicine ink, which should be the smoke powder obtained after burning dry pine trees. The medicinal ink of Chinese gall made of cinnabar as the main raw material in the right ingot in the above picture should be made cheaply by future generations using the original ink model. I wonder if there are really eight treasures and five bravery in it.

The veil of black ink was uncovered layer by layer. Debut: ink and wash carving technology, painting and calligraphy, humanistic feelings, anecdotes of celebrities, fantastic ideas, practical changes, etc. Especially from the ink made by many literati, we can trace back to their fate and mood at that time, which can be appreciated, regretted, associated and even inspired. Silence is silence, but it does not hinder the display of its deep connotation.

We must know that the pressure faced by ancient intellectuals is by no means lower than that of modern people. Imagine that if modern intellectuals go into politics, they will be dismissed if they don't do well, and even their pensions may be gone; But look at Lin Zexu. During the Opium War, he was not lost to the British in Guangdong, but was exiled to Xinjiang. Who is worse? Therefore, at that time, ink, as a necessary thing for literati, naturally became one of the objects of expression, thus creating many legends of ink.

Through Mo's story, we can get a glimpse of the elegance and romance of our predecessors. Understand their ideals and ambitions; Seeing their pride and loss, they sighed like a thousand years ago. Want to see the ancient ink-making, Chen Jiade, the only remaining ink-making artist in Taiwan Province Province, is still making an ingot of handmade ink with old ink molds that have lasted for decades to hundreds of years in Mie, New Taipei City. His ink is worthy of recognition, encouragement and treasure.

Excerpt from Mo's Story: Biography of Mo Ke/Time Culture Publishing Company