Chapter 10 Section 5 Ming ink

In the Ming Dynasty, especially after the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the economy was more prosperous.Due to the development of culture and art, the ink-making industry at this time has increased in variety and quality, and specialized ink-making workshops and production areas have emerged.At this time, most of the ink-making industry had gathered in the Huizhou area.Shen Defu in the Ming Dynasty said in "Wanli Yehuo Bian": "People in Xin'an routinely make ink,... Today, people in Huizhou pass down the practice." Xin'an is another name for the area under the jurisdiction of Shezhou and Huizhou.Including Shexian County, Xiuning, Ji[jiji]xi and Wuyuan counties.That is to say, in the Ming Dynasty, every household in the vast Shezhou and Huizhou areas had made ink for generations.In terms of schools of making ink, the She School and the Xiu School appeared at that time, and the Wu School appeared later.The ink style of the She School advocates grandeur and imitates the ancients deliberately.The style of Xiupai's ink products is simple and practical, especially good at collection ink.The Wu school that appeared later focused on popularizing ink.At that time, She and Xiu were the two major schools. Although the ink schools were different, they all had their own characteristics, and they jointly laid the foundation for Hui ink.

In "She County Chronicles · Shihuo Zhi", the Mohism at that time was divided into three types: "literati self-pleasure", "good deeds", and "shizhai famous world".This is mainly divided by the purpose of making ink. "Literati's self-pleasure" refers to "self-pleasure", self-appreciation, self-entertainment, and self-collection; "good deeds" refers to the production of high-quality goods and famous products for the purpose of showing off;Or like "city righteousness", for Shi Zhai ink to benefit the world with its name.

In addition to practical purposes, Ming ink also has a strong pursuit in viewing and collection.Due to the increase of Mohists and Mohists, Ming ink has become more beautiful in terms of shape, decoration and even packaging.The names of ink products have various themes and are elegant in taste.Ink shapes include rectangles, circles, ox tongue shapes, Gui shapes, Asian (Asian) characters, and imitation utensil shapes and so on.The themes of ink surface painting include landscapes, flowers and birds, figures, stories and so on.The ink surface patterns and colors are also various and magnificent.The ink mold carving is exquisite and exquisite.The whole ink should be scraped, lacquered, lacquered, gilded, colored, etc. to make the ink look gorgeous.In short, the ink product has become a fine arts and crafts after a number of artistic processing.

In the Ming Dynasty, the ink industry was prosperous, and there were many Mohists. According to the records of "Mo Zhi", there were more than 120 people.The competition in the ink-making industry is fierce, and various factions and schools compete for novelty and ingenuity.The following is a brief introduction to the famous artists in the main schools. The She school was pioneered by Luo Xiaohua, and the important Mohists included Cheng Junfang and Fang Yulu. Luo Xiaohua's name is Longwen, his character contains Zhang, and his nickname is Xiaohua. He was born in She County during Jiajing period of Ming Dynasty. "Wanli Ye Huo Bian" said: "The price of Luo Longwen's work exceeds that of the arched bi, that is, one or two horseshoes (horseshoe refers to a hoof-shaped silver ingot, that is, horseshoe silver) per catty, and it may not be the real one." From this we can see It can be seen how expensive Luo Xiaohua's ink was at that time.Because of the good ink, even Emperor Shenzong of the Ming Dynasty (that is, Emperor Wanli) also ordered his servants to "compete for more money [zi capital]". "Shexian County Chronicles" said that his ink was "hard as stone, patterned like rhinoceros, ink like lacquer, and a snail is worth tens of thousands of dollars." "Little Taoist Mo, Taiqing Jade, Shenpin, Buddha Yuanzhu, Tianbao, Jade Tiger Talisman, Fuhu, Chaosheng Third Level, Yao Nian, Tongtianxiang, Linchi Zhiyi, Shiman, Ambergris Xiangmo, Jasper Gui, Dragon Pillar" etc.Among them, "Little Taoist Mo" is the most famous.According to legend, when Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, there was "Dragon Fragrance" Mo, which described that Xuanzong saw a little Taoist priest walking slowly like a fly. Xuanzong was very surprised and even asked what kind of monster it was. Others told him that it was the elf of Mo.Luo Xiaohua imitated the "little Taoist ink" based on this legend.The production of this ink is also the first of the She School to imitate the ancient ink.

