Sung-hua inkstone with pine tree motif
Yung-cheng reign ()
Ching Dynasty

A Special Exhibition of Sung-hua Inkstones
Gallery 310
Opens 2002/08/28

Sung-hua inkstones were primarily produced from the sung-hua stone of Kirin province (from which they take their name) and the ch'iao-t' ou stone of Pen-hsi County, Liaoning. The former is a yellow-striated greenstone, while the latter is generally characterized by a mixture of purple
and green, green and yellow, or pure purple color. The sung-hua category can be further broadened to include another type of inkstone, this one yellow in color with horizontal striations, which also appeares to originatefrom the northeast. Of these various categories, the "pure" sung-hua stones of Kirin are the most aesthetially desirable, possessing a beauty comparable to that of the finest Tuan and She inkstones.

Prior to the Ch'ing dynasty, sung-hua stone was regarded as a utilitarian material that was primarily used for fashining whetstones. This all changed in the late seventeeth century, when the emperor Kang-hsi, in deeming the stone suitable for grinding ink, elevated it to the heights ofimperial favor. The fact that the source of the stone lay in the traditional heartland of Manchuria gave it particular
resonance with the Manchur ruling class, who perceived the inkstones a a source of cultural pride and used them a important deplomatic and political gifts.