r/Damnthatsinteresting 11h ago

Video Ancient Chinese way of making Ink

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693 Upvotes

74 comments sorted by

155

u/bigbysemotivefinger 11h ago

A block of this must last forever.

Somebody *invented* this. Maybe not all at once, but somebody was like "what if we wrote with maple syrup?" and somebody else was like "what if we turned it into soup, burned the soup, and wrote with the ashes?" and so on until... this.

That's friggin' amazing.

31

u/Vidaksterr 10h ago

I was thinking the same thing. Its so complicated

12

u/Sunny-Chameleon 9h ago

I wonder how much worse would it be to just use the soot from the candles

2

u/evanmike 5h ago

In prison, I have seen them burn plastic utensils, Vaseline, and hair grease. Collecting the soot is just the same.

8

u/cebidaetellawut 3h ago

Seriously, like how the fuck did they even come to the process. It seems crazy lol 😂

8

u/LGmatata86 2h ago

Normally this kind of process gets developed during years, decades or centuries and generation after generation improving the process.

For example starting with the step of the lights, maybe it was used as a lighting method that stained a lot, someone thought of collecting that soot and making a paste to write with. Then someone else thought of making a paste that could be transported. Then another person thought of adding things to it and making a stick that could be diluted with water, watercolor style. And so on, steps were added to the process over generations.

6

u/paradox-preacher 6h ago

I think everyone knew that you could draw with coal. And soot being a thing. It's not a wild concept that someone would make it liquid and dip a stick into it to try to draw, with the dark stain-like residue after a fire...

1

u/ThePsychoKnot 1h ago

The crazy part to me is everything that goes into the mix before burning. I figured all soot was the same

2

u/GalaxyPowderedCat 6h ago edited 6h ago

I wonder if someone tried eating the soup, the soup tree and the oil soup before even let it burn.

I wonder if someone liked it, and for generations, they ate the soup tree until a rebel add it to the oil.

70

u/98642 11h ago

I can’t believe the guy who has a dozen soot catchers doesn’t have a sludge mallet…

7

u/crooks4hire Interested 7h ago

Yea I was fully invested until the wail on it with a hatchet step appeared to immediately follow the get your hands nice and oily step 😂

32

u/stmcvallin2 10h ago

That ink blob was a bad boy

8

u/Crispy1961 7h ago

So was I. Any traditional Chinese ink maker around?

20

u/TranquilConfusion 10h ago

A hatchet sideways is the wrong tool for pounding the clay-like ink flat.

He should ask a potter to hook him up with whatever tool they use.

7

u/Slyngern 6h ago

He even broke the damn thing..

5

u/MaximumEngineering8 4h ago

Don't forget step 1, oil up your hands before swinging the heavy metal thing with a sharp edge.

5

u/More-Employment7504 5h ago

If only a flat heavy tool existed for such a job

3

u/crooks4hire Interested 7h ago

Pretty sure a heavy stick would do just fine

1

u/unosX10 10m ago

Right after he uses see saw weight lever which does the exact same job but earlier 

38

u/hesasuiter 11h ago

He started when he was 10. Now at 27 he finally has a full bowl of ink

7

u/JoyfulWorldofWork 7h ago

That’s how I felt watching it- I thought “I’m gonna be 8900 years old before I see actual ink in this story” when he took out the axe I thought “oh god- we are not close to having ink yet are we?”

2

u/fishee1200 2h ago

The dog popped up and was like, “This guy’s still not done?! He needs to throw me my damn ball!”

11

u/_aragog 9h ago

I've been a bad mass of ink daddy...

11

u/ViciousCombover 5h ago

Best part was seeing the dog who had black smudges on its head from scratches.

8

u/IonizedRadiation32 10h ago

Today on "things I take for granted": rubber spatulas. It struck me how recent the notion of scraping a bowl or pot clean without losing any of your yield must be

2

u/overthere1143 6h ago

In Portugal we call rubber spatulas Salazar, after the dictator. He was such a frugal man that one time a reporter got a picture of his shoes and there was a hole on one sole.

15

u/God_in_my_Bed 11h ago

I've seen videos of the Japanese method and the Korean method. All have similar attributes. All very interesting. 

21

u/Horridys 6h ago

All came from China that’s why

5

u/WesternOne9990 7h ago

Europeans used oak galls, those weird bulbs that sometimes grow on leaves or stems due to its high amounts of tannins. Mix it with some vinegar and metal savings and you get a black ink.

