Читать книгу Sumi-e - Shozo Sato - Страница 11

CHAPTER 2

Four Treasures in the Studio

China, from its earliest days, has revered its four treasures: the brush, sumi ink, the grinding stone and paper. However, since the Ming Dynasty, additions have been made to these four treasures. Other necessary equipment for calligraphers and painters includes items like a stand on which to hang brushes; some sort of “rest” for the ink stick; a suiteki which is a special small water container; a small spoon for adding water to grinding stones; paper weights; and a seal and stamp pad.

These objects can range from simple utilitarian pieces to highly decorated pieces which themselves become art. In more recent times these craft pieces have become items of interest for antique collectors. In their travels to China for study, Buddhist monks brought the four treasures of equipment back to Japan. Especially during the Edo Period in Japan when the arts and crafts flourished, artists and calligraphers reverently collected these Chinese objects. In juxtaposition, the Zen philosophical influence on writers and painters was that the studio reflect minimalism and simplicity instead of highly decorated antique objects. A Zen-oriented artist endeavors to develop a refined spiritual element in his work which an over-decorated studio will not inspire.

BRUSHES: TYPES, EFFECTS AND CARE

A saying in Japan over the centuries has been “Kobo does not choose a type of brush.” This maxim is used to teach young students of art that it is not the expensive tool that matters, but having a true desire for study. Kobo Daishi (774–835 A.D.), also known as Kukai, was a famous Buddhist priest who traveled to China and studied Chinese Buddhism. However, maxims aside, historical documents reveal that Kobo himself, while tutoring the emperor in calligraphy, remarked that the choice of brush was very important depending upon whether one is writing in formal, semi-formal, or informal “grass” style. Besides his accomplishments as a priest, including establishing the Shingon Namikkyo Sect of Buddhism, Kukai was very versatile in talent and is still considered one of the three all-time best calligraphers of Japan. Later the emperor bestowed the title of Daishi (“great master”) on him. Throughout the ages he has been considered one of the “saints” of calligraphy. Another Japanese proverb that references him is “even Kobo Daishi makes mistakes with a brush,” indicating that no perfect human being exists.

The student of sumi-e must recognize the various types of brushes and how they are constructed. If you purchase those mass-produced inexpensive brushes, you will become disenchanted because the brush will not perform as expected. A disillusioned person will eventually give up on training. For this reason, even a beginner should start with a quality (and more expensive) brush as an investment. Such a brush will last for several decades. After the basics of brush usage and techniques have been mastered, a creative artist can produce work without the use of a brush but instead with fingertips, a long beard, a sponge or even rolled-up or crushed paper. All of these can function to create a painting or work in calligraphy. But the brush is where to begin.

Types of Brush Hair

Brushes for calligraphy and sumi-e are constructed from the hairs and whiskers of weasels, squirrels, martens/sable, raccoons, wild boars, horses, sheep, cats and humans. The specific use for the brush will determine the kinds of hair and/or whiskers used and the location of these various hairs within the bristle. The knowledge required for the blending of the hairs in specific brushes takes years of apprenticeship, training and creativity on the part of the brush maker. To know whether to take the hair from the tail, body or whiskers and how to create a skillful combination is the work of a master craftsman. Some artists have been known to have had very personal brushes crafted from human hair, with hairs lovingly gathered from the artist’s child for example. Today it is becoming increasingly difficult for brush makers to obtain hairs and whiskers from wild animals, so a wide variety of domestic animals’ hair, such as horse, is used. In addition to the horse’s mane and tail, all its other hairs from soft to coarse are used and 90% of most brushes today are made of horse hair.

A front view (right) and cross-section view (left) of a sumi-e brush. The cross-section view shows where the hairs have been glued, bound and wrapped tightly with string before being anchored in the brush’s stem.

Once when I was in Beijing, I was shopping for a large mountain horse hair brush. The brush shown at right came in a large beautiful box covered with cloth brocade. Written on the cover of the box was “this is a sacred mountain horse hair brush.” Once I had my new purchase back home in my studio, I set to work with great expectations. The bristles were heavily glued and it took considerable effort to loosen them (a process you will learn on the next pages). Finally when about a third of the brush was relaxed, I dipped it in sumi ink and tested it. Strangely, after the ink dried, there was a red outline around the black ink. Somewhat mystified, I again worked to loosen the bristles and washed out more glue. The water became red and even more peculiarly, the red intensified as I continued to wash the bristles with frequent changes of water. When the brush was dried again, I discovered that horse hair was only on the very outer skirt and that the inside of the brush was made up of plant fibers. Moreover the center fibers were cut, as you can see in the photo on page 25.

