Inkstone making technique (Tanzhe purple stone inkstone carving technique)
good inkstone must first have the right stone. There is a kind of purple stone suitable for making inkstones on the western mountain of Tanzhe Temple Town in Beijing. The inkstone produced is called Tanzhe purple stone inkstone. The texture of purple stone is dense and fine. Because it contains iron, it is deep purple like liver. According to research, the court of the Ming Dynasty once mined purple stone here. The supervision platform built at that time and the stone tablet engraved with "Neiguanjian Zishitangjie" have been preserved to this day. The appraisal report shows that Tanzhe purple stone was formed 200 million years ago. The original rock belongs to the same category as the stone materials of Duan and She inkstones. The andalusite contained in it has a uniform particle size of only 0.010.06 mm. It is used to make inkstones. The ink is fast, the ink is fine and does not damage the brush. A good inkstone stone, press it with your thumb for a while, and a white mark will appear when you take your finger away. This is formed by the liquefaction of hot air on the hand. The purple stone is extremely fine and will not seep down, which meets the standard of a good inkstone stone "breathing into clouds, long time without drying up". The production process of purple stone inkstone includes quarrying, cutting blank stone, determining size, designing, chiseling, shoveling, grinding, and matching. When carving, hold the chisel, put the handle against the shoulder, and push with the shoulder to carve out the texture. There are various carving techniques, such as round carving, openwork carving, relief carving, and intaglio carving. The most challenging carving technique is the water ripples. The water ripples are carved out in a clear and uniform manner, and the water ripples are natural and smooth. The finished product of a good Tanzhe purple stone inkstone is delicately carved, without grinding marks or flaws. In terms of design, the Tanzhe purple stone inkstone imitates the ancient inkstones of the Ming and Qing dynasties. The shape is simple and elegant, the decoration is concise and beautiful, the knife technique is powerful, and the lines are bright and smooth. It has imitated classic inkstone shapes such as the Qianlong Shigu inkstone, the Ji Xiaolan Jiujiu Yanzhai Collection inkstone, and the Chaoshou inkstone. The themes are rich, and there are many decorations such as landscapes, animals and plants, and antiques and literati poems. Natural stone products can also be used to create patterns, such as using rough stone skin to represent rocks or pine trunks, using fish brain jelly to represent white clouds or white waves, and using insect bites to represent caves. With the change of writing methods, the Tanzhe purple stone inkstone has been passed down to this day. In addition to its practical functions, it also has collection value, allowing people to feel its charm in addition to writing.