The origin of pens
China's calligraphy and painting are unique and beautiful arts in the world cultural history, and the pen as a writing and painting tool is also an important invention in the world cultural history. Ancient Chu called the pen "Yu", Wu called it "irregular" and Yan called it "Fu". After Qin unified the six countries, it was called "pen".
In ancient times, the main raw materials for making pens were animal hair. At first, people made pens from the hairs of various poultry and animals, such as goose hair, chicken feathers, pheasant hair, wool, sheep beard, deer hair, pig hair, leopard hair, tiger hair, and some also used human beard and fetal hair. From long-term practice, it is gradually concluded that rabbit hair is the best raw material for pen making. When choosing rabbit hair, autumn and winter are the most important and healthy, but rabbit hair is useless in spring and summer. In Wei and Jin Dynasties, pens were made of moustaches. In this world, the so-called moustache is Sorreltail, and the front is harder than rabbit hair. In the Tang dynasty, the pen was still made of rabbit hair, and the name purple hair appeared, which is an old rabbit hair with strong toughness. It was not until the Song Dynasty that Xing Wu's Hu Bi was made of wool. Xing Wu goat hair has capillary action, soft front, white color and clean quality, and is an excellent raw material for pen making. Huzhou not only produces the most famous wool pens, but also begins to produce wolf hair, purple hair and double-stranded writing brushes.
China has a long history of pen making. Generally speaking, the pen has been in use since the book appointment. As early as the Neolithic Yangshao cultural site, the new pottery with animal patterns and geometric patterns on its surface was clear and smooth, which shows that the brush was already used at that time. In Shang Dynasty, a piece of pottery with the word "sacrifice" was found in the excavation of Yin Ruins in Anyang, and the brushwork was graceful. Later, pottery with traces of Zhu brush and some Oracle bones were unearthed. There are quite a number of "Yu" characters in Oracle Bone Inscriptions, that is, Chinese calligraphy. The above shows that Chinese brush originated in Neolithic Age and was widely used in Shang Dynasty.
Type of pen
There are many kinds of pens, among which Zihao, Langhao, Yang Hao and double-headed brush are the most important.
The purple brush is made of the hair on the back of the rabbit's neck, so it's named after its dark purple color. The strength of rabbits in the north and south is also different, and some are made in the north and south. The tenacity of rabbits is called health brush, which is better than that of the north. It is long and sharp, suitable for writing straight Fang Zhengzhi characters, and is valued by calligraphers. Bai Juyi's "Purple Pen Yuefu Poetry" says: "Purple pen is like a cone and sharp as a knife." Describe the characteristics of Zihao pen very completely. However, because only the hair on the back of the rabbit's neck is available, it is expensive and heroic, so you can't write big characters on the plaque.
Wolf brush is actually made of wolf hair. The previous generation did make pens with wolf hair; But today, the wolf's hair is weasel's hair, not wolf's hair. What Langhao saw was recorded very late, and some people used "mustache pen" as Langhao pen, so the use of Langhao can be pushed to before Wang Xizhi's Jin Dynasty, but it is not certain. Weasels can only use the tip of their tails as pens. They are tough by nature, second only to rabbits but too woolly, and they are also healthy pens. Disadvantages are similar to those of Zihao, not too big.
Wool is made from the hair or tail hair of green sheep or antelope. Textual research began before the Northern and Southern Dynasties. By the Qin Dynasty, Meng Tian's improved new pen had become a pen-making material. Calligraphy is the most important thing, sheep are soft and have no front, and books are "weak and boneless", which are rarely used by calligraphers in past dynasties. Sheep hair became popular only after the Southern Song Dynasty. But it was widely used after the early Qing Dynasty. Because the Qing Dynasty paid attention to roundness and delicacy and was not allowed to show off talents, only soft wool could meet the requirements and was widely used at that time. The softness of wool is also poor. If it is properly combined with paper and ink, it can also show a plump and gentle style, and it is cheap and easy to get. Wool is so long that it can be written in large letters more than half a foot.
Double two brushes have more than two kinds of pens, named according to their mixing ratio, such as three purple seven sheep and five purple five sheep. Meng Tian's improved pen, with deer hair as the column and wool as the quilt, belongs to a double-stranded brush. Double double brush takes one more health value and one more softness value to match, with health value as the main factor, which is called "column". Gentleness is a bad habit, called "righteousness". No matter how long the column is, the quilt is also short. This is called a pen with a column and a quilt. The quilt also has many layers, such as rabbit hair as a column, short wool quilt, and three layers of * * * are the same length as the column, so the root is extra thick, the pen tip is thin, and more ink is stored, which is convenient for writing. The characteristics are different according to the mixing ratio, either rigid or soft, or moderate in hardness, and cheap and labor-saving, all of which are advantages.
