Hui Ink Stick

In dramatic scenes depicting people's lives in ancient China, a common scene is one where a black stick is grinded against a stone to make ink. The stick is the ink stick and the stone is inkstone (inkslab), they are important stationary items in Chinese traditional culture.

Ink sticks produced in South Anhui are considered to be the finest in the world, and are called Hui ink sticks. Hui means Huizhou Prefecture which was situated in South Anhui and renamed Huangshan City after 1987.

The Hui Ink stick has a history of more than 1,100 years. Famous ink makers, Xi chao and his son Xi ting gui moved to Shexian County in Huizhou at the end of the South Tang Dynasty (937-975). His method for making ink-stick from pine soot was handed down to later generations. Such an ink-stick has enjoyed a good reputation for more than a thousand years. The Huizhou ink-stick (also called Hui ink-stick, or simply Hui-mo) has magic qualities. It is as hard as stone and does not deteriorate for as long as ten years. The ink produced from the Huizhou ink-stick is as black as black paint. Many charming stories and anecdotes about the Hui ink-stick have been recounted in literary circles, past and present.

To produce ink from the ink stick, the stick is continuously ground against an ink stone with water. Ink produced from ink sticks is of better quality than the liquid bottled ink. A good ink stick is finely grained and has an even and smooth texture. It is firm and not sticky. It is pure, solid black in color, without murkiness or roughness. The control of hue is crucial to the success of a work in ink. Different consistencies of ink can be produced according to preference. It is easy for calligraphers and painters to control ink and attain the artist effect they want. Hui ink stick of high quality can make painting or calligraphy works more durable, free from getting moldy or being moth-eaten. Some poor quality inks may have a chemical effect when mixed with air and damage the brushes. Therefore, calligraphers and painters love to use Hui ink sticks instead of bottled ink.

Ink stick is made from a mixture of soot and glue, molded into stick form. The most commonly used to make ink are pine soot, oil soot, and lacquer soot. These soots are from burning pine, tung oil and lacquer respectively.
Ink-sticks fall into three major categories, according to the chief materials used in ink making. First is the long-standing pine-soot ink-stick which is a mixture of pine soot, glue, medicinal material and spices. Second is oil-soot ink-stick, mainly for writing purpose, which is made from tung oil soot mixed with gelatin, medicinal material and spices. The third is lacquer-soot ink stick which is of best quality, its soot is usually a mixture of lacquer soot and pine-soot, or a mixture of lacquer soot and oil-soot. Proportions vary, and the quality of the lacquer soot ink-stick differs accordingly.

Hui Ink Stick Making and Its Problems