What material is traditionally used to make the ink stick in Chinese calligraphy?

Traditional Chinese ink sticks are made mainly from soot and animal glue.

The soot provides the black pigment, while the glue acts as a binder, holding the particles together in a solid cake or stick. Makers may burn pine wood, lacquer, or oils such as tung oil to produce different kinds of soot. Incense, herbs, and medicinal or aromatic ingredients can also be added, but they are supplementary rather than the basic recipe.

To use the ink, a calligrapher rubs the dry stick against an inkstone with a small amount of water. The grinding time controls the concentration and flow of the liquid ink. This is why an ink stick is not simply dipped into water like bottled ink; it is prepared gradually for the intended stroke quality.

Ink sticks with soot-and-glue compositions are attested archaeologically by the end of the Warring States period, around 256 BCE. Graphite-based mineral inks existed earlier, which can cause confusion, but graphite is not the standard answer for the traditional ink stick. “Charcoal and water” also misses the essential binding role of animal glue.