Four Treasures of the Study

In the old days, one needs paper, ink stick, Chinese brush and ink stone to write or paint. They are called “four treasures of the study”.

There are a great number of varieties of them, and the best- known ones are the paper of Xuancheng, the ink stick of Huizhou, the Chinese brush of Huizhou and the ink stone of Duanxi.

Paper

The best paper used for Chinese writing or painting with a Chinese brush is called Xuan paper since it was produced in a place near Xuancheng in Anhui Province. Being high quality, it was used as a tribute to the emperor early in the Tang Dynasty(618-907).Xuan paper is white, smooth, refined, even, soft, resilient and absorbent. As soon as the ink touches the paper it quickly seeps in, which can best present the characteristics of Chinese calligraphy and painting. Xuan paper can be preserved for a long time without decay or change of color, and is insect proof, many ancient calligraphic works and traditional Chinese painting have been preserved intact for several hundred years or even a thousand years.

Ink stick

Chinese calligraphers and artists paid particular attention to the quality of the ink stick. The best ink stick is produced in Huizhou, Anhui Province. It was first produced in Tang Dynasty more than a thousand years ago. Some Chinese medicine and perfume or even gold flakes are mixed into the materials in order to make better ink stick. Ink made by such a stick is particularly black with some fragrance. Ink sticks made in Huizhou can still be used after scores of years.

Chinese brush

The production and use of the Chinese brush can be dated back several thousand years. A Chinese brush is made primarily of hairs from a beast and a small bamboo pipe. It takes 70 processing methods to make a good Chinese brush. Tens of thousands of hairs of a sheep, rabbit or weasel have to be chosen one by one and bound together to make the brush. The best-known Chinese brush is manufactured in Huizhou, Zhejiang Province, which produces more than 200 years.

Ink stone

The ink stone is used in for grinding the ink stick in order to make ink. The ink stone has a history of 3 000years in China. Ink stone produced in Duanxi, Shexian Country, Taohe River and Henan, Hebei and Shanxi provinces (Chengni ink stone) are the best -known types. Ink produced on an ink stone of Duanxi takes less time to prepare and will not easily dry up. In ancient times, the ink stone of Duanxi was not only a precious artistic object but also a tribute to the emperor.

Paper, ink stick, Chinese brush and ink stone have played very important roles in the development of traditional Chinese calligraphy and painting.