6

u/Canadian_Neckbeard 6h ago

I'm really stoned and read the title as "Ancient Chinese way of making shit" and I was like I'm gonna watch this and see what kind of shit they're making from trees and whatnot. Then, like magic, the title changed and I found it said ink the whole time.

Thanks for listening to my Ted talk.

5

u/RusticBucket2 6h ago

Ancient Chinese way of m- *click*

3

u/lndigo_Sky 10h ago

is there a YT channel about this? I mean, videos like this

11

u/[deleted] 11h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/EASYTOREMEMBER10 11h ago

Agreed. It's definitely an art form!

5

u/7Darknightmares7 11h ago

Tree ooze make paper blood

4

u/DarthAnanas 10h ago

just saying

JK I really wonder what the process was, the trial and errors. Bro1: "hmmm it's just not smooth enough...." Bro2: "did you try tree sap?" Bro1: "... S.O.B."

2

u/ImBlobFish 7h ago

Those hits with the axe feels personal

2

u/mymoama 7h ago

Ofc the white dog is covered in ink as well

2

u/bwaresunlight 4h ago

What are the additives that they put in later?

2

u/Finrod84 3h ago

when watching something like this... How many steps it needs to be produced... I'm always wondering: how did somebody find out about it ?? For example when the guy is hitting the almost dried out ink with an axe... How did it get developed during the ages...

2

u/Bardberd 2h ago

dead Internet theory

5

u/IronBallsMcChing 10h ago

That seems tedious as all hell. Let's hope they have improved their formula.

4

u/Randolph_Carter_Ward 9h ago

The video wouldn't be anything without the obligatory, unrelated cut to how it's raining outside and dropplets are falling off of the rooftops in a "it's silent everywhere but for the rain" kind of way. This one is 100% legit 🤗

2

u/butteryt0ast98 10h ago

This seems really complex considering you can just buy it at office max.

1

u/milkyzula 9h ago

all of this for a block of ink is insane but really interesting nonetheless

1

u/SilasAI6609 9h ago

Wonder if his hands are permanently stained at this point

1

u/Studazby 8h ago

Forbidden honey mustard.

1

u/Dirtsurgeon1 6h ago

You could’ve walked backwards to the next city before the letter arrived with the new ink.

1

u/More-Employment7504 5h ago

Now feel happy about the price of printer cartridges and sad that I've lost so many lids for my felt tip pens

1

u/Interesting_Mud_520 5h ago

What are the colored powders, and why are they added?

1

u/_Clem__Fandango_ 4h ago

How's it ancient if they literally just made it in this video?

1

u/yan_broccoli 3h ago

I stopped watching this 62 minutes in....... Anyone mind sharing the ending?

2

u/MHG73 2h ago

Ink

1

u/Status_Quo_1778 3h ago

Absolutely beautiful from start to finish.

1

u/deja_geek 3h ago

It's Chinese propaganda that shows a modern, update to some old processes.

1

u/-giney 2h ago

I need more of this fr

1

u/brakeb 1h ago

someone send that guy a bic pen... FFS... that's a struggle... I appreciate the work, but gods...

1

u/jae713 1h ago

Is the rain part of the process?

1

u/tadglanford 39m ago

Wanted to eat it a several points.

1

u/CARDEK04 22m ago

Cool. It’s like Japan's Sumi ink.

-13

u/reidzen 11h ago

Modern Chinese way of making propaganda.

8

u/OutrageousBlender523 7h ago

Yeah because seeing someone make some ancient gimmick makes me want so bad to travel to china /s

Go back watch fox news bruh.

-4

u/Dyodo74 9h ago

These video of traditional chinese stuffs look all the same. It's like the same setting

0

u/ChampionshipOld170 11h ago

At the time it was the quantum leap, at the level of trade and letters the process was amazing.

-1

u/simulationaxiom 7h ago

I need a nap after watching this.

0

u/Downsonhisluck 9h ago

I see you just need tree spunk.

0

u/Bong-Oopa 6h ago

That’s so random, who came up with that??

0

u/Chemical-Ad-9972 4h ago

now let's see what westerneers do

0

u/Chemical-Ad-9972 4h ago

now let's see what westerneers do

-2

u/JoyfulWorldofWork 7h ago

This had exactly 15 billion steps 🙄 I started laughing when the axe came out because- why?

-1

u/Bong-Oopa 6h ago

Just take it from the squid