*Duan Inkstone Making Craft

91.*Duan Inkstone Making Craft

Nominating Unit: City of Zhaoqing

The cradle of Duan Inkstone lies in Baishi and Binri villages of Huanggang Town, City of Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province. Baishi borders upon Binri with 80% of their villagers quarrying stones to produce ink stones for a living. At present, this district is still the core production area of Duan Inkstone. The Duan Creek Stone, the original material of Duan Inkstone comes from the Fuke and Beiling Mountains of Antelope Gorge in City of Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province.

It is recorded that Duan Inkstone originated in the early Tang Dynasty, and became popular in the middle of the Tang Dynasty. It gains its reputation worldwide and is named as the king of all ink stones for it is quick to become ink and the ink it produces is oil-like, characterizing by requiring little water, never freezing, never decaying and being protective of the brush. Within a history of more than 1300 years, the handicraftsmen of Duan Inkstone have formed a set of scientific and strict production techniques by constantly summarizing their experience and adapting to the local conditions. It is complicated to make a Duan Inkstone for it involves a series of working procedures like quarrying, selecting materials, making preliminary shape, designing, carving, matching with delicate box, polishing and waxing. Duan Inkstone is irresistible to shake, so it is all along handmade.(https://www.daowen.com)

The quarrying step in making a Duan Inkstone is rather important. The ancient inkstone pit was as high as about 80 centimeter. Therefore, the workers could only quarry in the ways of squatting, sitting or aslant lying. The quarrying tools were often made according to the exploit environment and the carving tools were adapted to the rigidity of the material and the carving skills. Before 1970s, the tools were mostly self-made by quarrymen or inkstone makers. The quarrying tools mainly include shape iron chisel, iron pen, hammer, cannon chisel and lamp, etc. The carving tools mainly include hammer, chisel, chisel clamp, wooden drill, saw, pencil stone and working desk and so on.

Like other traditional handicrafts, Duan Inkstone making has its own worship and organization. The handicraftsmen worship Wuding and would hold a grand worship activity in the eighth day of lunar April every year. Duan Inkstone Guild is the accepted organization that qualifies a handicraftsman as the maker of Duan Inkstone.

Duan Inkstone enjoys high artistic, collection and humanistic values. In the new historical conditions, the Duan Inkstone handicraft is struck by machine manufacturing industry and the way it passes on results in less and less successors of this traditional craft. Only if these problems were properly solved, the traditional making technique of Duan Inkstone could be protected and passed on.

In 2006, Duan Inkstone Making Craft was selected into the list of the first batch of state-level intangible cultural heritage.