Do I have to use an inkstone to write Chinese calligraphy?

No. You can also use ready-made ink. There are many kinds of inkstones, such as Qin brick, Han tile, jade inkstone, she inkstone and Duan inkstone. Calligraphy should use inkstone. Pay attention to the selection of fine stones, deep concave inkstones and easy to ink. Wash the inkstone with clear water after use, and put some clear water in the inkstone pool, which is called "raising inkstone".

In addition to inkstone, the following are all necessary tools in calligraphy:

Pen: refers to the writing brush, mainly wolf hair, wool and purple hair. Beginners don't have to pay attention to any brand. It is more suitable to choose a wool quilt with moderate stroke length, low price and durability, which is also helpful to enhance wrist strength.

Ink: Ink can be divided into "pine smoke" and "smoked smoke". Song Yanmo is black and dull; Oil fume ink is black and shiny. Pay attention to good ink color when writing, and the words written have a look. Therefore, it is more appropriate to use oil smoke ink. Clean water should be used for grinding ink, and the ink color should be moderate. Because grinding too rough will delay the writing, grinding too lightly will turn into water. You can try it on a piece of paper first, it won't melt or stagnate, and the ink is black and bright. You can also use ink when practicing calligraphy.

Paper: It is advisable to use paper with strong water absorption and rough texture when practicing calligraphy. Such as woven edge paper, meta-book paper, rice paper, etc. Writing on Xuan paper can show the artistic beauty of China's calligraphy, but because of its high price, Xuan paper is not suitable for practicing calligraphy. Fringed paper and meta-book paper are most suitable for practicing calligraphy.