Beijing Yidege is famed for its production of Chinese dark ink and has a history of more than one hundred years. In the 4th year of Emperor Tongzhi’s reign in the Qing Dynasty (1865), Xie Songdai established the first ink store at No.44 Liulichang, Beijing. He named it “Yidege” and the plaque hung in front of the door was inscribed by him. As Xie had no offspring, he passed on the store to his apprentice after his demise. Later, Yi De Ge became so prosperous that branches were set up in Tianjin, Shanghai, Xi’an, Zhengzhou and other cities consecutively. Yidege ink is made of high pigment carbon black, borneol, bone glue, musk and phenol, using traditional technique. The above-mentioned raw materials with their special and unique features made the ink smells mildly fragrant and durable for all the seasons.

Beijing Yidege was set up in 1865, now has a history of 143 years. Its ink is famous at home and abroad. In the ancient times, scholars are using ink stick to grind ink so that they can write with brush pen; however, it’s very inconvenient. Xie Songdai the creator of Yidege ink, was also bothered by it, so he tried numerous times, eventually create the Chinese ink. The Chinese ink is quite easy to use and get rid of the boring grinding process, so it is welcomed by users. Moreover, it has been crowned as a revolution of Chinese traditional writing and painting tool. In the year 2007, “the technique of making Yidege Ink” has been made Beijing’s intangible cultural heritage.

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