Tea Merchants of the Song Dynasty

I don’t know what Su Shan said to Zhu Yan, or whether Zhu Yan has thought it through himself.

Anyway, the next day Zhu Yan came to the Su Mansion to find Jiang Yin and agreed to do business with Jiang Yin.

Su Shan smiled knowingly and said, "That's right, we all have a companion. It just so happens that we have ink and inkstone to make a pair."

"And there's my family's rice paper." Li Qing came over and continued.

The only thing missing was a brush, but unfortunately they didn’t know anyone who sold brushes.

Zhu Yan smiled, then bowed to Jiang Yin and said, "In that case, I'll have to trouble Brother Zhang."

Jiang Yin quickly returned the favor: "Mutual benefit, mutual benefit."

If she didn't benefit from it, she naturally wouldn't bother to recommend them.

After having breakfast at the Su Mansion, the few of them followed Zhu Yan to his She Inkstone Workshop to experience the She Inkstone-making process firsthand.

The Zhu family's She Inkstone Square and the Su family's Hui Inkstone Square are similar in scale and structure, and even their locations are the same, on the edge of She County.

Ink and inkstone are an inseparable set, but the production methods are different.

The process of making She inkstone mainly includes seven steps: material selection, blank making, design, carving, polishing, glazing and packaging.

The first step is to select the materials. The selected stones are tapped lightly with an iron chisel. The ones that make a sound like copper are of high quality, the ones that make a low sound are second-rate, and the ones that make a sound like wood are defective and not suitable for Zhuo inkstones.

The hardness of the inkstone stone should be moderate, and the difference between the cross-section hardness and the surface hardness should not be too large.

After the selected stones are washed with water, they enter the next process of molding.

The process of making the inkstone is divided into two steps: sawing and grinding. The stones after marking are divided into three shapes: round, square and irregular. When sawing, make sure that the cross section is perpendicular to the inkstone surface.

The grinding blank is divided into coarse grinding and fine grinding. First, use coarse sand, diamond and water to grind it flat on a stone slab. After it is flat, use fine sand and water grinding.

Finally, use oil stone and water sandpaper to make all four sides smooth and even in thickness.

The best quality inkstone blanks are those without visible joints, cracks or fine mineral veins.

After the inkstone is made, it is time for the design phase.

Different patterns are given to the inkstone blank according to its size, texture, shape, etc. The pattern is traced on the inkstone blank and then carved according to the pattern.

Sculpture is a form of artistic creation, just like calligraphy and painting.

The knife techniques include light, heavy, slow, fast, hard and soft. The pattern layout is appropriate, with sparse and dense patterns.

After the carving is completed, it is time to polish the inkstone. After the inkstone is carved, the surface and pattern of the inkstone must be polished.

First, grind the inkstone with a fine stone, and then grind it with fine sandpaper and water until there is no sharp edge to the touch.

The patterned part can be sprinkled with some fine diamond sand and polished with a brush, except when knife marks need to be intentionally shown.

After polishing, you need to polish the inkstone. Dip a little grease in a palm broom and smear it all over the inkstone to make it more crystal clear and dust-free. When you use it, wipe the inkstone pool with ginger slices and you can write ink.

Finally, the packaging, all fine inkstones need to be equipped with inkstone boxes to protect the patterns and inscriptions. It not only prevents dust from entering the inkstone, but also serves as a decoration for the inkstone.

Inkstone boxes include matte lacquer boxes, nanmu boxes, rosewood boxes, mahogany boxes, pear wood boxes, and red toon wood boxes.

Do not use metal or other materials harder than the inkstone to make the box.

The box should be tailored according to the shape of the inkstone. It should be slightly wide to hold the inkstone and lined with cloth so that the inkstone will shake silently when placed in the box.

The inkstone box is engraved with characters in seal and clerical scripts, and is inlaid with malachite.

"Brother Zhang, would you like to try carving an inkstone yourself?" Zhu Yan handed a carving knife to Jiang Yin, wanting her to try carving an inkstone herself.

This kind of hands-on work can only be enjoyed through personal experience.

"I'll do it?" Jiang Yin couldn't help but ask, "Can I do it?"

You know what, she really wants to try it.

Ink blocks will fade, but inkstones will not. Moreover, inkstones will not be easily damaged, so she is not afraid of damaging them.

Zhu Yan raised his eyebrows and said, "Of course."

He handed the carving knife in his hand to Jiang Yin, and took out an inkstone that was half-carved by a craftsman for her to try her hand.

Su Shan and Li Qing asked at the same time: "What about us?"

They also want to try it and don't want to just stand by and watch.

Zhu Qing's mouth twitched slightly, and then he gave them the carving knife and inkstone and asked them to try their hand at it.

Seeing this, Jiang Yin boldly picked up the carving knife and began to carve according to the pattern.

It’s true that without some strength in your hands you can’t carve the pattern.

Several people spent half an hour trying to carve, but unfortunately the progress was not very great and they only carved a little bit.

Jiang Yin put down the carving knife and sighed, "It's not easy. Your craftsmen are all amazing."

Doing this kind of boring physical work for years requires not only perseverance but also patience.

If you are in a hurry to achieve results, the things you carve will only be shoddy.

However, she looked around and did not find any shoddy She inkstones. On the contrary, they were all fine products.

"Yes, they are all amazing." Zhu Yan nodded and sighed without any hesitation, "So, although She inkstone is not as good as Hui inkstone, it is not bad either."

It's all manual work and the cost is high.

Ink is a real thing, there is no substitute, but the inkstone is different. If your family is poor, you can just find a piece of stone and grind it, and you can use it.

Li Qing took over the conversation and urged, "Okay, take Brother Zhang to your shop to choose some inkstones. We have to travel later."

After looking at Hui ink and She inkstone, it’s finally his family’s turn for Xuan paper.

The production of Xuan paper is also very troublesome, and he also wants to take Brother Zhang to see the complete production process.

Zhu Yan smiled and said, "Brother Li, don't worry, let's go now."

Observing the production process of She Inkstone is itself a cultural inheritance.

Only by understanding the culture can we better introduce it to others.

Jiang Yin naturally knew the reason behind this, so she looked carefully and seriously at whatever they showed her.

When they went to the Zhu family's shop, Zhu Yan gave her four inkstones, one of which was for tribute, and Jiang Yin could use the remaining three on her own.

Jiang Yin himself bought a square inkstone, intending to take it back for his own use and as a gift to others.

After leaving the shop, they chose a restaurant to have lunch and then set off for Jing County.

Li Qing's Xuan paper workshop is in Jing County. It takes about two and a half hours by horse carriage to get to Huizhou.

They had to reach Jing County before dark, stay there for one night, and then go to the Xuan Paper Workshop tomorrow.

After visiting the Xuan Paper Workshop tomorrow, Jiang Yin plans to go directly back to Huizhou.

The two places are not far apart, and she can get back before dark.

Of course, this was just her plan. If there were other changes, she would continue to stay in Jing County.

This time when they went to Jing County, Zhu Yan had his own things to do and did not go with them.

During the break, Jiang Yin suddenly remembered that she had not yet given the promised seasoning to Su Shan and Li Qing.

So, he asked Xiao Luo to give each of them a portion of the prepared things.

The two people who got the seasoning were extremely happy and ordered to roast the chicken again on the spot.

Jiang Yin quickly stopped them, "No, there's only so much seasoning. You two can keep it for yourselves. I can go back and eat if I want."