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The Four Treasures of the Study
Each of these item is represented by its “best”: the xuan paper, hui ink stick, hui brush and duan inkslab are highly valued in the country and known abroad as well.
This paper is mainly used for writing on painting on with a brush. It has a history of over 1,000 years, being a “tribute paper” for the court as early as the Tang Dynasty (618-907). What we know today as Chinese painting is , for the over whelming part, executed on xuan paper, without which one might say there would be no Chinese painting as it is.
The writing brush is a functional handicraft article peculiar to China, an instrument still used by its pupils in calligraphy and painting exercises. The first writing brush, according to legend, was made by Meng Tian, a general under the First Emperof of Qin (259-210 B.C.), long time in command of the troops stationed along the Great Wall. 3)The Huiink Stick (徽墨 Huimo) The Chinese “solid ink” or ink stick is used to produce ink, when needed; it can also be a work of art. The way to make Chinese ink is to put a little water on an inkslab and then rub the ink stick on it round and round. When the liquid becomes thick and black enough, it is ready for writing with a brush. 4)The Duan Inkslab (端砚 Duanyan) To write with a brush, one must prepare one's own ink. Chinese ancestors developed the inkslab or inkstone for this purpose. The earliest Chinese inkslabs unearthed so fat date from the Han Dnasty utensil for ink-making has been in use in the country for at least 2,000 years. In a nutshell, the inkstone ( yan or yantai) is a sort of millstone on which water is turned into ink by the rubbing of an ink stick. It is generally made of stone of a smooth and fine-grained variety.
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The writing brush, in stick, paper and inkslab are the traditional implements and materials for writing and painting and have always been named collectively as the “four treasures of the study”.
1)Xuan Paper (宣纸 Xuanzhi)
2)The Hu Writing Brush ( 湖笔 Hubi)