What are the four famous inkstones in ancient times?

Inkstone, also known as "Inkstone". The traditional study furniture in China began in the Han Dynasty. So what are the four famous inkstones in ancient times? Let's get to know each other.

What are the four famous inkstones in ancient times?

First, Yan Tao.

Since the Tang Dynasty became famous, Yan Tao Laokeng has been owned by royal writers and wealthy businessmen.

For example, Zhao Xihu in the Song Dynasty said: "In addition to the two stones in the north, the Taohe greenstone is the most valuable. Green as blue, moist as jade, ink does not reduce the rocks under the stream. But the stone is at the bottom of the deep river, which is not made by manpower and is of great value. "

Wu Chaoqiu's "Lin Yan Ji" has poems and titles: Tao Cliff, End Valley, Bandit Rock, the only water jade. You can't have your cake and eat it. One is warm enough. But it's cute and easy to make. The duck head is green.

Yuan Haowen of the Jin Dynasty said: General Wang opened Lintao (now Zhuoni) for the country, with a gift of 6 million yuan, which was used in China. This inkstone is also expected.

In modern times, the works of "Old Pit Yan Tao" were presented to foreign heads of state as national gifts for many times. The Dunhuang Bodhisattva inkstone was given to Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew in the name of Gansu provincial government, and the rebound inkstone was given to former Japanese Prime Minister Noboru takeshita.

Among the four famous inkstones, Yan Tao Laokeng Stone has the least reserves and is the most difficult to collect. The super-old pit stone was cut down as early as the end of the Song Dynasty (1 175), and now every extra super-old pit stone in Yan Tao is equivalent to a thousand-year-old antique.

At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, Wang Wei (Z not u) recovered Yan Taoshi's native Zhou Tao (now Zhuoni, Gansu) and named it the mining area managed by Zhao Tusi. Yan Tao was chosen as a tribute to the imperial palace, which can only be owned by senior officials and wealthy writers of the imperial dynasty, but people have only heard of it, and even rarely seen it.

Hu's "Cave Hiding" said: "In addition to broken river stones in the north, Taohe bluestone is the most important. Green as blue, moist as jade, ink does not reduce the rocks under the stream. However, the stone is at the bottom of the deep river, and it is priceless because it is not made by manpower. " It can be seen that the ink in Yan Tao Old Pit is not weaker than that in Duanyan Old Pit (that is, under the rock), but it is more difficult to collect, and the stones are scarce and more difficult to obtain.

Guo Peiyuan's On Yan Tao: "The world knows the beauty of Yan Tao, and he has won something. Since the Song Dynasty, it's a pity that those whose names are hidden but not obvious are located in the border and there is no special book to record them. Some people say that although Yan Taoshi has its own advantages, the old pit stone has gradually disappeared since the Song Dynasty, which is very rare.

The scarcity of old pit stones in Yan Tao is particularly obvious in the market.

Gansu annals records: "All products are in places where boats and cars pass by, and their names are obvious and easy to spread (such as Duan and Yun). Born in a country where elevators are hard to reach, the name is not obvious, but it can't be broadcast quickly, because it is fortunate and unfortunate! Gansu is located in the northwest (such as Yan Tao), and the mountain is dangerous. However, those who are tired of natural pregnancy because of Shi Tao's green color were unfortunately born in Sri Lanka, so their names are not as good as those in the end, and their broadcasts are not as far and fast as those in the end. Needless to say, one of them is Eritrea. Although, the sword of Longquan cannot be buried in Fengcheng and Bianhe for a long time, nor can it be entrusted to Jingshan for a long time. It must be used. The green and dim stones in Tao Tao are the treasures of the study, which is enough for the players of the secret pavilion. Although it was born in Longshang, it was sung by many former sages, but it was not recorded in Duanhe Special Book. Therefore, although some people are addicted to inkstone, they are at a loss when talking about Shi Tao's voice and color. Therefore, the market maker pretends to be true, but the reality in Tao Tao is invisible, and the buyer regards it as true. However, Tao Tao's reputation is very weak, because although it has the quality of superb anecdotes, it can't compete with the end and stone for shorter research.