This is a typical example of the brush commonly known as a mountain horse hair brush. It is composed of hairs from the tail and mane of a horse, combined with wild boar hairs.

This brush is in the mid-range for resiliency (or “spring”) in the bristles. The bristles of this example are made of weasel hair, but squirrel and sable hair are also used for this type of brush.

This brush is made from soft sheep or rabbit hair. Depending upon how the brush will be used, even a sheep hair brush may include the coarse white hair of a horse in the center.

This brush is used for calligraphy or painting. Weasel hair is used for the bristles, but the very center contains whiskers of small mammals. When you paint bamboo leaves, for example, the whiskers help to bring the bristles back to a point to make the leaf tip.

Brushes are sold with the bristles starched together. This is the same brush shown in the photo at left, now viewed after the bristles have been loosened.

This brush is similar to a mountain horse hair brush, but its bristles are of raccoon hair.

The same raccoon-hair brush seen at above right, after the bristles have been loosened.

This brush is not a mountain horse hair brush after all: horse hair is used only on the very outer skirt, and the inside of the brush is made up of plant fibers. The metal comb shown here is made especially for the care of brushes.

It is difficult to assess the quality of brushes that are constructed of an assortment of hairs and that also vary in thickness simply by looking at the finished product. Quality brushes usually use natural hair with natural point. Some manufacturers will use a technique that abrades the cut hair to a point like natural hairs. Some manufacturers may just use longer hairs cut short in a blunt cut in the center. If the cut hair is not properly abraded to a point like a natural strand is, the brush will not come to a point when used.

During my study trip to China, I stopped at a brush specialist’s shop. I picked out a few brushes and then the shopkeeper brought out another brush, suggesting that it was an inexpensive but good quality brush. I told him that if it was indeed a good brush and inexpensive, then it would be ideal for my classes so I would likely plan to buy a quantity of them. I then added that I would pay for the one brush, but first wished to open it up to see the hairs inside. The shopkeeper whisked the brush away, and gave me another brush which was several times more expensive. The first brush must have been mass-produced with cut hairs in the center which he did not wish to expose.

In a quality brush specialist’s shop, within each category of brushes on display, one brush is already loosened so you can see the composition and hair combination of the bristles. Shopkeepers may also suggest that you test the brush you’re considering; this may be done by using water, which turns black on a chemically treated gray paper. This will help you determine which brush you should purchase. Quality brushes are expensive, often exceeding more than several hundred dollars, but the investment is well worth it and provides use and enjoyment for many years to come.

For a practitioner of sumi-e, having a few quality brushes should be sufficient. Among them should be a large and a small choryu brush; a large and a small mountain horse hair brush; a wide flat brush, called a hake; and/or a renpitsu brush (these consist of small brushes lined up and joined together to make a wide flat brush). Artists have a tendency, when traveling, to automatically stop into art supply stores and often they end up buying brushes as souvenirs. These brushes, when used, can give unexpected pleasure, but they may also end up simply overfilling your drawers.

Brushes are given various names by the companies that produce them or the specialty shops that sell them. There are some brushes that carry the same name consistently regardless of the company which produces or sells them, whether in China or Japan. Choryu, the long “flowing” brush, is one example. This brush is made for sumi-e artists. If you possess only one brush, this is the brush to have whether you are a beginner or a professional sumi-e artist. The outer skirt of the choryu brush is sheep hair, wrapped around coarser hairs inside. By opening up the brush, you can see that the inside hairs of the bristle are composed of very coarse hair, like whiskers, along with other types hairs ranging from medium hard to medium soft, carefully placed to give greater flexibility so that the brush can also be used for painting bamboo or pampas grass leaves. Each time you complete the painting of a leaf, the tip of the bristle returns to a straight point.

White sheep hairs form the outer layer of the choryu brush.

The choryu brush with its bristles tied open to reveal the several types of hairs that compose its center.

