Hui Ink Stick Making and Its Problems

Hui ink sticks are mainly made from the soot of oil, pine. Pine is often used in making ink sticks, but not all pine trees are suitable. Those grown in forests, which are normally considered high quality wood, are not suitable for ink stick making. Branches of pines grown among rocks on the sunlit side of mountains are ideal for producing ink sticks.

Totally eleven steps are required for producing ink sticks, including material selection, soot making, glue adding, mixing, shaping, drying, polishing and decoration. All of the procedures are carried out by hand, and certain techniques are involved. An ink stick can only be used after drying for a long time.

At least three months are needed to complete the whole production of even a small ink stick. The material selection is complicated. Moreover, ink sticks should be dried under natural circumstances avoiding wind, baking or sunshine. Ink sticks can be kept for a long time. The longer an ink stick is stored, the better it is.

Ink sticks can be made into different shapes, with various decorations such as motifs of historic stories and calligraphic works. Delicate ink sticks are considered works of art and have become collectables.

However, ink stick production is facing a crisis despite its rich tradition. The biggest problem now is the efficient use and protection of resources. The materials of making ink sticks are mostly non-renewable resources. Therefore, there will be fewer and fewer resources in the future. Another problem is the lack of people doing the job. For example, as the most famous ink stick factory in China, Hu Kaiwen Ink Factory has some 100 workers, most of whom are over 40 years old.

Learning the techniques of how to make ink sticks can take up to a year, but a much longer period of some ten years may be needed to become a qualified ink stick maker. Zhou says despite a lot of people showing interest in ink stick making, it is hard and dirty work, without great financial reward. So there are currently few people actually learning the techniques.

To protect the skill, ink stick making is now listed among China's Intangible Cultural Heritages. Its guardians are also applying for membership of the UNESCO Human Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Experts hope more measures will be made to preserve this ancient art.

Introduction of Hui Ink Stick