The Millennium Origin of Tiger Skin
Huzhou writing brush
Tiger Pen: Also known as Tiger Shadow, it is one of the "Four Treasures of the Study" and is known as the "crown of pens".
China's brush originated very early, and the "Lake Pen" was famous in the world, which was in the Yuan Dynasty six or seven hundred years ago. Before the Yuan Dynasty, Xu Anbi was the most famous city in China. Su Dongpo and Liu Gongquan both like to use Xuanzhou pen; After the Yuan Dynasty, Xu Anbi was gradually replaced by the Ministry of Housing. According to "Huzhou Prefecture Records", "Feng Qingke and Lu Wenbao made pens in the Yuan Dynasty, taking the method of their hometown, so Hu Bi became famous all over the world." "Huzhou Feng Bimiao incoherent, Shen Rixin can work. If you wave your hand in Yutang, you will not hesitate to ask for it like a pearl. " People are willing to buy lake pens at a high price, which shows their excellent reputation.
Hu Bi's hometown is Shanlian Town, Huzhou, Zhejiang Province. According to legend, Meng Tian, a general in Qin Dynasty, invented a brush with dead wood as the tube, deer hair as the column and wool as the quilt. Later, Meng Tian once lived in Shanlian, Huzhou, improved his writing brush, took the hair of rabbits and sheep, and "took good care of it" to make what later generations called a "lake pen". After the success of Hu's pen-making reform, he passed on his skills to the Shanlian people, so that almost every family in the local area could write and make pens. With a history of more than 2,000 years and the leading role of Han, Jin, Sui, Tang, Song and Yuan Dynasties and contemporary calligraphers, Hu Bi has been deeply integrated into this land. Therefore, Shanlian built Mengtian Temple for it.
After Montaigne's death, Shanlian's calligrapher did not forget his ancestors' kindness and donated money to build "Meng Gong Temple" next to Yongxin Temple, also known as Meng Xi. Every birthday of Meng Tian and Bi Niangniang (according to legend, it is March 16 and September 16 of the lunar calendar), a grand commemorative event will be held. For thousands of years, people have gathered in Shanlian to worship their ancestors, hoping that the pen industry will flourish. Such folk activities have been going on.
The tiger wall is also called "Tiger Shadow", which is its greatest feature. The so-called "ying" means that there is a neat and transparent front ying at the tip of the pen, which is called "sunspot" in the industry. The depth of the "sunspot" is the length of Feng Ying, which is carefully made of fine mountain wool through nearly 100 processes, such as soaking, pulling, combing, splicing and combining. Bai Juyi once described the fineness and complexity of pen-making skills as "one hair in a million", "wool is light and work is important", so he said that "Mao Ying's skills are the best in the world".
Mengtian pen-making legend
According to folklore, Meng Tian wrote a pen in Huzhou, Zhejiang. There are several versions of folklore today, such as Tang Jianchi, Yao Xinxing, Jin, Chen and Fei Sanduo, and even the book Legend of China Native Products published by Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House 1982 says so. So, is it fake or true?
According to Records of the Historian-Biography of Meng Tian, Meng Tian's grandfather and father both made meritorious deeds, and took Meng Tian as the book of prison literature. This official position is to manage prison sentences and so on. In the twenty-sixth year of the first emperor, Meng Tian became General A Qin because of his family background. He attacked Qi, broke it and worshipped it as literature and history. "At this time of job promotion again. The post of literature and history is an official who manages court documents. "Qin has been integrated with the world, enabling Meng Tian to drive 300,000 people north to Rongdi, take Henan and build the Great Wall." Become a military attache guarding the Great Wall. But soon, "the first emperor wanted to travel all over the world, passing through Jiuping Plain, reaching Ganquan, and making Meng Tian pass." After Qin Shihuang unified China, he traveled all over the country, named Meng Tian as the "channel", and was a pioneer. Historical Records-Qin Shihuang's Biography records that Qin Shihuang visited Huzhou when he toured the whole country: "In October of the thirty-seventh year, the emperor went on a trip ... and went to worship Yu Shun in Jiuke Chongshan, Yunxi, floating under the river, watching the river, crossing the sea pearl, crossing Danyang and reaching Qiantang, facing Zhejiang ... and meeting Ji, offering sacrifices to Dayu ..." The "Wu" in this paragraph is Huzhou today.