Because of Luo's ink making skills, he was appreciated by Emperor Shizong of Ming Dynasty during Jiajing period (1522-1566 AD), and later became the aide of Yan Shifan, the traitorous official Yan Song's evil son, and obtained the official position of "Zhongshu Sheren".Later, because of Yan Shifan's execution, Luo was implicated and also killed. Cheng Junfang's name is approximately, his style name is Youbo, and his name is Junfang.A native of She County during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty.Mohists since the Ming and Qing Dynasties have all given high praise to Cheng.Cheng has a high reputation and a great reputation. Anyone who knows Hui ink knows Cheng Junfang. He is the standard-bearer and master of ink making in the She School, and is known as the first person after Li Tinggui.He selects materials strictly. For example, if he uses 500 catties of tung oil to burn cigarettes, the lightest oily smoke is no more than a hundred taels, which shows the essence of material selection.Cheng Duimo's modeling concept and pattern design are all of a very high standard.Cheng Junfang's ink products, according to "Mo Zhi", there are "Yuanyuan Lingqi, Chongyuan, Miaopin, Xiang [Xiangxiang] Ze, Baiziliu, Huanpu Zhaimo, Hehuanfang, Beiduo, Qingyu Case, etc."

During the Wanli period, Cheng Junfang compiled a book of ink, namely "Moyuan", also known as "Cheng's Moyuan", which is divided into six types: Xuangong, Yudi, Renguan, Wuhua, Confucianism, and Zihuang, with a total of 500 styles. Ink mold patterns, each picture is followed by a poem written by a famous person.The boards were all hand-painted by Ding Yunpeng, a famous painter at that time, as well as Wu Guqian, Li Songzhen, Wang Boyu and others.The engraving was hand-printed by the famous worker Huang Phosphonium [lin Lin].This book is not only a precious historical material of ink history, but also a masterpiece of exquisite print art.

In "Cheng's Ink Garden", there are also many interesting ink works.For example, there are many ink works about ancient Chinese astronomy, such as "Ziweiyuan", "Taiweiyuan", "Tianshiyuan" and "Sanyuan", "Big Dipper", "Twenty-Eight Mansions", etc.; Ink works with the theme of Chu Ci, such as "Eastern Emperor Taiyi", "Mrs. Xiang", etc.; there are also many ink works with the theme of famous mountains, such as "True Shape of Five Sacred Mountains", "Scenic Sites of Huangshan Mountain" and so on.What's more interesting is that "Cheng's Ink Garden" also includes ink paintings by the Catholic Jesuit missionary and Italian Matteo Ricci that contain stories from the Catholic "Bible", such as "Believe and step into the sea", "Two Disciples "Wen Facts", "Laws and Obscenities", "Pictures of the Lord of God", etc. At the end of the book, there is also a tribute written by Matteo Ricci and annotated with pinyin, "Shu Wen for Cheng Zi, a young blogger".

Among the existing Cheng ink, there is "Liao Tianyi" from the Wanli period, weighing 67.2 grams, with a lacquered body and peony painted on the face, which is very exquisite. The name "Liaotianyi" is derived from, referring to the harmony between the inaction and the invisible nature.Ming calligrapher Xing Tong's "Ink Notes" said: Cheng Mo is "firm but moist, swarthy [youyou] but shiny, Yu Qiu said, licking the pen does not glue, and the paper does not smudge".Cheng Yi boasted: "The essence of a skill can be hidden through the ages", "I have been ink for a hundred years, and it can be turned into gold".Dong Qichang, a calligrapher and painter of the Ming Dynasty, had a famous praise for Si Mo, a man of Sri Lanka: "A hundred years later, there will be no ink of the emperor's house, but there will be the ink of the emperor's house. After a thousand years, there will be the name of the emperor's house without the ink of the emperor's house."

