black mark

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

The ink is used for both calligraphic text and structural punctuation. In Tibetan manuscripts, specifically Pelliot tibétain 116, punctuation marks known as 'shad' appear as long vertical lines on the same line (p. 295). In Chinese occult manuscripts, ink is used to create 'black marks' at the top of slips to signify new items, and 'hooks' (∟) serve as specific text markers (p. 314).

Evidence

"The black mark at the top signifies a new item in the text; the hooks (∟) are text markers, here serving to highlight the listing of four of the five agents."

Remarks

Visual analysis of the manuscripts shows that handwriting varies by surface; on wider slips, graphs are larger and the handwriting is more cursive than on narrower slips (p. 314). The ink is also used for 'shad' Tibetan punctuation marks which provide visual clues for textual units, though in some manuscripts like Pelliot tibétain 116, these clues are debatable as minimum demarcation (p. 295).