Xiushui Gongyan Making Skills (the third batch of provincial level) Xiushui China Gongshuo is one of the few pure handmade products that have survived to this day. It has practical, appreciative, artistic and collection value. Its production is complicated, the materials are carefully selected, and the stone materials, drawings, blanks, shapes, fine carvings, and finally polishing, waxing or sealing oils are numerous. The production process takes a long time, adding to the traditional color. Gongyan, also known as ochre inkstone, is produced in Xiushui, Jiangxi. According to the "Yiningzhou Chronicles", "The purple stone comes from the Zishitan in Tanjiabu, Wuxiang. The stone that comes out of the water is good and hard, and it emits ink. It is carved into an inkstone, similar to the new rock of Duanxi". Ochre inkstones were first produced in workshops in the Tang Dynasty. In the Northern Song Dynasty, Huang Tingjian, a poet and calligrapher of the Song Dynasty, gave ochre inkstones to his friends, making them famous all over the world. Wan Chengfeng, the teacher of Emperor Daoguang of the Qing Dynasty, presented ochre inkstones to the emperor. The emperor was pleased and named it "ochre inkstone" and listed it as a tribute, so it is also called "China Gongyan". The main color of the tribute inkstone is ochre, with emerald green inlays, and there are five colors. There are precious stones such as gold stars, gold halos, chicken blood vines, fish roe patterns, and water ripples. The stone is hard but not stubborn, the brush is fine but not slippery, the ink is released quickly but not coarsely, and the water is stored for a long time without drying up. "Yunlin Stone Records" records: "Hongzhou Fenning County, the place name is Xiukou (now Xiushui County, Jiangxi). Stones are produced in the deep soil, with five colors and waves, all like tortoises, fine and smooth, or shaped like objects, and there is a slight sound when knocked. The locals carve and grind them in the holes, which are quite exquisite, and they become strong when they see the wind. They can also be used as grinding. Although they are coarse, they can also produce ink." Folk artists of all generations have given these ochre inkstones aura and life. They carve mountains and rivers, figures, birds and beasts, and trees, all of which are shaped according to the situation, each with its own expression, natural and ingenious. The carving of inkstones has both the delicacy and exquisiteness of Duan inkstones and the boldness of the northern style. The composition emphasizes artistic conception, and it has both spirit and form, which is breathtaking. In recent years, Lai Dongsheng, Wang Ling and other Xiushui carving workers have learned from various schools and studied and carved carefully, making each inkstone "a fine product and a unique product", which has increased the artistic value and collection value of the tribute inkstone on the basis of many practical values. Contemporary calligraphy and painting masters have a special liking for the tribute inkstone of Xiushui. Zhao Puchu wrote: "The old ink and the new style of Shan Gu's poetry and calligraphy have been helped, and the clouds and waves of Shenzhou are full of writing and writing", Liu Qian wrote: "The book is full of Su and Huang, and the inkstone comes from Xiushui." Ouyang Zhongshi praised: "It is fine and smooth like fat, the natural creation is amazing, the waves are born at the bottom of the inkstone, and the jade plate is full of new words", Fan Zeng wrote: "The inkstone comes from Xiushui, and the words are heavy on Su and Huang". Qi Gong, Liu Bingsen, Wang Xiaju, Shen Peng, Aisin-Gioro Pujie, Li Duo, Zhou Huijun and more than a dozen other calligraphers have splashed ink and praised the tribute inkstone. Gongyan is sold well in major cities across the country, and is exported to Japan and Southeast Asian countries, becoming a unique craft of Xiushui. In June 2010, the project was included in the third batch of provincial intangible cultural heritage representative list.