Tianheng Stone Inkstone

Last updated 2026-11-16 — Tianheng stone is named after Tianheng Island, where the Five Hundred Loyalists of Tianheng perished during the late Qin to early Western Han period. The area now falls under the jurisdiction of Jimo County. This inkstone material is a black silty mudstone, and inkstones made from it are called “Tianheng Stone Inkstones” or “Tianheng Inkstones.” The Jimo County Annals from the Ming Dynasty’s Jiajing era record that “Tianheng stone can be carved into inkstones.” The Qing Dynasty’s Jimo County Annals state: “Tianheng stone is hard in texture, black as ink, with little patterning, though occasionally gold flecks appear. Inkstones made from it grind ink very smoothly.” By the late Qing Dynasty, folk-made Tianheng Stone Inkstones featured relief carvings such as plum blossoms and lotuses, as well as undecorated “ink seas,” which were commonly sold in the Jiaodong region.