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A brush with the classics
By ,
Updated: 2004-01-14 13:52 By tradition, China's
scholarly elite pursued artistic achievement alongside a study of the Confucian
Classics - requiring four "treasures" --- ink, ink stone, paper and
brush.
These are known as wen fang si bao in Chinese.
These days,
the return of the four simple treasures to the desks of scholars, more often
than not, has little to do with the pursuit of Chinese calligraphy and
painting.
They are not just useful implements for writing but beautiful
objects of art or ornaments in the study.
You may set them in your own
study or send them as a unique gift to friends.
The essence of each is
respectively xuan paper and hui ink stick from Anhui, duan ink stone from
Guangdong and the hu writing brush from Zhejiang.
Hu brush
 The hu brush, the most famous brush, is produced originally
in Huzhou, now the city of Wuxing, Zhejiang Province. Its stick is made of a
special bamboo called chicken hair bamboo, grown in Huzhou's neighbouring city,
Jiaxing. The knots of the bamboo are far apart and with very thin hollows
inside.
The goat hair brush is the best known among hu brushes. On the
flat plains near Huzhou, there are goats with hair tips which are transparent.
These hairs are supple and easy to dye with ink. So one way to identify the hu
goat hair brush is by looking at the tip.
Price: 5 yuan (US 60 cents) to
150 yuan (US$18)
Hui ink stick
 Ink is made from a mixture of soot and resin, molded into
stick form. The most commonly used to make ink are pine soot, oil soot and
lacquer soot. A good ink stick is finely grained and has an even and smooth
texture. It is firm and not sticky. It is pure, solid black in colour and
smooth. The control of hue is crucial to the success of a work in
ink.
Price: 4 yuan (US48 cents) to 50 yuan (US$6)
Xuan paper
 Paper is of many kinds, but Xuan paper has been considered
best throughout the ages for Chinese calligraphy. Xuan paper is produced in Jing
County, Anhui Province. The county was under the jurisdiction of Xuanzhou
Prefecture in the Tang Dynasty.
That is whv Jing County paper is called
Xuan paper. The paper is soft and fine textured, suitable for conveying the
artistic expression of both Chinese calligraphy and painting.
Xuan paper
has good tensile strength and not easily eaten by moths. It can be preserved for
a long time. It therefore has the reputation of lasting a thousand years.
There are numerous kinds of Xuan paper, such as dan, jia, luowen, coral,
tiger-skin and jade-plate.
Xuan paper for painting and calligraphy is
rather expensive. Beginners can use coarser, rougher paper instead. More
commonly used paper includes yuanshu, maobian and baima.
Price: 3 yuan
(US36 cents) to 400 yuan (US$48) for a piece of varied sizes
Duan ink stone
 To use ink in the traditional stick form, an ink stone is
required. As the name suggests, most ink stones are made of stone or bricks. The
stone used must be of relatively fine whetstone materials to facilitate the
grinding of the ink without harming the bristles of the brush pen.
The
ink stone of Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province, known as duanyan in Chinese or duan
ink stone, has always been part of the writing kit of Chinese
scholars.
As early as the Tang Dynasty (AD618-907), an ink stone from
Duanzhou was already considered a rare, valuable possession by many
scholars.
Made of stone that was formed by marine deposit, the Duan ink
stone is dark purple in colour. As it is extremely fine-grained, the surface is
glossy and smooth, like silk. Not only is it friendly to ink sticks and writing
brushes alike but it does not dry easily.
Price: 8 yuan (US 96 cents) to
1,000 yuan (US$120)
| You can find the "four
treasures" in the following book stores where you can also find other
stationery, such as brush jars, paperweights and copies of
calligraphy. |
Suiyazai Bookstore
Location: 115 Liulichang
Dongjie, Xuanwu District
Tel: 6303-6185 |
Cultural Heritage Bookstore
Location: 57
Liulichang Xijie, Xuanwu District
Tel: 6303-1602 |
Guji Bookstore
Location: 34 Liulichang Xijie,
Xuanwu District
Tel: 6303-2104 |
Laixunge Bookstore
Location: 18 Liulichang
Xijie, Xuanwu District
Tel: 6301-7678 |
Haidian Bookstore
Location: 39 Haidian
Xidajie, Haidain District
Tel: 6255-1282 |
Chaoyanglu Bookstore
Location: A3 Hujialou,
Chaoyang District
Tel: 6502-4090 |
China Bookstore chain stores:
Dengshikou
Bookstore
Location: 122 Dongsi Nandajie, Dongcheng
District
Tel: 6525-7562 |
Xinjiekou Bookstore
Location: 28 Xizhimennei
Dajie, Xicheng District
Tel:
6618-2295 |
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