The hatchet., 1900-09-02
THE FIRST INDIA INK
1T WAS ACCIDENTALLY MADE BY A
CHINESE ALcHEMlST.

Like Many other Things which Have
No Relation Whatever to Their
Names, India Ink Has No COnneo-
tiOn with India.
For many thousand years india ink
has been TO the artist and to the arti-
san the vehicle for the creation Of
much that is interesting and instructive
and beautiful in the world of art, and
1t has rather extraordinary history.
Like many other things which have
no relation whatever to their names,
india ink has no relation whatever to
India. The Irish potato, 1t is said ia
cetiously, is so called because 1t was
found first In Peru. Therefore india
ink may have been so named because
II was made first In China, where the
bulk of II has been made ever since.
Also like most other things Of prac-
tlcal utility to mankind, india ink was
not an invention, but discOvery-that
is to say, the individual who produced
1t first did so entirely by accident,
without the remotest intention Of doing
anything sensible or useful.
About 5000 years before the Chris
tlan era Chinese alchemlst, Tien-
Tschen by name while experimenting
upon some nostrum for the eternal
\ preservation Of life or upon some for
mula for converting dirt into gOld-it
matters not Internationally con-
cocted a black substance In the form
of liquid paint or varnish. This con-
coction 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 lsinglass, was used as well as
bone or horn glue, and sometimes, In
making the finer qualities of ink, pearls
were boiled In glue. Sometimes dried
OK tongue was added to give the Ink a
purple tint, and the bark of the pepper
tree was used to produce tingc Of
blue. The ink was carefully nodded,
dried and packed In wormwood leaves
with lime or ashes until well seasoned.
1t Is not stated whether sepia, the
colorlng liquid of the cuttle6sh, was
added to the ink originally or not; but,
as the best india ink In use at present
has brownlsh tint, as II mixed with
sepla, It Is evident that sepia Is used
now In the manufacture of the ink.
Sepia alone is used frequently in China
In preference TO the black ink.
AS soon as 1t was discovered that in
dia ink was likely to be serviceable to
mankind 1t was perceived by the i'm
perial diet to be dangerous innova-
tion upon the established custom Of
mot" having 1t to use. The empire
had got along very well without india
ink prior to Its discovery, and 1t was
Chinese public policy ito let well
enough alone" Therefore the use OF
the ink was declared to be sacrile-
gious, and Its manufacture was pro-
hiblted.
Apparently there were millions" in
india ink In those days, for a sharp
competition In Its production arose,
and this was the beginning of trouble
for artists and craftsmen. The market
was glutted with worthless grades. At
first the Ink was superfine In quality,
and the lampblack used In 1t was
ground into an lmpalpable powder so
fine that 1t was as volatile as vapOr
and possessed In itself an Odor Of
musk. Later, when competition cor
rupted Its production, coarser and
al rNtu re- moi fnd 20
the fine ones and the ink was arti-
ficially perfumed with musk In order
to disguise its lnferiority.
The Chinese are passionately fond of
musk, and india ink was used by them
not only as writing material. but
also as flavor for their choicest bev-
erages. A little india ink rubbed In
water was considered then a delicious
drink. but modern india ink can hard
ly be recommended as a safe medium
for interior decoration of that sort.
We are informed by the distinguish
ed historian that all good" india ink
is Inhabited by gods. Qn China there
find lodgings for them all; they are
billeted, therefore. upon any conven-
lent article, such as a stick of india
inkl From this startling disclosure OF
the historian we might be justified in
presumlng that all bad" india ink is
Inhabited by devils. This view Of the
matter would account for the multi
tudinous trials and tribulations which
beset the unhappy craftsman who tries
to make drawing with poor india
Ink. for certainly In unmitigated wick
eduess and total deprayity india ink