Shexian Inkstone

This stone, which is also known as the Dragon Tail inkstone, is mined in She Creek on Longwei Mountain in Wuyang, Jiangxi Province. This stone was given this name because the site was called Shezhou in the past. Shexian inkstone is composed of shallow metamorphosed shale from the Sinian era that contains small amounts of impurities, such as copper and charcoal. It is a relatively soft stone but is slightly harder than the Duanxi stone. It has a dense structure and rich patterns. The grains are tiny and are difficult to distinguish with the naked eye. The main minerals are sericite, chlorite and small amounts of silty sand and metal sulphide. The ‘Ming Dynasty United Monograph’ states: ‘There are five grades of Shexian inkstone, namely, Meizi (eyebrow), Waishan Luowen (outer radish veins), Lishan Luowen (inner radish veins), Jinxing (gold star), and Lukeng (donkey pit).’ Today, this stone is mainly categorised into the Luowen (radish pattern), Meizi Zhimeiwen (eyebrow pattern), Jinxing...