The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-02-05
CHINESE ALCHEMIST'S FIND
CURIOUS HISTORY OF INDIA
INK
Its Accidental Discovery and Early Us
In China.

In china.
For many thousand years India inl,
has been to the artist and to the artisan
the vehicle of creation of much that is
interesting and instructive, and beauti-
full in the world Of art, and it has a
rather extraordinary history. Like
many other things which have no re1a-
ton whatever to their names India ink
has no relation Whatever to India. The
Irish potato, it Is said facetiously, is 80
called because it was found fret in
Peru. Therefore, India ink may have
been SO named because it was made
first in China, where the bulk of it has
been made ever since.
Also, like most other things of prac-
| teal utility to mankind India ink was
not an invention, but a discovery. That
ie to say, the individual who produced
it first did so entirely by accident, with
out the remotest intention Of doing any
thing sensible or useful. About 5000
years before the Christian era, Chinese
alchemist, Tien-Tschen by name, while
| experimenting upon some nostrum for
the eternal preservation of life, or upon
some formula for converting dirt into
gold--it matters not what-accidental-
~ concocted black substance in the
form of liquid paint or varnish. This
connection was the first India ink.
The black pigment which forms the
base of the ink was the SCOT obtained
by burning lac and pine charcoal. This
SCOT was powdered finely and mixed
with some kind Of size or glue. Fish
glue, or isnglass, was used, as well as
bone or born glue; and sometimes in
making the finer qualities of ink, pearls
We're boiled in the glue. Sometimes
dried ox-tongue was added to give the
ink purple tint; and the bark of the
pepper-tree was used to produce tinge
of blue. The ink was carefully nodded,
dried and packed in NORWOOD leaves
with lime or ashes, until well seasoned.
1t is not stated whether sepia, the
coloring liquid of the cutt1e-fish, was
added to the ink originally or not, but,
as the best India ink in use at present
has a brownish tint, as if mixed with
sepia, it Is evident that sepia is used
now In the manufacture of the ink.
Sepia also is used frequently in China in
preference to the black ink
AS soon as it was discovered that In
dia ink was likely to be servceable to
mankind, it was perceived by the i'm
perial Diet to be dangerous innovation
upon the established custom Of mot"
having it to use, The empire had got
ten along very well without India ink
prior to its discovery and it was Chi
nese public policy ito let well enough
alone" Therefore, the use of India ink
was declared to be sacrilegious, and it's
was prohibited. After
ward it dawned upon the versatile
mind controlling the destinies of the
imperial exchequer that there We're
great possibilities of revenue In the pro-
sorbed by imperial prerogative Ac-
the ban was removed from the
offehding industry, which revived |
quickly, though restricted to the prov
nce of Kiang-si and heavily handicap |
ped with an enormous tribute exacted |
blythe emperor.
Apparently there were millions in |
India ink in those days, for sharp |
in it's production arose; and |
This was the beginning of trouble for ar
lists and draughtsmen. The market |
was glutted with worthless grades. At
first the ink was superfine in quality |
and the lampblack used in it was
ground into an impalpable powder so
Inc that it was as volatile as vapor and
in itself an odor of musk.
Later, when competition corrupted it's I
coarser and cheaper pig
nents were substituted for the fine
mes, and the ink was artificially per-
umed with musk in order to disguise
is inferiority.
The Chinese are pasSionately fond of
musk and India ink was used by them,
lot only as writing material, but also
Is flavor for their choicest beverages.
\ little India ink rubbed in water was
onsdered then, a most delicious drink;
nut modern India ink can hardly be
recommended as a safe medium for in
erior decoration of that sort
We are informed by the distinguished
historian that all good India ink is
by gods On China there are
o many gods that it is difficult to find
ldgings for them all; they are billeted,
upon any convenient article,
UGH as a stick Of India ink) From
his startling disclosure of the historian
re might be justified in presuming that
II bad India ink is inhabited by
evils This view of the matter would
ccount for the multudinous trials and
which beset the unhappy
who tries to make draw
1g with poor India ink; for, certainly,
unmitigated wickedness and total de-
ravity poor India ink has few equals
nd no superiors.-New York Evening
ost