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 a "formula" (mojue 墨訣) from Buddhist monks. Equipped with this knowledge, he was able to produce ink and inksticks by himself. The text is 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.

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) and Meishu congshu 美術叢書.