She Inkstone Making Technique

Anhui
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She Inkstone is one of the four famous inkstones in China. Its main production place and famous place are She County in ancient Huizhou, so it is called She Inkstone. Wuyuan County in Jiangxi Province was originally part of Huizhou, and the products there are also called She Inkstone. She Inkstone has been produced in the Han and Jin Dynasties, and its reputation has grown in the Tang Dynasty. After Kaiyuan, Longwei Inkstone Stone was discovered, and She Inkstone became more treasured by the world. Li Yu, the last emperor of the Southern Tang Dynasty, regarded She Inkstone as "the best in the world" and set up "Inkstone Affairs" in Shezhou, and promoted Li Shaowei, an inkstone worker, as "Inkstone Affairs Official". The value of She Inkstone has since soared. In the Song Dynasty, She Inkstone developed rapidly, with an increase in varieties and a continuous emergence of fine inkstones. It has many names, fine textures, and exquisite carvings, which are the best among all inkstones. From the end of the Yuan Dynasty to the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, there was no record of official mining of She Stone, and the production of She Inkstone was just a remnant. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, She Inkstone production was once developed, and Jinxing She Inkstone was re-launched. After the reform and opening up, Shexian and Wuyuan counties successively established She Inkstone Factory, Craft Factory, and Four Treasures of the Study Company, etc., with complete types of work from inkstone mining, product manufacturing to decoration, and new varieties such as "Bean Spot", "Green Brush Silk", "She Red", and "Purple Cloud" were also excavated. After the mid-1980s, She Inkstone entered the forefront of the national inkstone industry, and won the National Quality Product, Export Gold Award, and the "National Treasure" certificate awarded by relevant departments for its excellent quality. The production technique of She Inkstone is centered on carving, and consists of multiple processes such as stone selection, conception, shaping, pattern design, carving, polishing, and inkstone box preparation. According to the texture of the stone, it is divided into five categories of more than 100 varieties: ribbed, eyebrow, gold star, gold halo, and fish roe. The texture of the inkstone is fine, and it has both hardness and smoothness. It has the characteristics of not leaving the pen when it is astringent and not rejecting the ink when it is smooth. It is known as "the crown of the mountains" and "the famous pearl of the inkstone country". At present, the raw materials of She Inkstone are in short supply, and there is a lack of successors to the traditional craftsmanship, and it is urgently needed to increase protection efforts.

Intangible culture related to the heritage

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