Chinese Ink: The Complete Guide

The Ink Stick, or Solid Sumi Ink

Unlike other inks, traditional India ink was created to be stored in solid form as a small block, which would then be liquefied only when needed.

These sticks were made with various types of soot mixed with glue and were decorated with a variety of phrases and motifs. Some were true miniature works of art, adorned with characters or figures in various colors, including red, a color of good luck in China, as well as green and gold.

Turning the small ink block into liquid ink involved rubbing the stick against a flat, hollowed stone that served as a mortar; the resulting powder was then mixed with water to create a fluid usable with a brush.

The original binder of ink sticks is animal protein glue: mixed with finely ground mineral pigments and soot, it creates a deep, opaque black.

From the 17th century onward, the presence of shellac mixed with an ammonia solution gave the ink a shiny appearance and a hard, durable consistency after drying, which allowed for scratching on certain surfaces. Thick layers of India ink can crack and flake off, especially on non-absorbent bases.

With other binders or in cases of extreme dilution, the ink can be re-dissolved in water even after drying.

Vegetable juices, added to the binder, act as a mordant on the base and make the ink indelible. Other additives, like ox gall, make the ink more or less liquid or more viscous when mixed with water, while also reducing its characteristic odor.

Binders from other regions can include vegetable juices and gum arabic.

The ingredients are mixed together in precise proportions to obtain a smooth and uniform paste. The paste is then cut, pressed into molds, and allowed to dry slowly. Poor-quality ink sticks break or crack due to inadequate mixing, imprecise soot/glue ratios, or irregular drying.

Ink sticks improve over time, becoming more stable and taking on more intense tones. Sticks stored for many years are highly prized, especially among calligraphy collectors.

Preparing the ink before executing calligraphy or a painting in this style can involve varying the amount of water added, which determines the intensity of black tones and allows for contrasts within the monochrome.

This technique is particularly used in landscape painting and Sumi-e.

In Japan, where ink sticks are called sumi, the SUMI-E painting style originated. In this style, ideograms and shaded images blend into harmonious natural compositions created by applying Zen meditation techniques and following the rules of the Four Gentlemen.

Despite what their name might suggest, the Four Gentlemen are not nobles at an emperor's court but brushstrokes associated with four specific plants: orchids represent spring, bamboo summer, chrysanthemums autumn, and plum blossoms winter.

Japanese India ink has a slightly different composition: made from pine soot mixed with vegetable oil and animal glue, it is harder and less condensed than most Chinese productions. Due to these differences, it withstands strong dilutions better and is more suitable for brushwork and elongated lines.

Liquid India Inks

Carbon black inks are also known as PBk7. To remain liquid and not thicken over time, they require different emulsifying additives and preservatives than those used in ink sticks.

Today, manufacturers often offer a liquid formula adapted to the tools used with India ink:

Fountain pens, especially those with tubular tips or nylon brush tips, are more easily damaged than brushes, and an indelible ink would make cleaning the tool much more difficult.

These tools generally use inks with an adapted formula, often packaged in cartridges, and they may not be completely indelible.

Tools that allow for more creative use, such as writing nibs, drawing nibs, or absorbent brushes, must be cleaned very frequently but can be used with permanent India inks.

Iron gall ink, a particular variant, does not have this inconvenience and dominated use in the West from the Middle Ages to the end of the 18th century.

The name comes from the ingredients used in its preparation, namely galls—typical growths that contain tannins found on tree bark—mixed with ferrous sulfate and gum arabic, used as a thickener. This ink is known for penetrating deeply into parchment, becoming practically indelible once dried in the open air.

Slightly corrosive due to the addition of sulfates, iron gall ink was almost abandoned with the use of movable type in printing and revived today for wonderful works of calligraphy.

Tools for using this type of ink must be cleaned very frequently to avoid corrosion.

India ink offers the advantage of not being corrosive, and the invention of synthetic pigments at the end of the 19th century has multiplied the options and created some confusion in the commercial names of ready-to-use inks.

Often today, black liquid inks sold under the name of India ink can have very different compositions: the pigments can be synthetic, created with aniline or naphthol black.

