Walking into the Jiangzhou Chengni Inkstone Cultural Park located in Wangzhuang Village, Xinjian County, Shanxi Province, more than 500 square Chengni Inkstone carvings and various shapes displayed in the boutique hall are a feast for the eyes. Tourists who came to visit were amazed one after another: the small inkstone platform can be made so exquisitely!

Chengni inkstone is the only ceramic inkstone among the four famous inkstones in China, which is made of fine mud that has been washed and filtered, with a delicate texture, lustrous and elegant, fast ink, and no harm. The production of clay inkstone originated in the Western Han Dynasty and flourished during the Tang and Song Dynasties, with Shanxi Jiangzhou Chengni inkstone as the main representative.

The process of making clay inkstone was lost in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. In order to rescue this precious cultural heritage, Lin Yongmao and Lin Tao in Xinjian County collected information from various sources and repeated experiments for many years, and finally resumed the production of clay inkstone. Ancient traditional craftsmanship has been revived in contemporary times.

Years of research and restoration

Xinjian County was called Jiangzhou in ancient times and has a rich historical and cultural heritage.

In 1984, Lin Yongmao was transferred from the Xinjian County Cultural Center to work at the County Museum, and he took this opportunity to read a large number of historical relics books. The "Records of the Inkstone Forest" records that "the people of the Qianlong Dynasty are good at making clay inkstone", and the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty once inscribed the Song Dynasty's clay inkstone, praising it as "caressing like a stone, hu Shengjin".

"As I got to know more, my interest in clay inkstone grew, and I came up with the idea of restoring the art of making clay inkstone. I've been working in art for more than 30 years, and I'm fine with both design and sculpting. Xinjian has a rich Fenhe River impacting sediment..." Lin Yongmao's heart was fiery, and he immediately took action.

The ancient texts describe the production method of clay inkstone relatively roughly, and in order to restore this long-lost craft, all links have to be explored by themselves, and there are many difficulties.

"It took two years to find the mud." Lin Yongmao said that due to changes in the bed, water quantity and water quality of the Fenhe River, the method of "sewing silk bags in Fenshui and taking them after the years" recorded in the literature is no longer applicable. Lin Yongmao and his son Lin Tao carefully searched along the ravines on both sides of the lower reaches of the Fenhe River, and conducted sampling tests in all the areas through which the Fenhe River flowed in history and places where the sand in the strata contained mussel shell fossils, and finally found suitable mud.

This is just the beginning. How to match raw materials? What kind of kiln to build? With what fuel? How to control the temperature? One by one, the father and son are facing each other.

I can't count how many times I failed, I don't know how many times I went through the fire eyebrows, and the danger of the explosion of the earthen kiln, and finally burned into two pieces of clay in 1991. After 3 years of technical tempering, in 1994, the Jiangzhou Chengni Inkstone fired by Lin Yongmao and Lin Tao won the gold medal at the China Famous Inkstone Expo.

"The affirmation of experts and the recognition of society not only excited, but also felt that we have a long way to go." Lin Yongmao said. The father and son continued to study and perfect the technology, forming a set of mature firing processes from entering the kiln to leaving the kiln, heating and cooling, and controlling the atmosphere and color, not only firing eel yellow, crab shell green and other colors, but also burning five-color clay ink.

In 2008, the inkstone making technique (Chengclay Inkstone Making Technique) was included in the National Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, and Lin Yongmao was named the representative inheritor of the project.

Concentrate on creation and cultivate talents

The production of Jiangzhou clay inkstone needs to go through more than a dozen processes such as filtration, billet making, carving, calcination, etc., the production cycle is as long as one year, only clarification and filtration need four or five times, the filtered mud should be coated with plastic film and stand for 6 months, it takes 3 months to set the yin drying, and the yield is only <>%.

However, due to its hundreds of years of loss, after the advent of such a well-made Jiangzhou Chengni Inkstone, it was not well known in the market at first.

"Cultural undertakings must be done slowly, and they cannot be rushed." Lin Tao has devoted himself to creation and independently developed dozens of series of products. He sought inspiration from local historical stories and created ancient Chinese series of inkstones such as Ancestral Silkworm Inkstone and Shunyin Nanfeng Inkstone; In order to celebrate the centennial celebration of Tsinghua University, 100 square meters of lotus pond moonlight inkstone with different shapes were designed; Excavate the cultural characteristics of various parts of Shanxi and launch "one county, one inkstone"; Carry forward the revolutionary culture and the spirit of the times, and produce red series of inkstones such as the theme of the Holy Land of the Red Revolution and the theme of clean government.

Lin Tao participated in various competitions and exhibitions at home and abroad with his works to expand the influence of Chengniyan. Seven works, including Yunhaitengjiao Inkstone and Heping Inkstone, were awarded the "World Outstanding Handicraft Badge" by UNESCO.

Gradually, the brand of Jiangzhou Chengni Yan stood up and pushed out. In order to better inherit and develop, Lin Tao carefully trains apprentices and forms a team. Zhang Yingli is one of them.

