Chinese Ink Drawing
The birth of writing was one of the great milestones of civilization, as it meant the possibility of preserving the language of the peoples over time in a physical medium that would make it permanent, unlike orality, which lasted only one thousandth seconds and was gone forever. But, although records of stone writing and engraved with the tools of the moment have been found, the creation of the ink It offered the advantage of making writing a faster communication mechanism in its elaboration.
The ink was created in ancient China, approximately in the fourth century BC. The Chinese already knew black ink, with which they wrote with pens, and it was composed of carbon black and rubber. Little by little, this chin inka was evolving and began to be used for Chinese and Japanese calligraphy.
It arrived in Japan in the XNUMXth century AD, and was used in the sumi-e drawing technique by Zen Buddhist monks during the Muromachi period, although this technique had already been developed during the Tang and Song dynasties in Middle Ages China. .
Chinese ink has various colorants obtained from metal bars that are rubbed on rough stones. Inside these stones (generally concave), water is poured, which will begin to pigment with the characteristic black of this ink, after the bars are rubbed. This process is carried out until the ink reaches the appropriate density, although it must be avoided that it dries on the stone. Fortunately, today it is possible to buy ready-made Chinese ink in any store.
Photos: Wikipedia