Treasures stand the test of time

Caosugong ink sticks.

Caosugong Chinese Ink Stick Workshop was named after its founder Cao Sugong from Anhui province, who established the brand in 1667. It also topped the four famous ink workshops of the Qing dynasty. It moved to Shanghai in 1864. To date, the workshop has been passed down for 15 generations.

The design of Caosugong ink sticks came from famous artists and scholars like Ren Bonian, Wu Changshuo, Wang Yiting and Guo Moruo, who provided the ink stick designs. These masters' designs pushed Caosugong ink sticks to reach greater artistic heights.

In 1956, all the ink workshops in Shanghai merged under the Caosugong brand, and formed the nation's largest ink making company, which was later renamed the Shanghai Ink Factory and became the sole manufacturer of Shanghai-style huimo (ink made in Anhui province).

Caosugong ink prides itself in the following:

1. Caosugong created a classification standard for oil soot and it is universally recognized within the industry.

2. Caosugong solved the problem of fragility and the difficulty of molding shapes onto ink sticks.

3. Famous artists drafted designs for its ink sticks, raising their artistic and cultural value.

4. Caosugong invented a technique to make the surface of the ink stick more smooth and even, enabling ink craftsmen to imprint vivid three-dimensional designs on them.