The word "Qin, Qi, Calligraphy and Painting" first appeared in Zhang Yanyuan's Calligraphy in the Tang Dynasty. I just learned engineering, piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, all of which are wonderful. Bian is a disciple of Wang Xizhi and Sun Zhiyong. Emperor Taizong sent Xiao Yi to collect Wang Xizhi's calligraphy works. He learned that there was Wang Xizhi's calligraphy on the side, so he lied and said that Wang Xizhi's calligraphy was true. This is the preface to Lanting Collection, the calligraphy work in the first half. Zhang Yanyuan recorded the process of this matter in the Book of Laws. Ink, paper and inkstone are called Four Treasures of the Study. In ancient times, these four things were necessary tools for writing. After the war, Meng Tian, the general of Qin State, invented the writing brush. The place of origin of ink is best fired by Pinus taiwanensis.
Paper was invented by Cai Lun in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Anhui Xuan paper is the best. The inkstone produced in Bo County, Anhui Province is the best. The language of ink, paper and inkstone originated from Shi Naian's Eighty Chapters of the Water Margin in Ming Dynasty. Ink, paper and inkstone. Pen refers to a writing brush, which can be traced back to about 2000 years ago. According to textual research, the bamboo calligraphy and ink on the Oracle bones unearthed in Yin Ruins were written with a brush. It can be seen that writing with brush began before Shang Dynasty. According to documents, artificial ink began to appear in Han Dynasty. This ink is made of pine smoke.
It is recognized that paper was invented by Cai Lun in the Eastern Han Dynasty. However, archaeological excavations show that ancient paper can be divided into. Fangmatan paper in the early Western Han Dynasty, Baqiao paper, Xuanquan paper, Maquanwan paper and Juyan paper in the middle Western Han Dynasty, and Handanbo paper in the late Western Han Dynasty. These papers predate Cai Lun paper. Inkstone, probably from the early Shang Dynasty. Bronzes in Shang Dynasty were very developed, and bronze inkstones were used. Later, it was expanded to use pottery as an inkstone. In ancient times, inkstone was the most common, and it is still the best stone until now.