By Wang Shanshan (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-08-10 07:07

The millennia-old Four Treasures of the Study may be included on the List of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

The four, a writing brush, an inkstick, paper and an inkstone, originated in China several thousand years ago and became widely used in Asian calligraphy.

An application to the UN body to be listed is being prepared by the Institute for the History of Natural Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

It will include the cultural and historical context of the Four Treasures, and their status of preservation and usage in contemporary society, Su Rongyu, a researcher at the institute, said.

If the application is successful, it will be the fifth masterpiece of intangible heritage from China to be put on the list. Since it was first published in Paris in 2001, the list has 90 cultural expressions and spaces of 70 countries.

China's Kun Qu Opera was put on the list in 2002, and Guqin, the plucked instrument and its music, was included in 2003. The Uygur Muqam of Xinjiang, a music and dance style, and the Urtiin Duu - or Long Song both appeared on the list in 2005.

Among the Four Treasures, the brush has a history of 4,000 years, the inkstick about 3,000 years, and the paper and inkstone more than 2,000 years.

(China Daily 08/10/2007 page4)