Why was it also called inkstone in ancient times?

There is a depression because there is ink in it. Therefore, inkstone is also called inkstone, inkstone field, Mo Chi, Mohai and ink tray.

In the "pen, ink, paper and inkstone", inkstone ranks last, but it is called "the first in Four Treasures of the Study". Because of its solid texture, it can be handed down from generation to generation, and it combines calligraphy, poetry, painting and sculpture, so it is loved by literati. As a grinding tool, inkstone, together with pen, ink and paper, has played an important role in spreading and recording China culture.

After Qin and Han Dynasties, Wei and Jin Dynasties and Tang Dynasty, stones suitable for making inkstones were found everywhere, and inkstones were mainly made. Among them, Guangdong Duanzhou inkstone, Anhui Zhoujuan inkstone and Gansu Lintao Taohe inkstone are called Duanzhou inkstone, Juanyan inkstone and Taohe inkstone respectively. History books call Duan, Juan and Lintao three famous inkstones.

In the late Qing Dynasty, Shaanxi inkstone was listed as one of the four famous inkstones in China along with Duan, She and Lintao. It is also advocated that Luyan Xugong inkstone carved from natural inkstone should be used to replace Cheng Ni inkstone, which is collectively called the four famous inkstones.

Extended data

Inkstone was widely used in the Han dynasty, and the number passed down from generation to generation was also large. 1973, a complete set of stationery, such as pens, inks and inkstones, was unearthed in a tomb in the 11th year of Emperor Han in Fenghuang Mountain, Jiangling, Hubei Province (BC 169). Many tombs in China have unearthed inkstones, indicating that ink at that time needed to be grinded with grindstones, which proved that inkstones were originally a grinder, and this property remained until the Han Dynasty.

According to the unearthed data, there are both ceramic and stone inkstones in the Han Dynasty, which are mostly round and three-legged, with carved, animal-footed, simple and turtle-shaped inkstones on their feet. In the Han dynasty, ink blocks were ground into toner with inkstones and dipped in water to write.

Han people sit on the floor, so there are more three-legged inkstones. After the Han dynasty, with the development of ink-making technology, ink can be ground directly on the inkstone, so grindstones are no longer used.

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