Chinese ink

History

Pine soot was traditionally favored in Chinese inkmaking. Several studies observed that 14th-century Chinese inks are made from very small and uniform pine soot; the inks are superior in these aspects to modern soot inks. The author Song Yingxing (c. 1600–1660) of the Ming dynasty has described the inkmaking process from pine soot in his work Tiangong Kaiwu. From the Song dynasty onwards, lampblack also became a favored pigment for the manufacturing of black inks. It was made by combustion in lamps with wicks, using animal, vegetable, and mineral oils.