The book details that Yan Tao has never been weaker than Duan Yan and She Yan. Because of its remote location, dangerous terrain, difficult mining and great damage caused by wars in previous dynasties, stone materials are almost exhausted. People who like Yan Taoshi are often disappointed with the circulation of inferior stones in the market, and those who have heard of Yan Taoshi are at a loss.

Second, Duan Yan

Duan inkstone is regarded as "the first inkstone group" because of its excellent stone quality, delicate and moist, non-astringent, non-ink-repellent, and so on. It is a famous practical handicraft. It has been used in calligraphy and painting for more than 65,438+0,300 years, and the best quality is that the stone should be "smooth as jade, with high eyes, distributed imaging, silently grinding, without water consumption and ink loss".

Duanyan is produced in Duan Xi, at the foot of Michelle Mountain in the southeast of Zhaoqing City, Guangdong Province. Zhaoqing was called Duanzhou in ancient times, and the inkstone made of stone here is called Duanyan. Duanyan was discovered in Wude period of Tang Dynasty. Duanyan inkstone has the characteristics of fine stone, delicate, tender and smooth, and does not hurt ink, so it can be studied with breath. The best stone, soaked in water for many years, is as warm as jade. "History of Duan Xi inkstone" says: "Light in weight, firm and soft in quality, silent and silent when rubbed, like children's skin, soft and tender but not slippery." She inkstone and Duan inkstone are said to be the same, and Duan inkstone is better than She inkstone. It is said that Duan Xi was used in all previous dynasties, and the Duan Xi stone in Li Houzhu was used up in the Southern Tang Dynasty, so we had to use the second stone.

Duanyan has the reputation of "the first inkstone in the group", and it is the best inkstone, which can be graded again. It is produced in Helan Mountain (also known as Axe Mountain), a small stream at the southeast end of Gaoyao County, Zhaoqing, Guangdong. Before the Tang Dynasty, it belonged to Duanzhou, hence the name. Generally, the place where the end stones are collected is three or four miles away from the river, and gradually rises to the quarrying places such as Xia Yan, Zhongyan, Shang Yan, Longyan and Bangkeng. The next hole is at the foot of the mountain, which is soaked all year round. The inkstone is expensive and moist, and the quality of the next rock is the best.

However, it is not easy to mine submerged rocks. Only when the river drops in autumn and winter can it enter the pool. The swimming pool has no exit. 70 people have to row seats and upload the jars filled with water to the rock mouth one by one. If you do this for more than a month, the pool will dry up before you can go in and get the stones. When the water rises in spring, you have to start all over again. If not, how can the inkstone made of stone under the rock be so inky? It is really a good thing, and it must be tempered before it can become a useful material. The lower rocks were completely mined in the Northern Song Dynasty, and the quality of new pits or middle and upper rocks opened after the Ming Dynasty was not good.

The mining of the end stone is very laborious, so guyan is really rare. Su Dongpo, a writer and calligrapher in the Song Dynasty, said in "Duan Xi Ming": "A thousand sticks, a hundred people carry gold; Hang it under the bonfire and show it to Xiuzhen. It can be seen that the quarrying process is very arduous. Li He, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, used the phrase "Duanzhou masons are as clever as gods, stepping on the sky to sharpen their knives and chop Ziyun" in Duanzhou to praise masons for climbing high and chiseling purple stones to make inkstones. He praised the preciousness of Duanzhou masons and the superb skills of Duanzhou masons in quarrying stones.

Another feature of Duanyan is that it has eyes. Such as "Ying Ge's Eye" and "Brother's Eye", it is said that when a stone is tender, there will be more eyes, but when it is old, there will be fewer eyes. Some people will judge whether it is good or bad by eyes, the first is living eyes, and the second is tearful eyes and dead eyes.

In fact, the so-called "eye" is the stone pattern on the inkstone, but it is not necessarily related to the quality. When writing, it is good to look at the inkstone with watery eyes, which can increase the appreciation of the inkstone, but the place with long eyes is not good, which affects the grinding of ink, and it is better not to have it. In addition, the color of the end stone is also considered to be related to quality, including purple, cyan and white, of which white is the best and purple is the lowest. The advantages of Duan inkstone are: first, inking, second, inking, and third, not damaging the blog.

