According to Chinese tradition, there are four elements to creating any scholarly painting: the brush, the ink, the paper and the ink stone. Scholarly paintings are generally considered to be any form of calligraphy, for this gentle skill combines the beauty of scroll painting with the intellectual pursuits of writing and reading. Together, these four items are most often referred to as the "four treasures of the study."
This moniker alone gives an excellent clue as to how valued an art calligraphy is considered in Chinese culture. It is believed that a person cannot achieve true scholar status without being highly skilled in the art of calligraphy, and it is further held that no work of calligraphy is entirely complete unless it has been done with the four traditional treasures.
Although these four items have been modified through time, such as the substitution of a pen for the brush, a real traditional calligraphy must be done with the ancient items.
Intro Photo Chinese Calligraphy Set courtesy of Photobucket
Chinese Landscape Painting for Beginners: A Practical Course
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Release Date: 12/31/1969
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The Brush
Chinese calligraphy brushes are typically made of animal hair, usually from a creature with soft, fine fur, like a rabbit or a goat. Different artists favor different types of brushes, but generally all brushes have thick heads that allow for maximum flourishing of the stroke. Also, the hair used must be fine enough to absorb plenty of ink so as to make the calligraphy strokes thick and even.
Calligraphy Brush with Dragon Design courtesy of Wikipedia CC License
Chinese Calligraphy Brush Art Technique
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The Ink
Calligraphy ink typically comes in the form of an ink stick. This small, hard item is made from various oils, soot and other natural materials that are bound together with glue. Ink sticks can, of themselves, be fine works of art, as they are often carved into ornate decorative shapes.
Traditional Chinese Ink Sticks (Black)
Peking Opera
Confucius
Giant Panda
Plum Blossom
The Paper
The most common type of paper used in Chinese calligraphy is rice paper, which was invented during the Han Dynasty. It is one of the most easily produced and widely available papers throughout history, though many different types of papers are now used and are chosen for their varying degrees of strength and absorption of the ink.
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Chinese Papermaking
Papermaking is known to have been traced back to China about 105 CE, when Cai Lun, an official attached to the Imperial court during the Han Dynasty (202 BCE-220 CE), created a sheet of paper using mulberry and other bast fibres along with fishnets, old rags, and hemp waste.
Rice Paper Making processHowever a recent archaeological discovery has been reported from near Dunhuang of paper with writing on it dating from 8 BCE, while paper had been used in China for wrapping and padding since the 2nd century BCE.
Paper used as a writing medium became widespread by the 3rd century, and by the 6th century toilet paper was starting to be used in China as well. During the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) paper was folded and sewn into square bags to preserve the flavor of tea, while the later Song Dynasty (960-1279 CE) was the first government on Earth to issue paper-printed money.
The Ink Stone
The ink stone is a hard slab typically made of rock, or sometimes, hard wood or metal. The stone is used for grinding the ink stick into a powder, to which is added water for mixing the ink into liquid.
Incredible Writing Utensils
Inside of box with inkstone, ink holder, penknife, pricker, and paperweight; water dropper of \\\'shakudo\\\' and gold in the form of cherry blossoms on rafts. About 1850-1900
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia CC License
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Chinese Brush Painting Workstation (Workstations)
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Release Date: 12/31/1969
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Do You Enjoy This Lens, Why?
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MikLint
Jan 28, 2011 @ 3:59 am | delete
- Very interesting. Learned something new. I like that.
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ElizabethJeanAllen
Jan 26, 2011 @ 7:48 pm | delete
- I love calligraphy.
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ChrisDay
Jan 16, 2011 @ 11:08 pm | delete
- Fascinating - it is wonderful to have an insight into this art form that is holistic in itself, so incredibly well-developed and yet is so obscure to our western cultural upbringing.
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ElizabethJeanAllen
Jan 13, 2011 @ 4:52 pm | delete
- Beautiful paintings and calligraphy.
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