black Chinese glue; Chinese inks

Ingredients

soot of pine wood rich in resin, fish oil

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

The soot of pine wood rich in resin is consummated in a stove (känün) covered with an inverted recipient (ina) to collect the soot. This soot is then mixed with fish oil in a vessel (häwüri) and beaten for one hour. The mixture is then flattened with water and rubbed until it thickens into a soft cream (marham). This substance is finally formed into loaves and hung on a string to dry (p. 610).

Evidence

"The soot of pine wood rich in resin, says the recipe, was consummated in a stove (känün) covered with an [inverted] recipient (ina). The soot was then mixed with fish oil in a vessel (häwüri), beaten for an hour, flattened with water, and rubbed until it thickened, becoming soft as a cream (marham)."

Remarks

This recipe is found in the 'Book of Properties' (Kitäb al-khawass), chapters 28 to 31, which details fabrication methods for various Chinese materials including inks and polishing creams (p. 610). The author notes this corresponds to Chinese ink-making techniques that were based on resin-rich pinewood (p. 610). After the Tang period, oil soots were gradually introduced to replace pine soots as forests were depleted (p. 610).