At the beginning of Fang Yulu, he was named Daqi [ao Ao] and changed his name to Jianyuan.A native of She County during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty.He used to be an apprentice of Cheng Mo Si Middle School, and he has won the secret of Cheng's ink-making skills.Later, he had a quarrel with Cheng, so he set up his own family.Fang Zhimo is not like Cheng's "focus on fame", but "more for profit", with a strong sense of commercial profit.Fang studied poetry in his early years, and won the praise of Wang Daokun, an opera writer at that time, and was recruited into the "Fengganshe" poetry club. "Mo Zhi" records Fang Yulu's ink products as "Liaotianyi, Nine Yuan Sanji, National Treasure, Feiyan, Letter Three into One, Taizi Chongyuan, Qinglin Sui, Ruiyuan Jipin, Zhan [zhan Felt] 〕Sandalwood ink, light smoke in front of Buddha, copper sparrow tile, nine sons of the dragon, nine chicks of the phoenix, etc.

Fang Yulu edited "Mo Pu" during the Wanli period, that is, "Fang's Mo Pu".This book is divided into six categories: National Treasure, Guohua, Bogu, Natural History, Magic Treasure, and Hongbin.The shape of its ink image is as stated in Li Weizhen's preface: "The five ink images are called rules, rules, 珽, gui, and zapei." Each category is divided into details, such as xiu and sharp in the category , tea, sunflower, etc.The entire "Fang's Ink Book" has a total of 385 ink mold patterns, all of which were drawn and produced by famous painters and sculptors at that time.The Wang Daokun brothers also wrote "Mo Fu" to praise it.

