Paper is one of the four great inventions in ancient China. The paper for painting and calligraphy art is made in Xuancheng, Anhui Province, so it is called "Xuan paper". Due to different processing methods, there are raw and cooked points. Raw rice paper has strong water absorption and is mostly used for freehand brushwork. Cooked rice paper has weak water absorption and is mostly used for meticulous painting.
Xuan Paper-Originated from the hilly and mountainous area of Jingxian County, Anhui Province, China (Jingxian County belongs to Xuanzhou City in ancient times, so it is called "Xuan Paper"). Xuan paper-white and delicate, soft and uniform in texture, soft and tough, smooth but not slippery, transparent and bright, consistent in color, durable, unbreakable, aging-resistant, insect-proof and moth-proof, so it has the reputation of "Millennium Life Paper".
There are many kinds of rice paper, which can be divided into three categories according to the material selection: cotton material, clean skin and ultra-clean paper; According to the thickness, it can be divided into: single publicity, double publicity, two-layer clip, three-layer clip and so on. According to paper grain, it can be divided into single silk road, double silk road, rib and turtle grain.
Xuan paper is divided into raw Xuan, cooked Xuan and semi-cooked Xuan. Cooked rice paper is processed with alum water, and the ink is not easy to penetrate and will not melt when it meets water, but the effect is different from other papers. It can be used for detail description, repeated rendering and coloring, and is suitable for painting green and colorful meticulous landscapes. Raw rice paper is not treated with alum, which is characterized by strong water absorption and water permeability. It melts when it meets water, and it is easy to produce rich Mo Yun changes. It can receive the artistic effect of water-light ink printing, vigorous and beautiful, and is mostly used for freehand brushwork landscape painting. Familiar posters are easy to master, but they are also prone to problems of fluency and stagnation; Sheng Xuan's paintings are interesting, but they penetrate quickly and are difficult to master. Therefore, painting landscapes generally likes to use semi-cooked rice paper. Semi-cooked rice paper melts slowly in water, which not only changes Mo Yun, but also does not penetrate too much. Easy to master rubbing, rubbing, tracing and dyeing, and can show rich brushwork and ink interest.
Famous literati in past dynasties cherish and like to use Xuan paper. Painting with inscriptions on rice paper, Mo Yun is clear, well-organized, full of backbone, magnificent, thick but not muddy, light but not gray, and its calligraphy and painting are vivid and shiny on paper. Produce special and complete artistic effects.
Types of rice paper
The main raw materials for papermaking are mostly plant fibers, mainly bamboo and wood. The fiber of wood is elastic, which makes the paper have strong ink absorption. Bamboo fiber is brittle and hard, and the paper made of it has weak ink absorption, so it can be divided into two categories:
Weak blotting paper: made of bamboo fiber, the paper is smooth, the ink floats on the surface, and it is not easy to open slowly, so the color is bright. Mainly paper, such as Tang paper, clay paper and today's foreign paper also belong to this category.
Integrity paper: a famous paper used by Li Houzhu in the Southern Tang Dynasty, which is as famous as Tingguimo. It is characterized by smoothness and compactness, and is known as "as slippery as spring ice and as dense as a seal". It is the top grade of weak blotting paper, which is almost called jade water paper, and the inferior one is called cold jade. "Light and crisp" is its characteristic.
Shu Gui: According to legend, the ancient papermaking method of Cai Lun was spread in West Shu, and the Shu Gui produced by it was quite famous since the Tang Dynasty, such as Xue Taogui and Xie Gonggui. It is said that its water quality is pure, so its paper is great. "Thank the official document" is named after the teacher's creativity, because it has ten colors, also known as ten-color text. "Xue Taogui" is named after pottery, but this kind of colored paper is made according to the ancient method, which is easy to dye and cannot be circulated for a long time. Just for fun.
Tibetan scripture paper: Tibetan scripture paper is a paper used by Buddhist temples to write or print Buddhist scriptures, also known as Jin Sugui, which is available in yellow and white.
Clay gold and wax jars commonly used in Ming and Qing dynasties are rare today, and cold light jars are rare even if they have the lowest appearance. Bird paper made in Japan is widely used now, but it is expensive, not durable and really not practical.
Strong blotting paper: mostly wood fiber, with strong ink absorption and rough surface. When ink falls off the paper, it is easy to disperse, and writing is often done with paste or wax. The paper is bright and delicate, mainly Xuan paper. Although it appeared late, it has replaced paper and become the most valuable writing paper.
Xuan Paper and Imitation Xuan: The most valuable writing paper today is Yupan Xuan. Lime for yubanxuan, mulberry, short wood, straw and sandalwood skin has the strongest ink absorption and the best texture. Xuan paper is named after Xuancheng, Anhui Province, but Xuancheng itself does not produce paper, and the surrounding local paper is declared as scattered land.
Let's continue to talk about the precious jade plate announcement. This kind of paper can't be used by everyone, because it has strong ink absorption, so it is hard for people who use it slowly: as long as they stop writing, the ink will seep out and form a big ink ball! However, some people use its characteristics to write distinctive characters, such as Bao's light ink book and Qi Baishi's freehand brushwork.
Because rice paper is too ink-absorbing and difficult to write, some people have improved it: either calendering, adding glue alum or adding pulp. After improvement, the ink absorption of rice paper is slightly reduced, making it easier to write.
Wool paper, Yuan Shu paper and cotton paper: Xuan paper is expensive and is often used when learning Chinese characters. This kind of paper was originally used to print books, but because of its good paper quality, some people bought books and cut them out to practice writing, so it is called "pleated paper". The raw material of this paper is mainly bamboo, which is yellow in color and excellent in texture, which is very different from the machine-made selvage paper used by primary and secondary school students now. Yuanshu paper is similar to fringed paper, but it is unknown today. The cotton paper produced in this province can also be regarded as this kind, with good texture, toughness and low price, which can be used as calligraphy.
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