Mofa jiyao 墨法集要

Mofa jiyao 墨法集要 "Collected essentials of ink-making methods" is a book on the production of ink written during the Ming period 明 (1368-1644) by Shen Jisun 沈繼孫 (late 14th cent.), who lived in Suzhou 江蘇, Jiangsu, during the very early Ming. Not much is known about his life, but he is mentioned in a poem included in the painter Ni Zan's 倪瓚 (1301-1374) collection Yunlin ji 雲林集.

The short text Mofa jiyao is written by someone who personally mastered the technique of producing ink from the soot of excellent wood. The book also makes use of various older statements on ink production (the so-called mopu 墨譜 "notes on ink"), but Shen Jisun says in his preface that these were not sufficient to give an insight into the real manufacturing process. He, therefore, actively sought instruction in the art of ink-making and consulted masters from "among the three alleys" (sanqu moshi 三衢墨師) and obtained "formulas" (mojue 墨訣) from Buddhist monks. Equipped with this knowledge, he was able to produce ink and inksticks by himself. The text is thus therefore very reliable. It is enriched by 21 commented illustrations that visually demonstrate each step of ink production most of which are still practiced today.

Figure 1. Illustrations from the Mofa jiyao 墨法集要

Oil receptacles (youzhan 油{角戔}), soot cups (yanwan 煙椀), and the sieving of soot (shai yan 篩煙). From the Wuyingdian juzhenban 武英殿聚珍版 edition.

The Mofa jiyao is included in the series Siku quanshu 四庫全書 (as a reproduction of the text found in the Ming period encyclopaedia Yongle dadian 永樂大典), Chizaotang siku quanshu huiyao 摛澡堂四庫全書薈要, Wuyingdian juzhenban shu 武英殿聚珍版書, Sheyuan mocui 涉園墨萃, Congshu jicheng chubian 叢書集成初編 and Meishu congshu 美術叢書.