砚 is a kind of stationery that studies ink and pencil, also known as Yantai and Yantai. In the past, there have been stone stones, pottery stones, jade stones, porcelain stones, copper stones, iron stones, wood stones, lacquer stones, bricks, tiles and so on. Since the Sui and Tang dynasties, the use of stone stones has been the most common, and it is decorated with carvings, combining practicality and art, and becoming a valuable arts and crafts.
The origin of Yan dates back to the Neolithic Age. In 1980, when excavating ancient cultural sites in Jiangzhai Village, Lintong, Shaanxi Province, in a tomb more than 5,000 years old, a stone stone was found, the stone lid was lifted, and there was a stone grinding pestle inside, and there were several pieces of black dye and a gray ceramic water cup next to the stone. In 1955, 8 stone stones were excavated from the Han Tomb of Overseas Chinese Xincun in Guangzhou, and the stone stones excavated from the Shahu Bridge in Changsha, Hunan and the Han Tomb of Fenghuangshan in Jiangling, Hubei in 1973 show that Yan as a tool for grinding (ink) was already present during the Qin and Han Dynasties. According to the Han Dynasty Liu Xi's "Interpretation of the Book of Interpretation", "Yan, Yanye, Yanmo and Shuye;" Xu Shen's "Explanation of Words" records: "Yan, talc also," is synonymous with grinding. Later, Yan gradually lost the original meaning of "stone slippery and not astringent", and took the extended meaning of "ink researcher Yue Yan" as the original meaning. In the Han Dynasty, the Yan was mostly round three-legged bricks, and the cover was carved with birds and animals; the Northern Dynasty was popular in the square four-legged Brick style; since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the turtle style, the clogs style, and the ji style were popular, and at the same time, the fine bricks and famous tiles left over from the Qin and Han dynasties were processed and carved into bricks and tiles, which have continued to this day.
Throughout the ages, there have been many famous masters and craftsmen who carved stone stones. For example, the Qing Dynasty's court engraver Jin Dian Yang, Gu Delin and Gu Shengzhi's father and son, who are known for their antiques, and Gu Erniang, who is delicate and elegant in style and mostly 2 to 5 inches of small pieces, the engraving works are integrated with poetry, books, paintings, seal carvings and other arts, with a quaint and simple style of Gao Fenghan.
Qing Dynasty Duan Yan
Duan Yan, She Yan, Tao Yan and Cheng Ni Yan have been known as the four famous stones in the past. In addition, Songhua Yan in Jilin, Red Silk Yan in Shandong (Qingzhou), Yi Yan in Hebei, Pangu Yan in Henan and Helan Yan in Qinghai and Ningxia all have their own different stone quality, carving styles and artistic characteristics.
(1) Duanyan: The stone is produced in the duanxi water area of axe mountain in the eastern suburbs of Zhaoqing City (ancient duanzhou) in Guangdong Province, so it is called Duanyan, or Duanxiyan. The stone is blue-purple, so it is also called purple stone. In terms of its stone quality, it ranks first among the four famous stones. According to the Qing Dynasty Ji Nan's "Shi Yin Yan Talk", "Dongpo Yun, Duanxi Stone began in the world of Tang Wude. "The duan yan of the early Tang Dynasty is generally practical, and the stone is mostly untriated. After the Middle and Tang Dynasties, it gradually evolved from pure office supplies to arts and crafts that combined practicality and appreciation, with an increasing number of brick shapes and stone styles, and decorated with carvings. Since the Tang Dynasty, the pits of the opposite stones, the selection of the famous pit stones, the shape of the stones, the types of the stones, the themes, and the carving techniques have continued to develop.
The end stone is delicate, tender, moist, pure, dense and solid. There are beautiful stone patterns in the stone, among which fish brain jelly, banana leaf white, blue flower, fire, azure, jade, gold thread, silver wire, ice pattern, ice pattern jelly, as well as all kinds of rare and rare stone eyes (partridge eyes, parrot eyes, coral eyes, chicken eyes, cat eyes, ivory eyes, mung bean eyes, etc.), all have high appreciation value and economic value.
(2) Sheyan: Produced in Shezhou, Anhui Province. Because its stone is produced in Longwei Mountain, Wuyuan County, Jiangxi Province, it is also known as Longwei Yan. The stone is tough, crystalline, fine and densely textured; the stone color is black, pale black, pale blue, light blue, green, light blue green, yellow brown and so on. The main stone products are Venus, Golden Halo, Silver Star, Silver Halo, Rib, Eyebrow, Brocade, Jade Belt, Jujube Heart, Bean Spot and so on. It has the characteristics of good inking, fast inking, no rejection of the pen, no damage, and easy washing.
Anhui Sheyan
(3) Tao Yan: also known as Tao Shi Yan, Tao He Yan. It is produced in the junction of Gutao and Min'er prefectures in Gansu Province. Tao Yan began in the Middle Tang Dynasty, and also began in the Northern Song Dynasty. Fine and firm, turquoise as jade, grinding but not sharp, known as storing ink and storing water, not consuming unchanged reputation, which is the main feature of taoshi. Most of the carvings are deep knives, and the stone cover is a stone cover, which is dexterous and tight, and the cover can be carved arbitrarily.
(4) ChengniYan: Originally made in the Tang Dynasty. After the Song Dynasty, the production area was quite extensive. However, it was best fired in Shanxi Prefecture (present-day Xincheng County), followed by Zezhou (present-day Jincheng), Shandong Tuogou, and Nantong, Jiangsu. Because it is a pottery stone, with clay as the raw material, it can shape a variety of different brick shapes, and can also be carved and fired into various colors. The categories include eel yellow, mung bean paste, crab shell blue, rose purple, shrimp head red, fish belly white and so on. However, there are still stones that replace mud with stones. People are used to calling it raw mud.