Pen, ink, paper and inkstone are often called "the four treasures of the study".
Brush
The earliest writing brush can be traced back to more than 2,000 years ago. Although no actual writing brush has been seen since the Western Zhou Dynasty and above, some signs of the use of writing brushes can be found in prehistoric painted pottery patterns and oracle bone inscriptions from the Shang Dynasty. In the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, brushes were widely used to write on bamboo slips and silk. A writing brush from the Spring and Autumn Period was discovered in the tomb of Zeng Houyi in Leigudun, Suizhou City, Hubei Province. It is the earliest brush discovered so far. Later, the Warring States Period pens unearthed from Zuojiagang Mountain in Changsha City, Hunan Province, the Qin Dynasty pens unearthed from Shuihudi in Yunmeng County, Hubei Province, and Fangmatan in Tianshui City, Gansu Province, as well as Mawangdui, Changsha, Fenghuang Mountain, Jiangling County, Hubei Province, The Han brushes from Wuwei City in Gansu Province, Xuanquanzhi and Maquanwan in Dunhuang City, the ancient Juyan area in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and the Western Jin Dynasty brushes from Wuwei are all rare and precious materials left over from the ancient times.
Ink
It seems to be a bit monotonous, but it is an indispensable item in ancient writing. With the help of this original material, the fantastic and wonderful artistic conception of Chinese calligraphy and painting can be realized. The world of Mo is not boring, but rich in content. As a consumable item, it should be very precious if ink can be presented intact today.
Before the invention of artificial ink, natural or semi-natural ink was generally used as writing materials. Prehistoric painted pottery patterns, oracle bone inscriptions from the Shang and Zhou dynasties, bamboo slips, silk calligraphy and paintings, etc., leave traces of the original use of ink everywhere. Documents record that ink was also used in ancient ink punishment (tattooing), ink rope (used in carpentry), and ink turtle (divination). After this long process, in the Han Dynasty, artificial ink products finally began to appear. The raw material of this ink is taken from pine tobacco. It was first kneaded by hand and later molded. The ink is solid. According to the record of "Han Guan Yi" written by Ying Shao of the Eastern Han Dynasty: "Shang Shu Ling, Pu, Cheng and Lang, each month gave Yumi a big ink and a small ink to Yumi." Yumi was located in Qianyang County, Shaanxi Province today, near the end of the month. Nanshan has many pine trees on the right side of the mountain and is extremely famous for the smoke material used to make ink.
From the making of cigarette materials to the final product, there are multiple processes such as glue filling, mixing, steaming and pestle, and there is also a molding process. The carving of the ink mold is an important process and an artistic creative process. The shapes of ink are roughly square, rectangular, round, elliptical, irregular, etc. The ink mold is generally composed of six pieces: front, back, upper, lower, left and right. A round or idol-shaped ink mold only needs four or two plates. Built-in ink, close the hammer tightly to smash the finished product. The logo is mostly engraved on the side so that it can be easily replaced when the ink mold is reused. The appearance of ink is diverse and can be divided into natural ink, lacquered ink, gold rinse ink and lacquered edge ink.
Paper
It is one of the four great inventions in ancient China and has made outstanding contributions to the spread of culture in history. Even today when machine-made paper is prevalent, certain traditional handmade papers still play an irreplaceable role and shine with their unique brilliance. The appearance of ancient paper can still be seen in the ancient calligraphy and paintings that have been handed down.
For a long time before the invention of paper, what did people use as note-taking materials? According to literature and physical data, the earliest people used knotted ropes to remember events. When something happened, tie a knot and the matter would be solved. Later, inscriptions were inscribed on turtle shells and animal bones, so-called "oracle bone inscriptions". After the creation of bronze, inscriptions were engraved on bronze vessels, namely "inscriptions in gold" or "inscriptions on bells and tripods". Later, the words were written on pieces of bamboo or wood, which were called "bamboo slips", and thicker bamboo slips were called "slips". At the same time, some are also written on silk products. Before the pre-Qin Dynasty, in addition to the above record materials, texts carved on stones were also found, such as the famous "Stone Drum Inscriptions".
As everyone knows, paper was invented by Cai Lun in the Eastern Han Dynasty. However, archaeological excavations in recent years have raised questions about this. With the progress of archaeological work along the Northwest Silk Road, many Western Han Dynasty sites and tombs have been discovered, including paper relics. These right papers are named according to the place where they were unearthed.
From the chronological order of the ancient papers unearthed so far, they can be arranged as follows: Fangmatan paper in the early Western Han Dynasty, Baqiao paper, Xuanquan paper, Maquanwan paper and Juyan paper in the middle Western Han Dynasty. Dry beach slope paper in the late Western Han Dynasty.
Not only are these papers earlier than Cai Lun paper, but some of them also have ink marks on them, indicating that they have been used for writing documents.
Inkstone
[urlInkstone, also known as "Inkstone", was praised by the ancients as "the four treasures of the study". This is because ink must be grinded with water before it can be used, and the method of stoning to produce ink is an inkstone. Among them are pottery, mud, bricks, metal, paint, porcelain, stone, etc. The most common one is stone inkstone. There are many stones that can be used as inkstones. Our country is vast and rich in resources, with famous mountains and rivers everywhere. Naturally, there are many kinds of stones. Wherever stones are produced, there must be masonry, so inkstones are produced all over the country.
The most famous ones are Duan inkstone from Zhaoqing, Guangdong, She inkstone from Anhui, Lu inkstone from Shandong, Longwei inkstone from Jiangxi, and Chengni inkstone from Shanxi. The key points of inkstones are: fine texture, moist and pure texture, crystal smooth, beautiful texture and color, easy to ink but not absorbent. Some have breasts, some have eyes, some have belts, and some have stars. It is best to be born in a place with mountains and close to water. For example, the Duan inkstone comes out of Huke and bathes in the Zhukeng of Duanxi River in the Yangtze River. Although they come from the same place, the stone quality is also different, such as blue and white, azure, banana leaf white, fish brain jelly, ice pattern Venus, rib, eyebrow, red silk, swallow, purple gold stone, turtle stone, etc. . Stone fine work also requires exquisite craftsmanship. The carving of inkstones has already formed an art, and its ingenuity can be applied in everything from stone picking, material selection, shaping, groove making, smoothing, carving, etc. Some high-quality inkstones are no longer practical. Due to their high price, they can only be used as antiques for appreciation and collection, and they are reluctant to get wet and ink. Inkstones are valuable because of their quality, some because they are made, and some because they are used by famous people, etc.
The inkstone needs to be washed frequently and must not be contaminated with water. The inkstone must be inkstoned with fresh water every time you ink. The older the ink ingot, the better, because the glue will naturally disintegrate over time, but water cannot store old ink and must be added with new ink. If you are afraid of being stained with oil, you can use lotus pods or old tea leaves to scrub when washing. It is better to add water at a lukewarm temperature. Do not add boiling water to prevent bursting. Therefore, calligraphers should not only know how to use inkstones, but also how to raise them.
Brush, ink, paper, and inkstone each have their own uses and their own specialties. The so-called "famous inkstone and clear water, ancient ink and new invention, commonly used pen, and old paper", together they are The whole set, and then write our words, synthesize into our unique traditional calligraphy art. It is not only appreciated by ourselves, but also increasingly attracted and cherished by people all over the world.