The stone of Duanyan can be dense, firm, smooth and moist, which is closely related to the stone products of Duanyan. Duanyan stone products include banana leaf white, fire pressure, blue and white. As long as the inkstone is dense, firm and smooth, and can be used as ink without damaging hair, it can become a good inkstone material.

There are many kinds of tailing stones, and there are few really good gems. There is fish brain jelly in stone products, which is a kind of precious stone products, named after frozen fish brain. In the Qing Dynasty, Wu's "History of Duan Xi inkstone" said: "A kind of anger, like the moonlight in Chengtan, is called fish brain freezing." Its quality is delicate, tender and moist, and it is generally produced in water rocks.

Blue and white is a precious stone. Blue and white flowers are as fine as dust, like yarn and like algae on the wave surface. If they are looming on the purple stone, they can't be seen in autumn, and they can only be seen clearly when they sink into the water. As fine as jade, quietly knocking and grinding. Banana leaf white is one of the end stone products, which looks like banana leaf dew and is decorated with fire lines on both sides. Banana leaves are white and tender, and the stone is soft and easy to ink. It is mainly produced in straight pits. There are also some names such as azure, Hoth, pork liver jelly, Venus point, gold and silver thread, ice pattern, stone eye and so on. Duanshi Stone Eye, named after its shape, includes the eye of thrush, the eye of crow, the eye of Ying Ge and the eye of elephant. According to his expression, he has living eyes, tearful eyes and blindness. There are also high eyes, low eyes and bottom eyes. Stone eye plays a decorative and beautifying role in Duanshiyan carving art. It has appreciation value and is regarded as a treasure by literati. Ancient scholars regarded the stone eye as a high-purity, finely carved and unique stone, just like the human eye, and used it as a standard to identify the quality of the end stone. In fact, the stone eye has no direct value to the end stone, but has a decorative effect, which makes the ancients call it a treasure and regard it as a treasure.

The manufacturing process of Duan inkstone is complicated and there are many processes. Mainly divided into quarrying, maintaining materials, making pu, carving, matching, polishing (that is, polishing), waxing and so on. Duanshiyan in Qing Dynasty required that art should be performed according to materials, composition should be based on stones, and the subject matter, conception, composition, modeling and carving methods should be carefully scrutinized and described properly. It maintains the simple, simple, antique and natural modeling characteristics of Duanyan. For example, the "Duanshi Shuanglong Inkstone" and "Cat Butterfly Inkstone" collected in the Forbidden City in Beijing are outstanding among Duanyan Inkstones.

Third, she inkstone.

She inkstone is one of the four famous inkstones in China, which is produced in Wuxi at the foot of Weilong Mountain in Wuyuan, Jiangxi Province. It is called "Weilong inkstone" or "Tam inkstone", which is named after the processing and distribution of inkstone in the ancient state capital (Shexian).

It began in the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty. According to Mai's "She Yanpu", a hunter named Ye chased animals to the Great Wall during the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, and when she saw the stacked stones like a city, she brought them back to the inkstone, making her famous all over the world. According to the records of the Qing Dynasty in the Five Dynasties, in the second year of Tang Kaiyuan, the prime ministers Zhang and Yang Sheshe each gave inkstones to Longlin Yueyan and made money. The original production time of She Yan should be before Kaiyuan, about 700 AD. She inkstone is of excellent quality, smooth and delicate, and has eight virtues of "firmness, moistening, softness, health, fineness, greasy, cleanliness and beauty".

She inkstone, also known as "Weilong inkstone" and "Wuyuan inkstone", was produced in Weilongshan, Wuyuan, Jiangxi, hence the name Wuyuan. It is characterized by Yun Lan in color, stone in sound, jade in warmth and mountain in ink. There are many kinds of inkstones, such as rib, eyebrow, golden halo, silver star, ancient screen, jade belt, Ziyun, etc., especially the odd rib and eyebrow are the top grade.