The flexibility and resilience of the choryu brush is important. Brushes constructed solely of sheep hairs will not spring back so are difficult to use sideways, but when the choryu brush is used sideways, the bristles will not spread and will be easier to manipulate. By holding the brush at the perpendicular, either very thin or very wide lines can be drawn. Choryu means “long flowing stream,” and perhaps the name was chosen because once ink is applied, long lines can be painted with this brush.

The mountain horse hair brush is made of very coarse hairs. Originally these hairs came from a type of Asian deer, but today the mountain horse hair brush is composed of horse hair combined with bear or other coarse bristles. It is used mainly for the dry brush techniques (see page 57); its coarse bristles give lines unique qualities, and allow you to create multiple line types with one continous stroke of the brush.

Menso brushes come in a variety of sizes to meet special needs. A small menso brush is ideal for painting human hair, strand by strand, or eyebrows one hair by one. The slimmest of these brushes is composed of only five or six whiskers. The eyebrows of the Noh masks used in Japanese drama and also those of Japanese dolls are painted on with this type of brush. Because these brushes are extremely slim, the slender “head” is first inserted into a small bamboo tube, stabilized and then set in the second handle. It looks, in fact, like a brush with a double handle.

BRUSH TYPES

Brush #1 is for formal to semi-formal calligraphy; however, in hair composition, it is primarily coarse, so I often use it as a large mountain horse hair brush, because the bristles are resilient and springy, useful for painting large forms such as rocks and mountains.

Brush #2 has bristles of bamboo fibers which are the extension of the bamboo handle. These brushes continue to be made with the same method used since ancient times; one end of the bamboo stalk is softened by soaking, then pounded with a small wooden mallet to separate it into fibers. This brush is used for certain effects in calligraphy. I also use it as another mountain horse hair brush.

Brushes #3 & #4 are mountain horse hair brushes with hairs taken from the mane and tail. The coarseness of the hair allows the creation of unique qualities in lines. In addition, when it is used sideways, multiple textures can be created which makes it an effective brush in creating the rough surface of rocks, etc.

Brush #5 has bristles made from coarse raccoon hair, so it has some resilience and flexibility. I use this brush for calligraphy and landscape painting.

Brushes #6 & #7 have bristles made from soft sheep hair. These brushes are good for adding a color wash or for painting flower petals.

Brushes #8 & #9 are large and small choryu brushes: These brushes are made for sumi-e.

Brush #10 has bristles made of weasel hairs and is used for calligraphy and sumi-e.

Brushes #11 & #12 are used in sumi-e for making outlines, and for adding signatures or other formal-style writing at small sizes.

Brushes #13 & #14 are menso brushes; their bristles are made from small mammal whiskers and are used to create extremely fine lines.

Brush #15 is called ita hake (ita = board; hake = flat brush) in Japan. These large or small brushes are used for wetting the paper with water or to smooth the paper out. They are also often used to produce a gradation in ink tone.

Brush #16 is called a renpitsu and is used in ways similar to Brush #15. Renpitsu brushes can be found in many variations, with differences in the number of brushes connected for width. Holes are drilled through the handles and the brushes are held together with a thin piece of bamboo. You can divide a wide renpitsu brush to the desired width by cutting the skewer that holds the brushes together. The major difference between the hake (#15) and the renpitsu is that the renpitsu has more density in the amount of hair, and therefore it can hold more ink. For instance, with one application of ink, you can make a series of sections in a bamboo stalk without running out of ink. See techniques on page 126.

Brush #17 is made for stenciling and painting designs on kimono fabrics. However, it is very effective in making gradations from dark to light. There are times when a brush which is not made specifically for calligraphy or painting can be used creatively to produce unique effects. I may add different tones of ink to the bristles of this brush to create leaves on distant trees, or when I need to create graduated tones of ink.

These brushes are made to use in “formal” style calligraphy and as an outline brush for suiboku-ga. White sheep hair forms the outer skirt and the center is composed of whiskers and other hairs which are flexible, yet strong. (Actual brush head size, larger brush: L = 3cm/1.25“, D = 7mm/0.25“. Smaller brush: L = 2.7cm/1.0625”, D = 7mm/0.25”)

Menso brushes come in a variety of sizes. The menso has many uses and so is a convenient brush to have. (Actual brush head size, larger brush: L = 2.5cm/1”, D = 4mm/0.125”. Smaller brush: L = 6cm/2.375”, D = 1mm/0.03”)

Brushes in art supply stores are usually covered with a clear plastic tube which serves expressly to protect the tip when the brush is being handled during its journey from the manufacturer to wholesalers to retailers. Once the hairs of the brush have been loosened, the bristle will not go back into the cap and you have no further use for it. When the bristles are wet and form a point, if you put the cap back on, moisture cannot escape and often fungus will start to grow; eventually the hair will begin to fall out.