Walking into the Jiangzhou Chengni Inkstone Research Institute located in Guangcun, Xinjian County, I saw Zhang Yingli carefully carving an inkstone platform under the lamp. She picked up a carving knife at the age of 16 and has been carving inkstone for 23 years.

"I feel the charm of Chengni Yan here, and I also realize my self-worth." In the final of the second "National Inkstone Carving Skills Competition for the Making of Four Treasures of Wenfang" held this year, Zhang Yingli won the honorary title of "National Chengclay Inkstone Carving Technology Expert". "I want to continue to improve my carving skills and do my part to pass on the culture of clay inkstone."

The 47-year-old Fan Youliang is also the backbone of the Jiangzhou Chengni Inkstone Research Institute. In 2002, Fan Youliang began to learn to make clay inkstone, starting from the boring sediment filtration, "The first thing every day is to drain the filtered water from the tank and fill it up." Repeat for a month to get qualified mud". Through unremitting efforts, Fan Youliang learned the craft and tempered his heart.

Now, Fan Youliang is mainly responsible for clay making and firing, and has brought many apprentices. In February this year, Yuncheng awarded 2 elite "Hedong craftsmen" in different industries, and Fan Youliang won this honor. "For me, making clay inkstone is not just a craft, it's a responsibility." He sighed.

"The key to non-genetic inheritance depends on talent." In order to enhance the professional skills of team members and broaden their artistic horizons, Lin Tao regularly sends business backbones to Tsinghua University, Peking University, Jingdezhen Institute of Ceramic Art and other institutions for further study.

At present, the team of more than 40 people in Jiangzhou Chengni Inkstone Research Institute includes 1 national intangible genetic inheritor, 2 provincial non-genetic inheritors, 1 Chinese arts and crafts master, 3 Chinese literary four treasure inkstone masters, and 3 Shanxi Province arts and crafts masters.

Build a platform to develop the industry

In the conference room, Lin Xiaolin, the third-generation inheritor of Jiangzhou Chengni Inkstone and the son of Lin Tao, and his team are reviewing the week's live broadcast work and online sales.

In 2019, Lin Xiaolin returned from studying in South Korea. At that time, the production technology of Jiangzhou Chengclay inkstone was very mature, and the production also changed from workshop to enterprise.

"What can I do?" In the process of practicing the basic skills, Lin Xiaolin found the answer, "The traditional clay inkstone has little production and high price, and it is mostly used for collection. To make it enter the public life, it must innovate categories and be more in line with the aesthetics and needs of contemporary people. ”

Lin Xiaolin set up his own small team to design and develop Chengni Inkstone cultural and creative products, and also opened an online store to introduce the history, culture and production skills of Chengni Inkstone through online live broadcast.

Lin Xiaolin injected more fashion elements into the design, and developed cultural and creative products such as "Linglong" series of inkstone, "Yunshui" series of inkstone, and "one inkstone and three uses" series, which are both practical and ornamental, and are favored by young people. He also adjusted the temperature and atmosphere in the kiln and the position of the inkstone to make the fired clay inkstone richer in color.

"Our team continues to innovate and launch products with good looks and selling points, hoping to let more young people understand and love Chengni Inkstone." Lin Xiaolin said.

In recent years, Lin Tao has focused on building the Jiangzhou Chengni Inkstone Cultural Park, using this as a platform to achieve scale effects and promote the integration of culture and tourism. "The park is positioned as the 'Xinjian Cultural Lounge', allowing visitors to learn about the intangible cultural heritage of the national historical and cultural city of Xinjian in one stop. With the support of governments at all levels, the park has begun to take shape. Lin Tao said.

In 2022, Jiangzhou Chengni Inkstone Cultural Park was rated as a cultural industry demonstration park in Shanxi Province. The cultural park covers an area of 42 acres, and in addition to clay inkstone, it has also settled in more than 20 local intangible cultural heritage enterprises such as cloud carvings, woodblock prints, and face sculptures.

"Since the beginning of this year, except for special weather, the park has welcomed research and visiting teams almost every day, and more than 1,<> people have been received during the 'May Day' holiday." Lin Tao introduced that Jiangzhou Chengni Inkstone Cultural Park is building hotels and other supporting facilities. In the future, it will become a comprehensive cultural park integrating exchanges, exhibitions, skill experience, tourism and other functions.

Not long ago, at the 200th National Four Treasures Art Fair held in Beijing, the cultural and creative products cooperated by Jiangzhou Chengni Inkstone Research Institute, Taiyuan University of Science and Technology, Taiyuan Normal University and other institutions attracted many people's attention, and more than <> inkstones were sold on site.

"The government has given us great help and support in promoting cooperation between enterprises and schools." Lin Tao said that in the future, it will provide better conditions for the research and social practice of teachers and students in colleges and universities, and also looks forward to bringing more innovation vitality through cross-border cooperation, and turning Jiangzhou Chengni into a shining cultural business card.

Fu Mingli

Fu Mingli