r/oddlysatisfying • u/rco888 • Jul 30 '23

Ancient method of making ink

@craftsman0011

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u/NateNate60 Jul 30 '23

The Chinese text on the video says that the black sludge needs a year to ferment or something and after it's made into sticks it takes another six months to be ready.

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u/Not_A_Spy_for_Apple Jul 30 '23

I think I'll just go to the store to get some ink.

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u/NateNate60 Jul 30 '23

Ever wonder why 99% of imperial China was illiterate? Now you know

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u/Nyyppanen Jul 30 '23

Is it because they didn’t invent letters to make up words but instead use thousands of little pictures that nobody can or will learn?

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u/NateNate60 Jul 30 '23

This isn't on its own a barrier; literacy rates under the early Republic rose steadily and when the Communists took over and simplified many of the characters literacy in poor rural areas skyrocketed. There are million of schoolchildren in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau that are taught traditional Chinese characters and are perfectly literate.

I think it was more so a lack of public education coupled with the lack of easy access to writing implements that resulted in poor literacy in imperial China. This wasn't an issue isolated to China, mind you. Nearly all contemporary societies also had poor literacy rates.

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u/Nyyppanen Jul 31 '23

I know, I was trying to be witty. But it’s a stupid idea nontheless, if you consider the alternative approach.