Inkstone Workshop, Anhui

All this talk about the rising price of Chinese manufacturing and the threat it poses to the proliferation of cheap consumer goods worldwide, well, it’s kinda got me down. China has long been capable of better, and I’m not just talking about computer chips, either. So, in the spirit of fair and balanced reporting, I present a series of photos that I took in a small inkstone workshop in southern Anhui Province. This is slow, labor-intensive, highly-skilled manufacturing of a high-quality object sold at an extremely high price. Generally, not the kind of work or product sought by today’s export-oriented manufacturers. China Daily recently reported that manufacturers in the increasingly expensive Pearl River and Yangtze River deltas are moving to Anhui in search of cheap labor. I’m sure they’ll find it – but certainly not in this workshop.

Above, the tool bench. After the jump, more photos …

The inventory of inkstones-to-be, some uncarved, and some recovered from the rubbish piles of ancient inkstone workshops near Tunxi.

Inkstones in various degrees of completion; and some models.

The artist at work.

Some exquisite, completed models found in the workshop’s small showroom.

[Special thank to SLS and WY, my traveling companions and teachers during this visit.]