What Does Chinese ink Mean
The dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ) indicates that Chinese ink is a dye made with carbon black . This ink is produced with soot from hydrocarbons or with carbon fragments derived from non-resinous trees.
Non-resinous trees are those whose wood does not produce resin , a secretion that offers protection against infections of different kinds, such as those that come from insects or fungi. In addition to the Chinese ink, the wood of these trees is widely used for carpentry and joinery work, as well as in the form of firewood to light a fire to cook food or to take advantage of its heat.
A binder and water are added to these black pigments to form the traditional Chinese ink, which began to be used in China in the 3rd century BC , then reached Japan and finally spread throughout the world .
Chinese ink is often used in Chinese and Japanese calligraphy , but also for the development of drawings . The technique known as Suiboku or Sumi-e , for example, is based on the use of India ink.
The sumi-e was born in China during the Tang dynasty, between the years 618 and 907, by the masters Wang Wei and Wu Daozi. In the middle of the 10th century, in the Song dynasty, it was officially recognized as a style and used by painters such as Liang Kai, Ma Yuan, and Hsia Kuei. It was only in the 13th century that sumi-e reached Japan , where it was adopted by many artists from the land of the rising sun, including Soga Jasoku, Musashi, Sesshu and Shubun.
Zen monks Sengai and Hakui, for their part, used it to exercise meditation as they realized that the discipline necessary to master this technique was such that they had to practice with great dedication and this was adequate to enrich their spirit. The aspect that they especially valued was the possibility of using all the shades that went from pure black to the lightest gray, with which they could express a wide range of feelings.
To master sumi-e it is necessary to learn to put aside those ideas and impositions that try to dominate us, that judge every step we take and limit our creativity and personal development. By taking the brush we must shed our fears and become receptive to our environment, connect with our interior without allowing any barrier to come between us and the paper.
That said, it is easy to understand that many consider sumi-e to be much more than a Chinese ink painting technique and place it in the category of self-awareness and relaxation therapy.
Whereas in ancient times Chinese ink was prepared at the time of use, today it is possible to buy bottles with Chinese ink already prepared and ready to use. It is a rather dense substance. One of its main characteristics is that it is inert from a chemical point of view: the sun's rays, in this way, do not modify it. This means that, despite the passage of time , the strokes made with India ink do not fade .
As a curiosity, we can mention that Chinese ink has even been attributed magical properties: there are those who argue that it can cure herpes zoster , the viral disease also known as shingles , by "enclosing" the virus with its strokes. Medicine, however, explains that the treatment of shingles can only be palliative and must be carried out with antivirals and analgesics to minimize the effect of symptoms.