The origin of Duan inkstone

In the early Tang Dynasty, laborers who made their living by picking inkstones and making Dragon Boat Festival appeared in Keshan Duan Xi, the eastern suburb of Zhaoqing, Guangdong. Here, the Xijiang River flowing eastward crosses the canyon and goes straight to the South China Sea. Surrounded by mountains on all sides, it is magnificent and thick with rocks. Xuandeyan in Shuiyan (old pit), Kengziyan, Mazikeng, Chaotianyan, Gutayan and Duanyan are scattered in this picturesque environment. The Guangdong ink stone has gradually become a unique handicraft in Zhaoqing; It is deeply loved by literati and admired by dignitaries and emperors. In the Song Dynasty, Duanyan Stone was listed as a "tribute" and became famous at home and abroad.

Duanyan is valuable because the stone is tender, pure, delicate, moist, solid and tight. Duanyan made of it has the characteristics of breathing, grinding ink, not damaging ink and not freezing in winter. It is also related to the hardships of mining and production. The world-famous inkstone has to go through more than ten painstaking and meticulous processes, such as detection, excavation, transportation, material selection, sorting, design, carving, polishing, washing and assembly. Mining inkstone can't be operated mechanically, only by hand. Quarrying workers in past dynasties followed the direction of stone veins, naturally dug deep and chiseled out from joints. 30% to 40% of the selected inkstones can be used rarely. The tunnel inclines downward and twists and turns, and workers have to squat and bend in and out. In some areas, only one person can crawl naked. The ancients said: "The old pit climbs obliquely, and the quarrymen get credit every three to five times." Cutting ziyun is not a luxury. "

Coupled with the meticulous carving of artists who made inkstones in past dynasties, its modeling style is colorful, from the practicality in the early Tang Dynasty to the combination of practicality and appreciation in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and it has entered the ranks of national arts and crafts. Now it has become a wonderful flower in the well-known China Arts and Crafts Park. Chinese and foreign tourists visiting Zhaoqing are proud of having a beautiful and colorful Guangdong inkstone.