What are the four inkstones in China?

The four major inkstones in China include Taohe inkstone in Zhou Tao, Gansu, Duanyan in Zhaoqing, Guangdong, Luzhe Chengni inkstone in Shexian, Anhui, and Sishui inkstone in Shandong.

1, Guangdong inkstone

Duanyan is the first of the "four famous inkstones in China". It is famous for its dense, firm, tender and delicate stone, unique and colorful stone patterns and exquisite carving art, and has the characteristics of soft and rigid pressure like children's skin, silent rubbing, persistent water storage, breathing, ink grinding, no damage and fast ink development.

2. inkstone

She Yanshi's pattern structure is very prominent, which can be divided into caviar pattern, rib pattern, golden halo pattern, eyebrow pattern, brush silk pattern and so on. Because of its fine mineral particles and uniform distribution in time, it has the effects of benefiting ink, slipping without abandoning the pen, and astringent without delaying the pen, which is praised by calligraphers of all ages. Simple modeling, relief, bas-relief, semi-circular carving and other techniques are the craft style and characteristics of She Yan platform.

3. Cheng Niyan

Cheng Ni inkstone is made of silt from the Yellow River after thousands of years of precipitation and special fire. Hard and wear-resistant, like jade, Nadeshiko muscle, ink storage is not dry, accumulated ink is not rotten, cold and ice-free, breathing can be studied, and it does not hurt pens or hair. It was highly respected by emperors and literati in past dynasties, and it was a tribute in Tang and Song Dynasties.

4. Taohe inkstone

Taohe inkstone is rarer than Duanyan and She Yan. Laokeng stone is the least among the four famous inkstones, and it is also 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 every extra super-old pit stone in Yan Tao is equivalent to a thousand-year-old antique.

They are the four traditional famous inkstones in China. Some people advocate replacing Cheng Ni inkstone with Luyan Xugong inkstone carved from natural inkstone, and they are called the four famous inkstones together with Hongsi inkstone in Qingzhou, Shandong. Inkstone is an essential tool for China's calligraphy. The inkstone is not only the stationery of the study, but also a rare collection of literati in past dynasties because of its solid nature and immortality.

Extended data:

Appreciation space of four inkstones;

1, rare. Laokeng Stone was formed in Paleozoic Devonian, about 400 million to 350 million years ago. It belongs to Devonian fine shale and belongs to water-rock metamorphism. The movement of ore belt is complex, it is difficult to form rock strata, and the reserves are very small. After thousands of years of mining, mineral resources are almost exhausted. In addition, the excavated land is steep and the climate is changeable. It is extremely difficult to collect, which is even more rare than Duanyan and She Yan.

2. With the return of culture, as the first inkstone in Four Treasures of the Study, the demand for use, gift giving and collection is constantly expanding, and as one of the four famous inkstones in China, the market of Yan Tao is gradually expanding.

The market is in short supply. More than 98% of the stones in the market are not old pits, and most of them are fake, which makes many people who like Yan Tao misunderstand. Some people collect hundreds of works without any old pits. With the increasing difficulty in mining the old pit stones in Yan Tao, the real old pit Yan Tao will be hard to find in the future.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Four Famous Ink in China