Inkpad making techniques (Shanghai Lu'an inkpad)

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: inkpad making techniques (Shanghai Lu'an inkpad)

Applicant: Jing'an District, Shanghai

Item No.: 917

Project No.: VIII - 134

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: traditional art

Region: Shanghai

Type: new item

Applicant: Jing'an District, Shanghai

Protected by: cultural relics and historical materials Museum of Jing'an District, Shanghai

Brief introduction of printing clay making technology (Shanghai Lu'an printing clay)

Applicant: Jing'an District, Shanghai

Inkpad is a kind of coating used for seal. Because the main raw material cinnabar is bright red, it is also called "Danni" and "Yinzhu" in ancient times. Inkpad originated from the seal clay of the spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period. At that time, there was no paper, and people used bamboo slips (bamboo board for writing) as writing materials. When delivering official documents, the letters are covered with blank bamboo slips, tied with ropes, and then covered with mud, and then sealed on the mud as a sign of sealing. This mud is also called "seal mud". After the invention of paper, bamboo slips and seal mud were discarded. However, people still imitate the method of sealing mud, stamping seals on announcements, letters, etc., and using printing mud as paint.

Inkpad is mainly made of cinnabar. First, the wormwood leaves are pounded like cotton wool, and then repeatedly stirred with castor oil and cinnabar. The inkpad made in this way has a bright color and will not fade for a long time. In the Southern Dynasty Liang Dynasty (502-557), there are some records about inkpad in Wen Xin Diao Long. In the Tang and Song Dynasties, with the prosperity of calligraphy and painting art, the printing clay production technology continued to progress. To the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the traditional art of painting and calligraphy was widely developed in various places, and the production of inkpad was also greatly improved, and the related production techniques have been passed down to this day.

Lu'an inkpad was created by Zhang Lu'an, a famous Shanghai inkpad artist at the beginning of the 20th century. Its production technology is unique, and it is unique in Shanghai and even the whole Jiangnan region.

Zhang Lu'an was a master of printing clay in Shanghai at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China. He was also one of the most abundant collectors of seal cutting materials in China at that time. He collected more than 400 kinds of seals, such as shizhongshanfang Yinju. The creation of Lu'an inkpad is closely related to the development of Shanghai calligraphy and painting. Famous calligraphers and painters such as Wu Hufan, he Tianjian, Gao Zhenxiao and Wang Fuchang all use this kind of inkpad. With this inkpad, even if the continuous seal ten, the seal is not out of shape. Therefore, Lu'an inkpad was favored by famous calligraphers and painters in Jiangnan and Shanghai at that time.

The production of Lu'an inkpad needs a natural oxidation process, which mainly includes three processes: ink grinding, rubbing and oil making. Lu'an inkpad has a specific formula and production techniques. The finished product is thin and clean, delicate and high viscosity, not rotten in hot weather, not hard in cold weather, never fade, and not ooze oil and color on the paper. The color is bright and calm, showing a thick feeling of accumulation.

At present, there are only two inheritors of Lu'an inkpad, both of whom are old, so it is difficult to continue to engage in inkpad production. Due to the high production cost and limited market demand, the development prospect is not optimistic. Inkpad is an indispensable article in Chinese calligraphy and painting art creation, and it is one of the material carriers of traditional culture. It is of great significance to protect the production skills of inkpad for promoting traditional culture. In the state of no successor, Shanghai Lu'an inkpad making skills urgently need to be protected and inherited, and the relevant parties should regard it as an important task to complete.