How to Loosen the Brush’s Bristles

When you purchase a new brush its bristles are starched to hold them together. But for use in sumi-e, the bristles must be loosened.

It is extremely important that the brush is not dipped in water to loosen the bristles. If you dip the brush in water to loosen it, the starch will be revitalized and the brush will become “gooey.” The moisture will be drawn into the center of the brush and it will take a long time to get it out.

The proper process for loosening a brush’s bristles is shown on the facing page.

How to Care for the Brush

Artists who have worked in oil, acrylic paints or watercolors are accustomed to using brushes with bristles compressed in metal. Often these brushes are left in water or cleaning fluids for a long period of time. It is highly important for a person who is instead using brushes of the Far East to understand how they are produced and the care they require. Animal glue, which is used to stabilize the bristles in the handle, is very much like gelatin and will eventually dissolve in water. If a brush for sumi-e is left in water over a period of time, the bristles will fall out.

Each time you use a brush, moisten it first with cold water to bring life back to each hair.

The care of a brush after you have finished using it is very important also. Carefully wash out all of the ink. You may use a gentle soap to assist in this process. (Special soaps have been created expressly for brushes.) Never use warm to hot water; that will dissolve the brush’s animal glue and eventually the bristles will fall out.

Special care must be given to washing the base of the bristles. Otherwise, after years of use, the accumulated ink dries around the individual hairs at the base and the brush will not form a point again. The best policy is to never let ink collect at the base of the bristles. Press, squeeze and gently twist several times, then extract the moisture with a paper towel by pressing very firmly at the base of the brush. If traces of ink come out on the paper towel, wash the brush again.

The correct drying process is to place the wet brush on a cloth and gently squeeze; then move the brush to another part of the cloth and brush down to comb the bristles into a point. Do not pull the bristles away from the handle. If as you are pressing down you were to continue pulling the brush through the cloth, your incorrect drying process would eventually make the hair fall out of the brush.

There is a special comb available that helps to remove the accumulated ink at a brush’s base as you wash it. Big brushes are especially vulnerable to ink buildup, and the individual hairs can also become entangled during the process of washing, making the brush bulge out. Use the comb during washing and again after the brush is dry.

A sheep hair brush.

The same brush after the bristles have been loosened. Depending on how the brush will be used, even a sheep hair brush may have the coarse white hair of a horse in the center.

HOW TO LOOSEN THE BRUSH’S BRISTLES

1. Hold the brush in your hand; the tip of the bristles should be between your thumb and index finger. Press the tip gently between them, then release. Rotate the brush.

2. Repeat the press-and-release of your fingertips as you continue to rotate the brush. Move down, gradually loosening each section of the brush head.

3. It takes several minutes to completely free the hairs. Here, about half of the bristles have been loosened. Be patient. I recall an incident where a student did not heed directions and tried to loosen the whole head by forcefully bending the bristles, and the unit came out of the handle.

4. Finally the entire brush has been loosened. Next, dip the brush in water and swish it around to wash out the starch. The water will turn milky. Repeat, changing the water several times. Each time you take the brush out of the water, remove as much water as you can by pressing the bristles on a cloth or paper towel. Your new brush is now ready to use.

Brush Hangers

Many different types of brush hangers are available in art supply shops. Depending upon their style, they hold various sizes and lengths of brushes. They are an ideal way to store brushes because moisture on the bristles will drip down and evaporate.

The example below is a standard brush hanger. These have either hooks or pegs on both sides for hanging brushes. Some brushes have a string loop already attached to the end of the handle; if the brush does not come with a string loop for hanging, you can easily put one on yourself.

A. This large brush is composed of coarse white horse hairs, and its springy and flexible traits make it well suited for writing large calligraphy.

B. This brush has a bamboo handle with joints, and its head is composed of bird feathers, preferred by some contemporary calligraphers.

C. The white hairs of this brush have a springy effect that can be used for many different purposes.

D. The long sheep hairs make this brush good for semi-formal to informal calligraphy.

E. This brush is composed of long horse hairs.

F. This red lacquer brush of sheep hair has whiskers in the center; therefore, it is used for large ideograms but also works well for semi-formal calligraphy.