Mi Fei, a great calligrapher in the Song Dynasty, once got an inkstone about a foot long. There are thirty-six peaks in front of the inkstone, staggered in size and extending sideways. Among them, it was cut into an inkstone pool, and the water in the pool rippled and interesting. He actually traded this inkstone for a luxurious mansion in Su Zhongtai! She Yan has been presented to foreign VIPs as a "national treasure" for many times. The famous inkstones in She Yan are "Weilong inkstone, Meizi inkstone, Longtan inkstone, Jinxing inkstone, Qingshi in front of the temple and Shehong". She inkstone was very famous in the Southern Tang Dynasty. Because her inkstone is green as jade, meticulous in stone management and silent in grinding ink, it won the favor of Yuan Zong. Therefore, she set up an inkstone service office, and chose Li Shaowei, who was good at inkstone work, as an official of the inkstone service office to collect exquisite stones and build inkstones for the imperial court. Since then, Li Houzhu's integrity paper, Li Tinggui ink and Weilong inkstone have become the best in the world. The inkstone is dense and delicate, deep and natural in texture, with green and black stars as the top grade.

There are many kinds of inkstone, which can be roughly divided into eyebrow lines, and it is one of the lines in inkstone. Eyebrow stones can be divided into seven types according to their stone patterns, among which Yanhu and Duimei are the best. There are tendons in the stone, and the stone pattern is spiral, which can be divided into golden flower tendons, operating tendons and loose tendons. Venus texture is also a kind of stone, which is the crystallization of particles melted in inkstone. Sprinkle it on the inkstone surface and shine like stars in the sky. Venus has been grinding for a long time, and it gets brighter and brighter. It is the best in inkstone. In ancient times, it was called Tam inkstone. The stone is as fine as a rose, and the color is blue and tight. Brush wire, inkstone and silver brush wire are as dense as hair. Eyebrows, inkstones and stone lines are like nail marks, such as thrushes, which are in pairs everywhere. Raindrops, Venus inkstone, stars, such as raindrops, shine everywhere.

The inkstone is dense and delicate, deep and natural in texture, with green and black stars as the top grade.

The production of Sheyan is similar to that of Duanyan. The shapes are diverse, and the craftsmen's materials have been carefully considered, achieving the characteristics of dignified stone, beautiful and generous design, and vigorous and powerful. For example, in the Forbidden City in Beijing, there are "Pi's bamboo ink" and "Pi's caviar bamboo ink".

Fourth, Cheng Niyan

An inkstone made of filtered fine mud. It is not a stone, but made of the soil of Chengjiang, and it is also one of the famous inkstones in China. Cheng Ni inkstone production originated in the Tang Dynasty and flourished in the Song Dynasty, with a history of more than 65,438+0,000 years. Hard and wear-resistant, easy to ink, no damage and no ink consumption, comparable to inkstone. By the Tang Dynasty, Zhouguo (now south of Lingbao County, Henan Province) had become a famous producing area of Chengni inkstone. Cheng Ni inkstone is unpretentious in shape, which is almost a kind of inkstone with Lu Shi inkstone.

Cheng Niyan began in Jiangzhou, Shanxi Province at the end of Jin Dynasty and the beginning of Tang Dynasty. This is a handmade ceramic inkstone. Its production method evolved from Qin brick and Han tile, and was improved numerous times. A good product is too rock-solid, and it won't hurt if it doesn't dry up. The colors are mostly eel yellow, shrimp head red, vermilion and mung bean green. The real method of making clear mud inkstone was lost in the early Song Dynasty because the ancients did not teach the secret recipe easily, and most of the works made later were not good.

Another name and origin of inkstone

(1) Shi Jun. In the Song Dynasty, Su Dongpo wrote "The Biography of Wuyuan Mountain Tanyan-the Biography of Wantan", which recorded: "Those who pool are also people. With the avant-garde Longshan as a hermit, it is said that Tan was named "Shiwanjun" Wanshijun because of his "contribution to and outstanding achievements". For example, in the Qing Dynasty, Wang Jixiang's "Seven Stars Ink" said: "The Beidou Huaishi gentleman is prosperous. "No matter what material it is made of, it is also called inkstone, such as bronze inkstone, iron inkstone, bamboo inkstone and tile inkstone. Can be collectively referred to as Shi Jun.

