What is Four Treasures of the Study?
The four things that ancient scholars needed were "Four Treasures of the Study", which was a daily necessity for scholars. So what exactly is Four Treasures of the Study? Let's have a look.
As we all know, "Four Treasures of the Study" refers to four kinds of calligraphy and painting utensils, namely pen, ink, paper and inkstone. But where did the word Four Treasures of the Study come from? When did it start? But there are still unfinished solutions. For example, the word "Four Treasures of the Study" in Ci Hai goes like this: "In the old days, it was a general term for four kinds of stationery: pen, ink, paper and inkstone. This research is called research. In the Northern Song Dynasty, Su Yijian wrote Four Books of the Study and Four Treasures of the Study, describing the types and facts of these four stationery. "
Extending the study of Four Treasures of the Study's origin to the related painting and calligraphy space scene is to change the static discussion of pen, ink, paper and inkstone into a spatial dynamic investigation of the painter's behavior. Because the research methods of cultural relics and even the concept of cultural relics are changing from monomer to whole to group, we can understand and restore the relationship between ancient calligraphy and painting objects and the learning and even behavior of literati, so as to understand the historical context of the development of calligraphy objects more comprehensively. In other words, if the study is the spatial carrier of Four Treasures of the Study, then the literati is the active subject of the study. Four Treasures of the Study without study is a lonely and scattered appliance, and the study without literati activities is a lifeless and empty building.
Many utensils in China are unique, which not only show the customs and habits of the Chinese nation different from other nations, but also contribute to the progress and development of world culture. The most typical writing tools are called "Four Treasures of the Study": paper, pen, ink and inkstone.
Paper is a great invention of China. Although there are tens of millions of kinds of paper in the world, "Xuan paper" is still a unique handmade paper for brush painting and calligraphy. Xuan paper is flexible in texture, white and smooth in color, durable in color and strong in water absorption, and enjoys the reputation of "paper life for thousands of years" internationally.
Brush is a unique writing and painting tool, which has a feather writing style different from that of ancient China and western countries. Although pencils, ballpoint pens, pens, etc. In today's world, the writing brush is irreplaceable. It is said that the writing brush was created by Montaigne, so Houdian, Hengshui County, Hebei Province, which is still known as the hometown of writing brush, celebrated the creation of writing brush by drinking on the third day of the third lunar month to commemorate Montaigne, just like the New Year in China. Since the Yuan Dynasty, the "Hu Bi" produced in Huzhou, Zhejiang Province has become the most famous brush variety in China with the characteristics of "sharp, round and healthy".
Ink is a pigment for writing and painting. The fine ink made by Chao Heting, a famous Mohist in the Tang Dynasty, was appreciated by Li Yu, the queen of the Southern Tang Dynasty, and the whole family took "Li" as the national surname. From the world-famous "Li Mo". In the Song Dynasty, Shexian, the birthplace of Li Mo, was renamed Huizhou, and Li Mo was renamed Huimo.
Inkstone, commonly known as Inkstone, is a tool for China to write, paint and grind pigments. Ink was very popular in Han Dynasty, but it was widely used in Song Dynasty. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there were many kinds of inkstones, including Yan Tao, Duanyan, She Yan and Chengni, and they were called "four famous inkstones". The literati in ancient China attached great importance to inkstone, not only accompanied them all the time, but also used it as a martyr after death.