Among the ink products included in "Fang's Ink Book", there are "蓂〔ming〕Pod Zaifang", "Shizuo Shuqi", "Knowing the White and Keeping the Black", "Knife and Pen", "Huobu", "Achilles [ Shi Shi〕Cao Ping", "Hui Nu Jue", "Eight Tones and Twelve Rhythms", etc., are really diverse and beautiful. When it comes to ink books, we should also mention "Mo Hai" compiled by Fang Ruisheng in the Ming Dynasty.Fang Ruisheng, a native of Xin'an, a disciple of Yuan Zhongdao, a litterateur in the Ming Dynasty, loved making ink.This book is divided into two series, inner and outer, and the inner series is dedicated to Mohism and Mohist stories.An external series of special issues of ancient ink atlas and self-made ink graphics.In the end, Dong Qichang, Jiao Hong, Yuan Zhongdao, etc. were attached with praise.Cheng Junfang's "Mo Yuan", Fang Yulu's "Mo Pu", and Fang Ruisheng's "Mo Hai" are the three major ink books of the Ming Dynasty.These three ink books can be said to be a rich and colorful history of Chinese culture and art expressed in the form of "ink models". Among Fang Yulu's ink reserves, there is a piece of "摽 [biao swim bladder] with plum".On the rectangular ink surface, on one side are the inscription "摽有梅" and the seal seal of "longevity and longevity"; on the other side is a plum tree with dense branches and leaves, and plums and fruits. "摽有梅" is taken from, which means that the plums are ripe and fall, which is a metaphor for a woman who has reached the age of marriage.Another "Wencai Double Mandarin Duck" ink, the whole body is lacquered, painted (xiuxiu) color, the inscription is painted with gold, and the border is dyed with stone green. The pattern is gold, blue, red, blue, and crimson. It is really colorful and colorful , extremely colorful. Wang Shizhen, a writer of the Ming Dynasty, said in "Yu Lu's Ink Praise": Fang Yulu's ink is "dark and lustrous, and black", "light can be clear, firm on the wall, placed in water, it will not be eroded for a long time."It can be seen that Fang's ink skills are also very exquisite and skilled.Generally speaking, the ink arts of Luo, Cheng, and Fang of the She School can be described as "the best of Jie [xie Xie] of Hang [hang]", regardless of Xuan Xi [zhi to], each has its own merits and style. The Hugh School is represented by Shao Gezhi and Wang Zhongshan. Shao Ge's name is Zhengji, and Zhengde and Xiuning were born in Jiajing. "Mo Zhi" records ten kinds of ink products including his "Yuan Huang Tian Fu".The inscription on his "divine product" said: "Get the magic of the moose", "The rule of law is in the super, and the step is in the valley".He thinks that he is excellent in calligraphy, and he has learned Li Chao and surpassed Pan Gu.Shao is not only good at making ink, but also good at writing poetry.Among the Xiuning School, the Shao family is good at making ink, and Shao Gezhi is an outstanding one. Wang Zhongshan Wang and Shao Gezhi are the founders of the Hugh Pai.Wang Zhongshan was even more ingenious in creating a complete set of Cong Mo, namely "Ji Jin Mo", or "Yao Han Mo", "Leopard Pocket Cong Mo". "Jijin ink" is a famous ink product of different shapes, patterns and categories, ingeniously collected in a bag, and a box of ink is combined to form an overall graphic. "Jijin ink" was gradually improved and developed into a colorful ink type. "Mo Zhi" records four groups of Wang Zhongshan's inks, namely "ten kinds of Taiyuan", "four kinds of prefects of Yuanxiang", "four kinds of Keqing", and "four kinds of Songzihou". "Eight Notes of Zunsheng" said: "Wang Zhongshan... His fine works are made of Doubannan as a box, with red lacquer inside, signed in the middle style, and the names are Taiji, Liangyan, Sanyuan, Sixiang, Wuque, Liuma, Qiyu [Xianxian], Eight Immortals, Nine Slugs [Sisi], and Ten Deer are all derived from birds and beasts.” It’s very interesting, this set of “Collection Ink” is really like a rare “zoo”. The ink skills of Shao and Wang of Xiu Pai were as famous as Luo, Cheng and Fang of She Pai at that time. "Eight Notes of Zunsheng" said: "During the reign of Emperor Shizong, Shaoge's ink... was also fine... Wang Zhongshan's Hanshi made ink at the beginning, and the quality was beautiful, not inferior to Luo Mo." During the Ming and Qing Dynasties The thinker Huang Zongxi once listed Shao Mo as a famous product. Among the ink makers of the Ming Dynasty, Wu Shi was also very famous. "Huizhou Fuzhi" said that he "made exquisite ink and lacquerware in his life, and people competed for treasures, and his ink was worth three times platinum." "Mo Zhi" said: "Wu wipes and glue, with exquisite craftsmanship and deep heart." Wan Shouqi's "Mo Biao" in the Qing Dynasty said: "Between Wanli and Tianqi, Cheng Junfang, Fang Yulu, and Wu Quchen are the most authored." The dust is Wu Mo, which shows that Wu's ink skills are on par with Cheng and Fang, and they are both celebrities in the ink world. "Mo Zhi" records 17 kinds of his ink products, such as "Wu Ming Pu", "Wu Yu Ye", "慁 [hun Mixed] Cheng", "Zi Jin Guang Ju", "Script Writing Ink" and so on. Wu wipes his characters to remove dust. Just like his name and characters, he just has a cleanliness habit.Such a person who loves cleanliness loves to make black ink that is easy to stain and difficult to "wipe off" and difficult to "remove dust".Wu still thinks it is not enough, and there is still famous ink that "dislikes it is too white".This can be regarded as Molin's joke. It is worth mentioning that at the end of the Ming Dynasty, Wu Yu was aroused by the righteous indignation of the nation, destroyed his family and relieved [shu Shu] difficulties, and died in the fight against the enemy.As mentioned earlier, Ma Sanheng, the Mohist who wrote "Mo Zhi", also fiercely resisted the invasion. The postscript of "Mo Zhi" said: "Tunshi Gushan, the army was defeated and arrested, and the death was very fierce. He was a righteous man." In the history of the ink industry, the two Mo Ying can be described as "the sun and the moon hang together", and they will shine forever in the history. .Conversely, in the ink world, there are also wealthy families who flatter and hate each other.Luo, Cheng, and Fang mentioned above all have no morality, leaving the ink world with a black stain of "ink"! At the end of the Ming Dynasty, it can be said that there were many Mohist schools, and the ink sheets were magnificent, which was called the prosperous age of "Hui Mo" and a famous chapter in the history of Mohism.