【精英翻譯】的部落格

New Taipei City craftsman spurns mass production methods to produce premium ink sticks (2014/02/10)

Adding to the spirit of Lunar New Year are the couplets that adorn the entryways of homes. Today most of the ink used to make these couplets is mass produced, but a few artists still insist on using premium, handmade ink sticks. Tonight we head to New Taipei City to visit one of the few ink stick manufacturers who still adheres to traditional methods. The products he creates are valued for their color, their flexibility and even their unique scent. 

Tucked away in this small San Chong alley is a true rarity – the only factory in Taiwan that still makes ink sticks by hand. Every day Chen Jia-de contends with the raw materials he uses to create ink sticks.

Today Chen is doing the same thing he does virtually every workday. The ink sticks he creates have a unique scent.

Chen Jia-de
Ink Stick Manufacturer
This is musk, which I use to make scented inks different from the usual ink sticks. This here is very hot, and it’s not unusual to be burnt.

The black material in the steamer is one ingredient in Chen’s carefully crafted formula. More than four hours is spent kneading and steaming the mixture into a big black ball. When the clump is still hot and soft, it is put into a roller. Without aid of a scale, Chen is able to mix in just the right amount of musk to achieve a perfectly balanced scent.

Chen Jia-de
Ink Stick Manufacturer
We rely on experience. If it’s not ready, then we mix it again. Like this piece here, which doesn’t have a high enough temperature.

Chen relies on his senses to test warmth and other characteristics. He deeply values the knowledge he has gained over half a century in the industry.

Chen Jia-de
Ink Stick Manufacturer
The importance of experience cannot be overestimated. Studying three or four years wouldn’t provide sufficient experience.

Chen Jia-de
Ink Stick Manufacturer
Traditional techniques must be adhered to when making this kind of ink.

Chen’s factory is just 12 pings in size and filled with tools and other equipment. The ink that covers these implements shows how they have been used throughout the years.

After graduating from a Chiayi elementary school, Chen moved to northern Taiwan. It was there that he learned the art of making ink sticks from a Fuzhou master.

In the 1960s, all students had to study calligraphy, creating high demand for ink sticks. Chen had a large factory where he produced 100,000 ink sticks a day.

Chen Jun-tian
Ink Stick Master’s Son
In elementary school, instead of doing homework I helped pack boxes. My dad said I might as well contribute.

The good times didn’t last. Fewer students studied calligraphy, reducing demand. Greater competition arrived in the form of cheap exports from China. The number of manufacturers in Taiwan dropped from dozens to just a handful. 

Chen Jia-de
Ink Stick Manufacturer
The ink from the mainland is very cheap, which made it impossible for producers of handmade sticks in Taiwan to survive. I took several months off before coming up with a solution.

Chen’s answer was to switch to making premium ink sticks using pine soot.

Chen Jia-de
Ink Stick Manufacturer
The scent has a warmth that makes people feel good and inspires them to write calligraphy. This is what sets me apart from other manufacturers. 

To create his scented ink sticks, Chen uses musk from France, pine soot from Germany and gelatin from the United States. His biggest advocate is his son, who used to complain about the odor of ink.

Chen Jun-tian
Ink Stick Master’s Son
The teacher would ask if I was wearing cologne. But I would say the smell came from the ink sticks my family made.

Chen’s reputation for making ink sticks spread among calligraphers, painters, and the people who collect their works. His business quickly grew.

Lin Bing-wen
Calligrapher
He uses pure pine soot, so the ink consists of very fine particles. When you rub the stick, it gives off a scent that awakens the mind and encourages you to keep writing.

Calligrapher Lin Bing-wen林炳文 says that works created with Chen’s inks give off a pleasant scent.

Another enthusiast of Chen’s ink is the painter Lee Chi-mao李奇茂.

Lee Chi-mao
Ink Painter
When rubbed properly, his ink adds life to a painting. It has a brilliance, and it allows the artist to produce the shade or moisture level that he desires. 

Such praise is Chen’s reward for the meticulousness of his work.

Chen Jia-de
Ink Stick Manufacturer
The time I’ve put into this job has led me to develop feelings toward the ink. Every day I work with it and see that its beauty comes from the care I give it. Sometimes, on cold winter nights, I have to rush to the workshop to turn the ink over. If I wait until the next day, it could be ruined. You need to put everything you have into this job.

The color of Chen’s ink can serve as a metaphor for the depth of his perseverance. These qualities make him one of Taiwan’s great traditional craftsmen.