② Youshi. The ancients especially cherished "love", and literati regarded all kinds of treasures in the study as friends, so inkstone was commonly known as You's. In the Song Dynasty, Wang Yanyou wrote a poem: "The mountain Xi is full of life, and the cave will meet stone friends." "Sheng Jun" refers to paper, and "Youshi" refers to inkstone. Widely circulated, everyone called inkstone a stone friend.

(3) Mohou. For example, in the Tang Dynasty, Wen Song personified the inkstone, and once wrote "Biography of Jimohou Xu Shi", saying that the inkstone was named stone and the word was silent, so it was called "Jimohou". From then on, people called the inkstone the queen of Jimo. For example, Wang Maizhong of the Song Dynasty said in "Wash Ink at Night": "Thank me for being a Jimohou, rich in spring and autumn."

(4) Mohai. The nickname of inkstone is generally called Dayan, and some are called Haiyan. For example, Su Yijian's "Four Treasures of the Study" in the Song Dynasty said: "Cherish the Yellow Emperor and get a jade buckle, and treat it as the ink sea. The inscription on it is:' Di Hong's inkstone platform'. " This is the beginning of the legendary inkstone making. In the Song Dynasty, Cheng Ju wrote the poem "Xie Yan": "The Mohist school in Di Hong has gone all over the world, and it is close to the blue inkstone in Aiduanxi." Published in the history of ink in the Qing dynasty, the inscription reads "the country of ink is magnificent, the sky is high and the air is broad." Dayinghai mud inkstone is a typical Mohist style. The ink sea also refers to the big ink basin. Zhai Hao's popular editor in Qing Dynasty said: "The Chinese characters in this book are often written in ink, but polished in clay pots, which is called' Mohai'."

⑤ Mo Chi. Commonly known as small inkstone. That is, the big inkstone is called "sea" and the small inkstone is called "pool". Some people also call the ink cartridge Mo Chi.

(6) Ink tray. Generally speaking, it is the common name of shallow inkstone, which usually refers to a big inkstone like a plate.

⑦ Mo Tian. "Mo Tian" means cultivated land, and studying ink is like cultivated land. The field here mainly means that it is big and can "grow ink", which is understood as inkstone.

(8) Yanshan. According to the natural shape of stone, it is carved into inkstone and mountain, so it is called inkstone mountain. Gao Qian's Eight Notes on Respect for Life in the Ming Dynasty said: "The Yanshan Mountain started in Minnan Gong and was built by the gems of the Southern Tang Dynasty. There is a record of returning farmland in the picture, which will take effect immediately. "

(9) inkstone pool. There is a kind of inkstone whose shape is concave, called inkstone pool. Fu Xuan's "Yan Fu" in the Jin Dynasty says: "Lu has taken shape, forging gold and iron as a pool." This is the inkstone. The inkstone pool means that there is a reservoir at one end of the inkstone, which is designed for the convenience of grinding ink and adding water. Size and depth vary, depending on the shape of the stone.

(10) inkstone tile. Commonly known as tile inkstone, also known as tile inkstone. The building tiles used in Qin and Han dynasties were mostly mud-cleaning, and later they were transformed into inkstones. For example, Wu Rong's "Gu Yan Wafu" in the Tang Dynasty said: "If you don't speak softly, you are not rigid, and the soil is tile. Don't say it's useless, it's an inkstone when the tile is broken. " "When the Shao family heard this, they recorded:" Those who inkstone tiles are also from the Tang Dynasty. They didn't deliberately treat the tile as an inkstone, but they would swell into tiles in the inkstone, and more importantly, they would leave no ink. "

(1 1) grinder. The common name of primitive inkstone. In the Neolithic age, an instrument used to grind graphite or other pigments. For example, a set of painting tools unearthed from the Neolithic site in Jiangzhai, Lintong, Shaanxi Province, has a grinder named "Ancestor inkstone".