July 2010 – Ink, Yarn & Beer

The Four Treasures: Inkstone / Suzuri, vi

Four Famous Stones

According to Wikipedia, and other internet sources, there are four main ink stones historically prized throughout China:

For serious calligraphers and painters, a good inkstone is as important as the quality of the ink. An inkstone will affect the quality and texture of the ink that is ground upon it. Four kinds of inkstones are especially noted in inkstone art history and are popularly known as the “Four Famous Inkstones.”

The first is Duanshi stone (Japanese: Tankei) (端石砚) from Duanxi, Guangdong. Duan stone is a volcanic tuff, commonly of a purple to a purple-red color. There are various distinctive markings such as eyes that were traditionally valued in the stone. A green variety of the stone was mined in the Song period. Duan inkstones are carefully categorized by the mines (k’eng) from which the raw stone was excavated. Particular mines were open only for discrete periods in history. For example, the Mazukeng mine was originally opened in the Qianlong period (1736-1795),　although reopened in modern times.

She stone (Japanese: Kyū) (歙砚) from She County, Anhui. This stone is a variety of slate and like Duan stone is categorized by the various mines from which the stone was obtained historically. It is a black color and displays a variety of celebrated gold-like markings. These inkstones likewise date from the late Tang period.

Of great rarity is Tao River stone (洮河砚) from South Gansu. This stone is no longer found today and was gathered from a river bottom in the Song period. The stone is crystalline and like jade. The stone bears distinct markings such as bands of varying shades. This stone can be easily confused with Duan stone of the green variety, but can be distinguished by a careful observation of its crystalline nature.

Chengni ceramic stone (澄泥砚) is a ceramic-manufactured inkstone. This process was begun in the Tang period and is said to have originated in Luoyang, Henan.

She Ink Stones

In particular, the She ink stone has long been prized for its quality.

The history of inkstone goes back to over 5,000 years ago. There is a lot of archeological evidence that Chinese used inkstone for grinding ink. There was a stone inkstone found in a 5,000-year-old archeological site in Jiazhai of Shanxi Province.

As one of the essential tool of ink brush painting, She inkstone, produced in Anhui Province in East China, is one of the most sought collector’s item among the literati and elite for thousands of years. It is one of the Four Great Inkstones in Chinese history.It is named after Shezhou Prefecture, Anhui Province, where it was first produced in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Many counties under the jurisdiction of this prefecture produce She ink slabs, but the best come from Longwei Mountain in Wuyuan County. Sometimes She ink slabs are referred to as Longwei inkstones.

She inkstone is made of gray, light green, or black rare slate with markings, and the stone appears in layers and is hard. She inkstone has three features: quick forming of ink, no harm done to the brush, and preserving wetness of ink.

She inkstone has a special artistic style with different markings resulting from geological changes with passage of time. Typical markings are Gold Star, Gold Star Patch, Gold Line, Silver Star, Silver Line, Cherry Blossom Gold Star, and Small Water Wave. More rare ones are Eyebrows, Jade Belt, Jade Belt with Gold Star, Big Water Wave, Fish Egg, Dates Kernel Eyebrows, Jade Patch, and so on.

My Suzuri

The inkstone I am writing about today is my favorite. I purchased it a number of years ago from Japan, but it is Chinese in origin. It is a very large, very heavy stone, encased in a custom rosewood box. The box measures 6 3/4 x 9 7/8 inches (17 x 25 cm) and weighs 1 lb 10.2 oz (745 g), while the stone measures 5 3/8 x 9 inches (13.65 x 22.86 cm) and weighs 4 lbs. 10.4 oz (2.1 kg). It is my understanding that this is a She inkstone, and over 70 years old. Acorn Planet has a lot of information about Chinese ink stones – unfortunately, they no longer sell them.

Custom Box for Suzuri

Boxes are custom made for each high quality suzuri, to ensure protection as well as a fit unique to the shape of each stone. Above, you can see the box for this stone. It is solid and heavy, made of rosewood. The wood is smoothly polished. The bottom half of the box holds the suzuri securely. Underneath, small feet provide support. Altogether, the box is a work of art in itself.

Underside of Box Bottom - Notice the Feet in Each Corner

My stone itself is a beautiful dark grey color, with a single inclusion or marking, which is skillfully centered in the middle of the carvings, like the moon amongst tree branches on a foggy night. The well is deep, and the slope onto the flat surface is evenly carved. There are no rough spots on this stone. Touching the stone, it is cool. The sound of the stone, when tapped, is clear and crisp. Breathing onto the stone, the moisture from one’s breath sits on the surface, and slowly – very slowly – evaporates or is absorbed by the stone, which shows the correct porosity for hand-ground ink. Tilting the stone in sunlight shows fine sparkles, indicating the presence of pyrites.

Ink ground on this stone is very fine, and quickly ground, and rests easily on the surface with little need to replenish the water. I use my finest Japanese ink sticks on this stone – to use ones of dubious quality would possibly ruin its smooth surface if there were coarse grains within the ink stick. To pour liquid ink onto it would be sacrilege!

High quality stones, according to some web sources, are well-carved, but without excessive design. Lesser quality stones may be more elaborately carved to increase their value. Various inclusions, such as color streaks or the dots, as seen on this stone, are rare and add to the value of the stone. This stone has a narrow band of elaborate carving at the top, of cherry blossoms, bamboo, and birds. Its style is very Chinese, from what I can tell; Japanese stones have different carving characteristics.

