Imre Jakabffy (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 8. (Budapest, 1984)

CHIA-JEN KECSKÉS, Lily: Art and connoisseurship of the ink

LILY CHIA-JEN KECSKÉS ART AND rONNOISSEURSHIP OF THE INK* Soot made of Shang-tang Mountain green pine, Mixed with cinnabar powder of I-ling, And orchid oil and musk, a precious ink is made, Its glaze shines so luxuriously that one is afraid to use. The servant boy with two coiffures brought it in, Wrapped in a brocade sack, carefully on his arm; With this from gift from you I am going at once to the Orchid Pavilion. When inspiration comes upon me, I shall write happily with my brush and your ink.

1 Li Po (701—762) Forms and Designs of the Ink The forms and patterns of the ink vary as a result of social and cultural changes of the times, in general from simple to complicated and from plain ornaments to fancy decorations. We do not have much information on the forms of the earliest ink. According to Ch'ao Kuanchih there had never been rules as to size or thickness of ink.

2 Chia Ssu-hsieh was the first inkmaker who expressed his view * The text is the Chapter V of the thesis „A Study of Chinese Inkmaking: Historical, Technical and Aesthetic" supported by Mrs. Lily Chiajen Kecskés (formerly curator of our Museum), MA, from the University of Chicago. of the proper weight an ink stick should have: „The weight of each ink stick should not exceed two or three ounces. The secret is to keep ink small rather than large".

3 Several terms used to denote the units of ink give certain illustrations of ink's shapes and forms. According to the Han documents, the officials at the Western Han court were given monthly „one mei (piece) of large and one mei of small ink made of soot from Yii-mi."

4 A prince of the Later Han was given „four wan (pills) of fragrant ink" on the occasion of his crowning.

5 We may assume that ink in that period was something round or flat, small enough to hold in hand and rub it on an inkslab. It was also said that a kind of soft ink called wo-tzu-mo could be 145