G. This brush has a long handle and the thick short white hair of sheep. It is convenient for painting flower petals, for example.

H. The versatile choryu brush.

I. A mountain horse hair brush, for which there are many uses.

J. The three beautiful brushes on the far right were purchased during a visit to China. The red cloisonné probably has weasel type hair. The one with the green stone handle is most likely raccoon hair. (That the green is jade is just wishful thinking!)

PAPER: THE FOUNDATION

Sometime around 2,000 years ago, archaelogical evidence has shown, hemp and linen fibers from old rags and the plants themselves were used to make paper in China. Before that time silk had been used as the writing surface; silk served the purpose well because in its original state, it is very stiff due to the glue-like substance the worm puts on the threads. Thin slats of bamboo strung together were also used to write upon. Before the time of paper and silk, archaeological findings show that clay tablets were used for writing and keeping documents. A wet cloth was placed upon the tablet to keep the clay moistened until the writing was completed. The tablet was then dried and fired. The earliest writing was words chiseled on stone or bone. Of course, far from China, in ancient Egypt, it is well known that Egyptians developed papyrus more than 5,000 years ago.

The hemp fiber paper produced in ancient China was exported on the Silk Road to the Middle East. Around the Persian Gulf, hemp and fibers from mulberry trees were made into paper. The first known paper factory was established in Baghdad in 793 A.D. Until then, Europeans had been dependent upon parchment which was made from animal skins. Papermaking was introduced and transported to Europe from the Middle East.

By this time, the papermaking process had been brought by Buddhist monks to Korea and Japan. By 780 A.D. the Japanese had perfected the system of papermaking and it is recorded that they produced 233 types of paper. Japanese paper is still handmade today using the traditional methods. A major difference between western papers and Japanese papers is in the length of the fibers. Western paper is generally made from plant fibers which have been crushed and ground into pulp. In Japanese paper, the natural strength of the fibers is honored and the fibers are blended and interwoven like felt. It is for this reason that even thin handmade paper maintains some durability when given moisture.

Japanese papers are mainly produced from kozo (a type of mulberry); mitsumata (Daphne genus); and gampi (another species of the Daphne genus). Gampi is said to be insect resistant. It also the most durable in terms of the time it will last, so it is one of the most popular types. Ink will not spread out on these smooth white papers, so they are considered the best papers for calligraphy and painting.

Among the many varieties of paper made in China, a very popular one for calligraphy and painting is made from fibers of rice straw. It is an absorbent type of paper, and the various wet to dry effects of the brush can be obtained easily. Toshi is another Chinese paper that has been produced since the Han Dynasty; it consists of bamboo fibers. Papers made from bamboo fibers are termed Shuan papers. Other papers commonly found in most Chinese art supply shops in the U.S. are Taiwan cotton and Taiwan linen. These papers are very durable when wet, as is Chinese pi paper (pi means “skin” or “leather”). Giao li is an inexpensive sized paper that is good for calligraphy or sumi-e. Jen ho paper is relatively thick and absorbent.

The Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting is the sourcebook of sumi-e. It was first published in China in 1679, and it is still studied by learners today. This illustration is captioned: “To contrast movable water with immovable rock in painting a stream or waterfall in sumi-e, place emphasis on the darkness and harshness of rocks rather than on the surface and direction of water. Overemphasis will kill the spirit of the water.”

Among the specialized papers made for sumi-e, some have finely processed clay added into them to enhance the light ink tones. (Contemporary magazines which carry fine photographs in color, such as fashion magazines, also use paper which has clay in it.)

Handmade papers are expensive. But in Japan, Korea and China, the same materials are also treated in a similar process but via machine rather than by hand, so good manufactured papers are also an option. My suggestion is that you check the Internet, focusing on Asian papers, to begin to understand the range of papers available. In choosing paper, your main concern should be what goals you have in mind for your art. Then decide whether absorbent or sized paper will best serve your purposes.

Paper is absorbent (think of paper towels), and a drop of water will instantly be soaked up. Sized paper, in contrast, is treated to be more resistant and water does not permeate it as easily, which makes it similar to watercolor paper. (It is possible to create sized paper from absorbent paper by painting it with liquid “dosa” as a sizing agent. See “How to Size Paper,” page 189.) The major difference between the two is that sized sumi-e paper is much thinner than watercolor paper.

