Songhua Stone Inkstone Making Technique

Liaoning
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As a precious traditional handicraft project in Liaoning, the craft of making Songhua stone inkstones has been included in the list of representative projects of national intangible cultural heritage. Feng Yueting, born in 1985, is the fifth-generation inheritor of the craft of making Songhua stone inkstones in Benxi, Liaoning. She has been influenced by her father since she was a child and has a special liking for this ancient craft. She set up a special R&D team to combine lacquerware and inkstones, achieved a technical breakthrough in coloring Songhua stone, and applied for patent protection for each innovative shape and process technology. In the 13th "Hua Li Award" Innovation Design Competition, her five Songhua stone works won three gold medals and two silver medals respectively. One of the "personalities" of Songhua inkstones is color. Because Songhua stone has been washed by sea water for many years, its natural texture is rich and varied, and it is colorful. Green is the most common, purple robe green belt is the most peculiar, and Yanghuang green is the best. Whether it is a pure color or a symbiotic color, the magical power of nature has given Songhua stone a unique natural advantage, making Songhua inkstone exude a unique charm. Another "personality" of Songhua inkstone is carving. How to create art based on the natural beauty of Songhua Stone requires extremely high skills from the craftsmen, who usually have to master a variety of techniques such as flat carving, openwork carving, and hollowing. In addition, Songhua Stone is as hard as jade, with a mineral hardness between 3.0 and 4.5, which is about half the hardness of diamond. The carving technique is even more difficult. To skillfully integrate natural Songhua Stone with acquired carving techniques, the craftsmen need to inject their own ideological essence and achieve the artistic realm of "harmony between man and nature" to create a good Songhua inkstone. In the hands of craftsmen, Songhua inkstones are often integrated with a large number of Chinese cultural elements, and poetry and painting are often used to create an atmosphere, which we call "literary spirit". The Songhua inkstone "Su Wu Shepherding Sheep" in front of us uses the green stone layer to carve out details such as figures and sheep, and uses the purple stone layer to render the atmosphere of wind and snow. The dense and uneven star eyes are like snowflakes in a storm, dotted in between, and fully express Su Wu's unyielding spirit in defending the dignity of the country. Nowadays, the functionality of inkstones as tools has gradually weakened, while their artistry and appreciation have been constantly explored and praised. Songhua inkstones have also transformed from practicality to artistry with their own "individuality" advantages, and have become a "new star" after the four famous inkstones in the public eye. On December 15, 2021, the Songhua stone inkstone making technique was selected into the fifth batch of representative projects of provincial intangible cultural heritage in Jilin Province, belonging to the "traditional skills" category.

Intangible culture related to the heritage

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