Some manufacturers use industrial carbon blacks, whose characteristics are better controlled than those of artisan-produced lamp black, but they are certainly less prestigious.

History of India Ink

While India ink almost certainly originated in China, an infinite variety of "India inks" have existed, varying by location and era.

India ink (Chinese and Japanese: 墨, pinyin: mò; Korean: 먹, mŏk) is almost certainly of Chinese origin. Despite its nearly stable manufacturing principle, an infinite variety of "India inks" have existed, differing according to place and time.

According to some sources, this type of ink appeared in India before being adopted by the Chinese.

There are various theories about its origin, but it already existed in the years before Christ: traces of red ink have been found in ancient writing on bones developed during the Shang dynasty, and the complete set of brushes, ink sticks, and ink was found in an ancient Tai tomb dating back to 211 B.C.

Carbon powder and graphite powder were dissolved in water and varnish, and during the Three Kingdoms period, ink began to be hardened with glue into flat sticks. During the Song dynasty, soot-based ink began to be produced.

Mineral inks, made from materials like graphite, were ground with water and applied with brushes. The mineral origins are also reflected in the name: "Ink, whose semantic component is 'earth' and black." (墨，從土，黑也), indicating that the word "ink" (墨) is composed of the pictograms "black" (黑) and "earth" (土), due to the earthly origins of the dark mineral used in its production.

The ink stick is one of the Four Treasures of the Scholar (along with the brush, rice paper, and inkstone), traditional tools of Chinese, Korean, and Japanese calligraphy and painting.

The Chinese also used ink for its medicinal properties: it alleviated the pain of burns.

Additionally, it was used pure in tattoos, which were considered a punishment for prisoners in ancient China, leaving indelible marks on the skin as a lifelong stigma for those who committed crimes.

In Europe, the use of ink saw significant growth during the Middle Ages, with the production of documents, illuminated manuscripts, and maps. It was discovered through trade with the East: the work of amanuensis monks and all calligraphic activities in monasteries undoubtedly contributed to nascent companies beginning to produce it in Europe as well.

India ink has been manufactured in Europe for a long time: Léonor Mérimée studied it and provided a scientific recipe in 1830. According to his analysis, India ink becomes indelible thanks to vegetable juices that penetrate the paper and fix the glue that traps the pigments.

The Manuale Roret, from 1856, entirely dedicated to inks, describes seventeen artisanal manufacturing processes varying by binder (gum arabic or gelatin) and pigment, while admitting that draftsmen preferred ink made in China or following Chinese recipes. By the end of the century, several manufacturers were producing it industrially.

In schools, "for linear drawing and ink shading, an ink known as India ink is used, although it does not come from the Celestial Empire."

With the Impressionists, India ink began to be used in Europe for more artistic and pictorial purposes: Monet used it to capture everyday scenes on paper, and Toulouse-Lautrec incorporated it into his wonderful handmade posters.

India ink spread widely in the West with the development of technical drawing and photolithography and photoengraving.

These graphic processes required drawings to be executed first on tracing paper, in black lines without shades, where shading required hatching, losing precision in reproduction. Since iron gall ink lacked opacity, carbon ink was used.

Black inks intended for drawing, nearly indelible once dry but correctable by scraping, were called "India inks." These technical drawings were often initially sketched in pencil and then definitively traced with ink, using a ruling pen for uniform, calibrated lines. In the late 20th century, tubular pens using specific black ink, also called India ink, became widespread.

Early 20th-century newspaper cartoons were often created in the same way, with pencil sketches followed by India ink inking, using a drawing pen for softer lines. India ink on tracing paper provided a sharp outline and reproduced efficiently by contact if no enlargements or reductions were desired.

In comics, artists worked in two stages. They sketched with a mechanical pencil or regular pencil, then inked with India ink, using either a pen or brush. The comics were then colored, usually with a limited range of shades. Today, the inking process for comics and modern manga remains essentially the same.

Around the mid-19th century, alizarin ink production began, followed by inks based on coal tar dyes. These innovations anticipated further developments leading to the use of highly sophisticated inks today.

Illustration and graphics, painting and drawing, calligraphy, defining comics and manga: the uses of India ink are manifold and varied today.