Inkstones

#inkstones

Once upon a time long ago Yan - inkstones were called something like either #ngien or #nge/an which became Yan 4 in Modern Chinese and in other dialects jin gian ngieng ngan jan

SinoViet has nghien and SinoJapanese has Ken or Gen but prefers the native term SUZURI

This is an unusually ornate deluxe example !

They come in a variety of forms and that deeper area at one end is to push the ink into as you grind hard the inkstick on the inkstone after applying water to the stone.

This is actually the blade guard of a samurai sword but its modelled on an inkstone and note the broken inkstick on one corner! 

The Inkstone

In East Asian culture the Inkstone is one of the Four Treasures of the Scholar's Studio along with
Paper, Ink, and the Brush. The one shown above is a particularly ornate example of this once essential tool.

Nowadays Ink can be bought in bottles but many people still like to ground their own ink finding the rhythm of inkstick on stone a soothing preparation before adding ink to paper.

The words for Inkstone in various languages : Yan Ngan Jan Ken Suzuri Jin Nghien GEN Yen.
The Unicode is 786F and 781A  if you're using the simplified form.

I've tried both methods. It takes longer to get a strong black with an inkstick on an inkstone but the tonal range is more softer in the grays and blends well with watercolor. Enjoy experimenting if you do decide to try using one?