There is no way to describe the intense pleasure which comes from using a fine inkstone – it is an experience unique to itself. Any sumi artist or calligrapher will know what I mean. I am very fortunate to be able to enjoy such a wonderful stone.

Shoulder Surgery, One Year Later

I think it was around 7/25/2009 that I had a Mumford decompression of my right shoulder. I went back to work three days later, and in general made a very good recovery. Over the next ten weeks, I attended weekly physical therapy sessions and learned a lot about movement and stretching, all to keep my shoulder in good shape as it healed. The muscles had been pulled apart during surgery for the insertion of the instruments, and that left me with weird feelings. I also had a radial nerve block which created a bit of havoc later on. I also paid attention to my posture as I knit or did other things.

A year later, my diligence has slackened, and a few kinks appear, but the fact is, the surgery was worth it, but successful recovery is often in the hands of skilled surgeon, and in the determination of the patient to get well. When I get back into my exercises and posture, I am doing great!

Disruptions and Adaptations

My brother moved in with us about a month ago. The reasons why are unimportant here, but what is important is finding ways to adapt to the disruptions in the daily life of Josh and me. Our privacy is definitely less, and while my brother makes a very small footprint, there is still the fact of another person living in our house. This means doors normally opened all the time are now closed. Conversations are carried on more discreetly if necessary. My studio now has someone sleeping in it, so reading the news online at 5:30 a.m. is out of the question unless I boot up the antique notebook. Josh telecommutes, so this means that his office cannot have someone living in it, especially if he needs to start work in the wee hours of the morning.

For me, morning hours before getting ready for work are my time. Coffee, news. Now, it is coffee . . . and?? Knitting, reading. No email. No news. We don’t have television, but I would not want to listen to it in the first place because it would be noise. Maybe I should take a walk, but that would mean getting dressed. Just the silence of the morning is wonderful, and in the summer, the birds and squirrels are delightful companions – except for the past several days, the morning is a thick, dripping fog!

Knitting is happening, but I haven’t gotten into painting at all for the last month. I think I will begin to do it again – now that we are all adjusting to one another. There just has to be a sense of comfort to paint – it takes time, introspection, thought. Knitting can be more automatic and less contemplative. The three of us have our moments, and it is not always easy or pleasant, but I think we are all working toward a common goal of peaceful co-existence.

Bees

The drone of bees in fields, woods, and the garden is part of summer.

The bee population is in decline. Killer bees are breeding with honey bees. Bees are valuable insects in so many ways, and without them, what will happen to our plant populations of flowers or fruit or crops? Bees are in dire need of our help – as are bats – and maybe we have found something that may be a clue?

This article from CNN is quite interesting:

London, England (CNN) — A new study has suggested that cell phone radiation may be contributing to declines in bee populations in some areas of the world.

Bee populations dropped 17 percent in the UK last year, according to the British Bee Association, and nearly 30 percent in the United States says the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Parasitic mites called varroa, agricultural pesticides and the effects of climate change have all been implicated in what has been dubbed “colony collapse disorder” (CCD).

But researchers in India believe cell phones could also be to blame for some of the losses.

In a study at Panjab University in Chandigarh, northern India, researchers fitted cell phones to a hive and powered them up for two fifteen-minute periods each day.

After three months, they found the bees stopped producing honey, egg production by the queen bee halved, and the size of the hive dramatically reduced.

It’s not just the honey that will be lost if populations plummet further. Bees are estimated to pollinate 90 commercial crops worldwide. Their economic value in the UK is estimated to be $290 million per year and around $12 billion in the U.S.

Andrew Goldsworthy, a biologist from the UK’s Imperial College, London, has studied the biological effects of electromagnetic fields. He thinks it’s possible bees could be affected by cell phone radiation.

The reason, Goldsworthy says, could hinge on a pigment in bees called cryptochrome.

“Animals, including insects, use cryptochrome for navigation,” Goldsworthy told CNN.

“They use it to sense the direction of the earth’s magnetic field and their ability to do this is compromised by radiation from [cell] phones and their base stations. So basically bees do not find their way back to the hive.”

Goldsworthy has written to the UK communications regulator OFCOM suggesting a change of phone frequencies would stop the bees being confused.

“It’s possible to modify the signal coming from the [cell] phones and the base station in such a way that it doesn’t produce the frequencies that disturb the cryptochrome molecules,” Goldsworthy said.

“So they could do this without the signal losing its ability to transmit information.”

But the UK’s Mobile Operators Association — which represents the UK’s five mobile network operators — told CNN: “Research scientists have already considered possible factors involved in CCD and have identified the areas for research into the causes of CCD which do not include exposure to radio waves.”

Norman Carreck, Scientific director of the International Bee research Association at the UK’s University of Sussex says it’s still not clear how much radio waves affect bees.

“We know they are sensitive to magnetic fields. What we don’t know is what use they actually make of them. And no one has yet demonstrated that honey bees use the earth’s magnetic field when navigating,” Carreck said.

In celebration of the bee, Valerie Littlewood has recently had an exhibit in London; she writes about bees extensively at Pencil and Leaf. Her work is beautiful and detailed; her writing quite fascinating. She has numerous bee-related links, as well as incredible illustrations.

A world without bees? Hard to imagine.