page_title: Inkstick
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Inkstick / History
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Boîte de bâtons d'encre de Chine chinois en couleur traditionnels. English: Traditional Chinese indian ink sticks box
context_page_description: Inksticks or Ink Cakes are a type of solid ink used traditionally in several East Asian cultures for calligraphy and brush painting. Inksticks are made mainly of soot and animal glue, sometimes with incense or medicinal scents added. To make ink, the inkstick is ground against an inkstone with a small quantity of water to produce a dark liquid which is then applied with an ink brush. Artists and calligraphers may vary the concentration of the resulting ink according to their preferences by reducing or increasing the intensity and duration of ink grinding.
  Along with the inkstone, ink brush, and paper, the inkstick is considered one of the Four Treasures of the Study of classical Chinese literary culture.
context_section_description: The earliest artifacts of Chinese inks can be dated back to 12th century BC, with charred materials, plant dyes, and animal-based inks being occasionally used, mineral inks being most common. Mineral inks based on materials such as graphite were ground with water and applied with brushes. The mineral origins of Chinese inks were discussed by the Eastern Han dynasty scholar Xu Shen (許慎, 58 – c. 147). In his Shuowen Jiezi, he wrote "Ink, whose semantic component is 'earth', is black." (墨，從土，黑也), indicating that the character for "ink" (墨) is composed of the characters for "black" (黑) and "soil" (土), due to the earthly origins of the dark mineral used in its production.
  The transition from graphite inks to soot and charred inks occurred prior to the Shang dynasty. From studies of ink traces in artifacts of various dynasties, it is believed the inks used in the Zhou dynasty are quite similar to those used in the Han dynasty. However, these early inks, up to the Qin dynasty, were likely stored in liquid or powdered forms that have not been well preserved and thus their existence and constitution can only be studied from painted objects and artifacts. Physical proof for these first "modern" Chinese soot and animal glue inks were found in archaeological excavations of tombs dated to the end of the Warring States period around 256 BC. This ink was formed by manual labor into pellets which were ground into ink on top of a flat inkstone using a smaller stone pestle. Many pellet-type inks and grinding implements have been found in Han dynasty tombs, with large ingot-type inks appearing in the late Eastern Han. These latter inks have physical markings which indicate that kneading was used in their production.
  One of the first literary records of inkstick production in Japan is from qimin yaoshu (齊民要術) written during the Northern Wei dynasty. Elaboration of the techniques, technical requirements, and ingredients were also noted in scroll ten of yunlu manchao (雲麓漫鈔) and the "ink" chapter of tiangong kaiwu (天工開物), the notable Ming dynasty encyclopedia by Song Yingxing (宋應星).
caption: Colored inksticks, usually used as accents in Chinese painting.
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