The earliest one was made by Cheng Junfang, a renowned inkstick maker of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The dilapidated building is more than just a workshop for making inksticks it also houses a storeroom of thousands of antique molds. Thousands of antique molds are stored in the building. When the drying is complete, craftsmen polish the inksticks and color them with patterns. During the drying period, craftsmen turn the somewhat wet inksticks over every day. There are typically three categories in terms of weight: 1 liang (equivalent to 31.25 grams) needs to be dried in the shade for six to eight months 2 liang, which needs to be dried for eight to 12 months and 4 liang, which requires up to two years of drying. “The wood briar from Anhui Province is easy to carve, water-absorbent, durable and beautifully grained,” says Xu. The pieces are placed into different molds made of briar and then pressed by machine. He divides the pounded paste into pieces and weighs each of them, using screws rather than counterweights on a scale. Tong’s blue shirt is smeared with ink and sweat. With such strenuous movements, I am not surprised that the room’s air conditioner is set on low. For example, musk has been replaced by civet secretion.Ī craftsman named Tong Yijun is beating warmed raw material repeatedly with a hammer weighing dozens of kilograms. To improve the fragrance, luster and insect resistance of the inksticks, more than 20 kinds of Chinese medicinal herbs are added, along with gold leaf.Īccording to Xu, some materials used in the traditional recipe have had to be changed due to the wildlife protection measures.
The glue used in the process is primarily extracted from the skins and bones of cattle and then stirred with soot from tung seeds. Xu Ming, director of Cao Sugong Ink Factory, displays an antique mold with a pattern of the landscape surrounding Hangzhou’s West Lake. “Materials of superior quality are the characteristic of Cao Sugong inksticks,” says Xu. He explains that the production process requires six steps: refining lampblack, mixing it with animal glue, shaping, drying, gold filling and carving. He also serves as director of the current factory. Xu is the 15th generation of Cao Sugong inkstick makers. “A tiny inkstick requires four kinds of artists - an ink maker, a carver, a calligrapher and a painter,” says Xu Ming, master of inkstick making at the workshop. A group of famous Shanghai-school painters, such as Wu Changshuo (1844-1927) and Ren Bonian (1840-1896), worked with Cao Sugong to create patterns and improve ink tones. Mei Lanfang (1894-1961), a notable Peking Opera artist, ordered an array of Cao Sugong inksticks as gifts for foreign fans before leaving for New York. The factory has made customized inksticks for many important figures, including Li Hongzhang (1823-1901), a Chinese politician, general and diplomat of the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). It moved to Suzhou before settling in Shanghai in 1864, where it attained a high reputation for top-quality ink. An endorsement letter for the Cao Sugong Ink Factory, signed by many well-known people, hangs in the hall.Įstablished in Anhui Province in 1667, the factory is named after its founder.
A shabby building amid a heap of ruins houses the ink and brush factories.Ī waft of ink scent greets me when I enter the building.
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