This thinness of paper is important to consider together with the manner in which you plan to display your sumi-e work. Most contemporary sumi-e artists will frame their work in a western-style picture frame, in which case the thickness of the paper really does not matter. But if the work is to be displayed in the traditional manner, that is, as a hanging scroll, it will be rolled rather tightly for storage, and therefore should be done on thin paper. If a painting on thick paper is mounted as a scroll, when it is unrolled, cracks may appear across the painting especially during the dry seasons.

If there are art supply stores which carry Chinese or Japanese papers within your traveling distance, when visiting them you can determine which papers are sized and unsized by simply adding a small amount of moisture to the corner of a sample of the paper. The result can be seen instantly: If the moisture leaves a gray mark, it is absorbent unsized paper. If the moisture does not leave a mark, it is sized paper.

My personal preference is to use the sized torinoko paper which is used for making fusuma (sliding doors) in Japan, because it comes in large sizes. It is thick and is very suitable for framing in Western fashion. This paper is available as both handmade and machine-made, from Japanese art supply stores; Chinese art supply stores do not carry it. Torinoko or “child of bird” (tori = bird, no = of, ko = child) can be translated as an egg, which has a smooth and durable surface, and is slightly cream colored, an apt description for this paper. Torinoko is made from gampi fibers, thus it is strong and the smooth surface makes it easier to paint on. It is considered to be the “king of handmade paper.”

Papers which work well for calligraphy and painting, both handmade and machine-made, are numerous, so it is impossible to comprehensively list company and brand names here. Once you have determined the type of work you wish to produce, you should select the type of paper that is appropriate to use: absorbent or non–absorbent (sized) paper; thin but strong paper; thick heavy paper, and so on. All varieties are available. Today, most art supplies stores carry various sizes of tablets with paper especially made for sumi-e. For practice purposes, inexpensive thin paper is sufficient. For good results I recommend thicker sumi-e paper and quality sumi ink.

Characteristic of the plant fibers from which they are made, papers for sumi-e and calligraphy will expand when given moisture, and will shrink when dry. This uneven shrinkage causes an unwanted wavy and bumpy surface on your painting. Most professional frame shops do not have the knowledge and expertise to stretch the paper smooth again, but you can learn to do it yourself; the techniques to stretch and dry these wrinkled papers to smoothness again are taught in Chapter 7.

BLACK INK: VARIATIONS IN TONE

In ancient times China developed a method of making permanent ink out of soot. Sumi is an achromatic ink which neither reflects nor transmits light. It is so permanent that if you get it on your clothes by accident and do not notice it immediately, it is almost impossible to wash it out.

Consider how, after many washings, an item of black clothing’s color fades. The faded black will now have either a brown tone or a bluish tone. Sumi ink shows the same characteristic: when the ink is thinned it will have a brownish or a bluish tone. The highest quality sumi ink will have a pure gray tone.

The carbon for sumi ink comes from three sources. Rape-seed oil, when burned, produces soot that is so fine that it has in-depth blackness. Pine sap, when burned, produces soot which has a quality of transparency, and the tone of ink when thinned ranges from light black to bluish gray. Industrial oils are used to produce inexpensive sumi that has a brown tone.

Companies that produce sumi have used the same process for many centuries. Many small chambers are built, each holding small receptacles for the oil or sap, each of which contains a wick. These are lit and smoke eventually deposits soot on the walls of the chambers. When a certain thickness accumulates, it is collected. The soot is then mixed with nikawa (animal skin glue) and kneaded until it reaches the consistency of bread dough and is shiny black like coal. Small pieces of this material are then pressed into molds of various forms and sizes, depending upon a company’s specifications. The sticks of sumi are then carefully removed from the molds and placed in ashes to dry slowly and naturally so that they will not crack or split. After the sumi sticks are completely dried, they are removed from the ashes and polished according to company standards. Then they may be gilded or decorated, and labeled. Along with the company’s name, each ink stick’s container will note the ink’s tone, such as blue.

The ink may also be left to mature for years after it is made into a stick; it is believed that sumi ink improves with age. Consequently, old Chinese sumi ink sticks are quite expensive. Ink sticks which are very old, perhaps even several hundred years old, may begin to crumble as the adhesive becomes very old. The ink stick is simply pulverized again and reformed with fresh glue.