Inkstones made from Tuanchou stone were known as Tuanbsi ink- stones (ºÝ·Ëµx ). Tuanchou is locat- ed in modern day Kwangtung Pro- vince's Kaoyao County (°ª­n¿¤ ). When Kwangtung's during the T'ang Dynasty, but became especially prized during the Sung, and have continued in popularity up to the present. At the beginning of the Sung there were over seventy mines for Tuan- hsi stone in the Fuk'o Mountain area.

West Rl~ver passes by the city of Chaoch'ing (»F¼y ) and turns east, it passes through the Lingyang Gorge (²Ü¦Ï®l), on the southern side of which is a mountain range. The principal peak of this range, the 800-meter high Fuk'o Mountain (©ò¬_¤s ), is the area where the majority of Tuanhsi stones were mined. The stones were first mined during the T'ang Dynasty, but became especially prized during the Sung, and have continued in popularity up to the present. At the beginning of the Sung there were over seventy mines for Tuan- hsi stone in the Fuk'o Mountain area.

Tuanbsi inkstones are smooth to the touch, but grind inksticks with great effi- ciency. They are purplish in color, which varies in shades from bluish-purple to almost black. Sometimes streaks of red, orange, white, or other colors run through the stone, adding to its beauty and value. The most precious color is considered to be a green or orange mark- ing called "eyes," because they do in fact look like small eyes on the surface of the stone. This sort of marking can appear on a stone in several spots, and a clever inkstone craftsman can incorpo- rate them into his design.

Hsichou inkstones came from the mountain area between present day Wuyuan County (ظ·½) in Kiangsi Pro- vince, and Hsichou in Anhwei Province. The stones mined from this region are an argillite, a metamorphic rock inter- mediate between shale and slate which is both harder and smoother than Tuanhsi stones. When struck, Hsichou stone gives off a high, almost metallic ring. Its colors include black or blue-black, as well as green and coffee color. Hsichou stone started to be mined on a large scale during the Southern T'ang Dynasty (937-975). The Emperor Li Ching (§õ¿[ ) was given a Hsichou inkstone as a present by the governor of Hsichou County, and was so fond of it that he commissioned a government factory for their mining and production. mined toward the end of the Sung Dynasty; so much, in fact, that there was none to be had dynasties that followed.

The "red silk" inkstones of Ch'ing- chou, and those of Yaoho, were ex- tremely rare because they could never be mined on a large scale. The Yaoho inkstones were made of stone from the bottom of the Yao River in the distant western province of Kansu. Not only was transportation to the area difficult the stones were also difficult to remove from the river. Eventually the river changed course due to a flood, and it became unclear where the original area for the Yaoho stones was actually to be found. Yaoho inkstones come in muted shades of yellow, green, or ivory. Old records concerning inkstones have call- ed the Yaoho stones the "king of ink- stones," but this might be more a result of their rarity than any actual superiority over Tuanhsi or Hsichou inkstones.

The making of inkstones reached its peak during the Sung, but this did not deter craftsmen of later dynasties from looking for new sources of stones and ex- perimenting with new designs. A true imperial fanatic for good inkstones was the Ch'ing Dynasty's Emperor Ch'ien- lung (1736-1796). He had imperial ink- stone workshops commissioned in the Forbidden City, and scoured the country for good specimens of inkstones, both new and old. He was especially fond of inkstones made from northern China's Sungari River (ªQªá¦¿ ), which had pre- viously not received much attention. Ch'ienlung's efforts stimulated produc- tion throughout China, and centers for the manufacturing of inkstones were - established in Kwangtung, Kiang- su, Chekiang, Anhwei, and other provinces. The number of new designs and styles created during A typical T'ang Dynasty inkstone style with legs. Because tables and chairs were not yet in common use, the legs conveniently raised the stone for a calligrapher kneeling on a mat. Ch'ienlung's reign exceeded those of practically any previous dynasty. The ink- stones currently found in the National Palace Museum in Taipei come primar- ily from the collection assembled un- der his direction.