Fulaishan Stone Inkstone

Fulaishan Stone Inkstone

　　Fulaishan stone is found in the Yàn area at the southern foot of Fulaishan Mountain, along with other varieties such as Luoshan Warm Inkstone and Zhaili Dragon Tail Inkstone, collectively known as Fulaishan Inkstones. Their characteristics include: fine texture and smooth, moist quality—when touched, they feel like paste, as if permeated with oil, which bonds well with ink. The ink spreads smoothly, appearing glossy like oil, and the ink color dries to a lacquer-like sheen. Colors include dark blue, brownish-yellow, and deep green, with large orange-yellow ice-pattern veins distributed within the stone, forming natural and well-ordered patterns.

　　Fulaishan inkstone stones are recorded in historical texts. The Yongzheng-era "Juzhou Annals" reprints: “When Su Dongpo governed Mizhou, he sourced Longwei stones to make inkstones and even composed an inscription for them”; during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, Fulaishan inkstones were once offered as tribute and highly prized by the imperial court. Later, due to unregulated mining, they gradually faded from prominence.

　　Fulaishan stone is produced in very limited quantities. It is said that inkstone-quality stone is now hard to come by, making it one of the rarest varieties among Shandong inkstones.

　　 Fulaishan Mountain is located twenty Chinese miles west of Juxian County, with the inkstone stones found behind the mountain. The discovery of these stones dates back a long time, hence the nearby village named Yántuǎn Village (Inkstone Village). The stone material can be excavated from the soil layers in surrounding gullies and streams, though not in concentrated deposits. Fulaishan stone has a fine texture and moist quality, bonding well with ink and producing glossy ink. Its colors include dark blue, brownish-yellow, and deep green. A typical Fulaishan stone is deep green with large orange-yellow ice-pattern veins. These veins differ in color but share the same texture as the stone base, creating a natural and orderly pattern of green and yellow interplay. Most Fulaishan stones are flat, disc-like slabs, with naturally weathered stone veins along their edges, crisscrossing in interesting patterns. They require no carving and are ready to be made into inkstones.