國寶黑手 

春聯，是許多台灣人過年必備的佈置的，新北市還舉辦活動，邀請多位外國留學生一同寫春聯，慶祝年節。但寫春聯需要的筆墨紙硯，隨著時代的變遷，連紙筆都已經逐漸被電腦所取代，更不用說，墨條，在一般民眾的書房裡，更是幾乎絕跡。但您在台灣，有一位老師傅陳嘉德，仍然十分堅持地靠著他長達半世紀的製墨經驗，默默地繼續替台灣的畫家和書法家製造出頂級的手工墨條。而且他的墨條，還擺脫了傳統的墨臭，反而會飄散香氣，這位老師傅獨家研發出的麝香松煙墨，甚至還引來日本和中國等地業者的興趣和高薪挖角，但他始終不為所動，無怨無悔地留在台灣這塊土地上貢獻他的心力。

隱身在三重這條小巷子裡的，是台灣唯一的一家手工製墨廠，國寶級的製墨大師陳嘉德，每天都在裡頭和他的墨團奮戰。

這天中午，陳師傅一如往常，正在做著他獨步全球的手工香墨條。

[[陳嘉德 製墨大師]]
這是麝香，我做的是香墨，和一般的墨條不同，和外國的都不同。這很燙，不時被燙到是正常的。

蒸籠裡黑黑的東西，是陳師傅將精心調配的原料，攪拌蒸煮了四個多小時，才做出來的墨團。蒸軟了的黑墨團，趁熱放入滾輪機反覆碾壓，一邊灑上麝香粉，不需要天平，陳師傅的這雙手，就可以拿捏出最精準的香料比例。

[[陳嘉德 製墨大師]]
靠我們的經驗去看，如果還沒好，就還要再攪拌。這個還沒有好，還不行，熱度還不夠。

用手、用舌頭測試溫度、細緻度，陳嘉德相當自豪五十多年的製墨經驗，就是他無可替代的核心價值。

[[陳嘉德 製墨大師]]
經驗這個喔，說起來是萬丈深淵啦，就算學三、四年，一樣經驗還是不夠。

[[陳嘉德 製墨大師]]
墨是傳統的做法，要照古早的做法，完全都沒改變。

製墨廠12坪的狹小空間，裡頭堆滿各式各樣的製墨工具，都沾染了厚重的墨黑色，歲月的痕跡訴說著它們伴隨陳嘉德，走過五十多年的製墨歷史。

陳嘉德國小畢業就從嘉義北上當學徒，向福州來的師傅學做墨。

六○年代書法課是學生的必修課程，台灣製墨產業一度相當興盛，陳嘉德曾開設大型工廠，單單一天就生產了十萬條學生墨。

[[陳俊天 製墨大師傳人(兒子)]]
國小就要(幫忙)裝盒子，我小時候都沒有在寫功課，我爸都說不用寫，趕快來做事。

好景不常，後來不只學生不寫書法，大陸貨廉價傾銷，更讓台灣數十家製墨廠幾乎全軍覆沒。

[[陳嘉德 製墨大師]]
因為大陸墨很便宜，我們無法生存，因為台灣手工比較貴，所以那時候我們也無法生存，我就休息了幾個月，後來就想了一個辦法。

一度失業的陳嘉德，決定放棄低價的學生墨市場，改走高級路線，轉型製作手工的頂級松煙墨。

[[陳嘉德 製墨大師]]
味道非常溫和，可以帶動讓人心神很好，讓你有興趣寫書法，我的特殊就在這裡，獨步全球。

陳嘉德結合了法國的麝香、德國的松煙、和美國的牛皮膠，推出有香味的墨條，而他的第一個支持者，就是以前常抱怨墨太臭的兒子。

[[陳俊天 製墨大師傳人(兒子)]]
老師說你噴香水來是不是?(我說)沒有啦，我家做墨條，有那個香味。

頂級的手工墨條，陸續在知名書法家畫家，和收藏家之間口耳相傳，紛紛前來選購。

[[林炳文 書法家]]
大師的墨是純松煙製作，所以它(墨條)顆粒很細，在磨墨的時候，散發出來的香味，可以醒腦，會很想繼續寫下去。

書法家林炳文就稱讚陳嘉德的香墨，不只研磨時提神醒腦，書寫出來的作品，也常保芬芳。

水墨畫大師李奇茂，則是另一位陳嘉德手工墨條的愛用者。

[[李奇茂 水墨畫大師]]
墨好的話，它是能帶動畫的氣韻生動，它的墨色很鮮豔，濃淡乾溼很明顯，可以發揮畫家的隨心所欲。

能製作出受到書法家和水墨畫家青睞的好墨，全靠陳嘉德的用心投入。

[[陳嘉德 製墨大師]]
做久了，每天都是和這些墨，好像有感情，每天都是和這些墨為伍，要照顧才會漂亮。有時候冬天半夜很冷要趕快跑來(工作室)，趕緊來翻面，不能等到明天天亮再來，過頭了，就壞掉了，心都要全部放在這

陳嘉德專注、執著、堅持到底的精神，比他做出的墨更深更濃，也造就了他國寶大師的地位。

本文引用自 民視新聞網 http://news.xn--1qws34d.com/