"Historical Records-Biography of Xiang Yu" contains: "Xiang Liang killed people and evaded the enemy in Wuzhong, and all the scholars in Wuzhong went out of Xiang Liang." Ji's surname is Xiang Yu. At the end of the Qin Dynasty, Xiang Yu rose up in Huzhou and once played the banner of Fu Su. Therefore, Fu Su's close friend Meng Tian may also abscond and hide in Huzhou, because it is recorded that Meng Tian advised the prince not to die.
According to the above records, Qin Shihuang traveled around the world and visited Huzhou on the way. As a "channel" guard, Meng Tian may have been to Huzhou.
Yan Zhenqing, a writer in the Tang Dynasty, wrote in the tablet: "The overlord of the western Chu Dynasty was the last of Qin Dynasty, avoiding Wu's enmity with him and building Huzhou today." Today, Huzhou still has the land of "Yanpu", also known as "Xiangpu", where Xiang Liang covered Xiang Yu's mouth. This point is clearly remembered in Huzhou government records. Sumo is in the southern Gao Qiao area of Huzhou today. After the death of Qin Shihuang, Qin Ershi and Zhao Gao usurped the throne, Prince Su committed suicide, and at the same time forced Meng Tian to commit suicide. Meng Tian didn't want to die at first. "Why am I guilty of heaven and die without fault?" But if you want me dead, I have to die. "Nai swallow medicine committed suicide. After Montaigne's death, Bu Xiang and his youngest son, accompanied by Bu Xianglian and Shen, returned to their hometown to live in seclusion. Another possibility is that Meng Tian sneaked into Meng Xi with his wife without committing suicide with the prince, and taught the villagers the skill of pen-making. In this way, the lake pen industry took root in Huzhou Shanlian. So later, Xiang Yu revolted in Huzhou, with the help of the prestige of Fu Su and Meng Tian.
There is "Gui 'an Miscellaneous Notes": "Shan Lian was called Meng Xi in ancient times. According to legend, Qin Shihuang's eastern tour (now Shaoxing) and postal boxing (now Jiaxing) ordered the general Meng Tian to station troops to patrol the city and engage in wuyue. Mrs. Monab, you can pretend whatever you want. Mrs. Bu, Yu Xianglian, a clever and wise woman, made pens and books on silk with wool and rabbit hair. Officials and commanders praised her talent. After Meng Tian was killed, his wife and her young son should move from the door, and Shen returned to his hometown to live in seclusion, teaching the villagers three pen-making skills. When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sealed Meng Tian, he set up a shrine to offer sacrifices, calling it Meng Xi. "
At that time, perhaps because of some chance, Bu Xianglian was "wise SHEN WOO", Meng Tian was still in the Great Wall, and Bu Xianglian went to the Great Wall. Meng Tian needs a pen to write when reviewing official documents. But at that time, the pen was to split the end of the bamboo pole, put the pen in the middle, wrap it with silk thread and then color it. Buxianglian saw that it was inconvenient for her husband to write, so she improved her pen and became "Zhemu as bone, deer hair as column and wool as quilt". Meng Tian is easy to write as soon as he uses it. It soon spread to official commanders, and generals and doctors also praised Bu Xianglian. But at that time, Bu Xianglian was just a housewife with no name and no hope, so she made a pen, which was the result of improving the pen and belonged to Montaigne.
The birth and reputation of tiger skin
Huzhou has always been a winning place in the southeast, with abundant talents and endless styles of writing. Famous calligraphers such as Wang Xizhi, Wang Xianzhi, Yan Zhenqing, Mi Fei, Su Shi and Wang all worked as officials or lived in Huzhou. There are also lake painting and calligraphy talents such as Cao Buxing, Zhang Sengyou, Bei Yiyuan, Zhu Shen, Shi Gaoxian, Xu Biaoren and Yan Wengui. Wang Xizhi's seventh son, Sun Tzu, lived in Yongxin Temple in the lake for more than 30 years and was buried with his failure in the "Huibi Tomb". Their calligraphy and painting activities will definitely promote the rise of Huzhou pen industry.
During the Southern Song Dynasty, Huzhou was the first choice for literati to live in seclusion in the mountains. They sang hymns with their princes and scribes, which promoted the development of stationery. The change of book style and the splash of freehand brushwork literati paintings have affected the brush material from rabbit hair to wool; Xuanzhou is near the Song-Jin border. One or two hundred years before the invasion of Yuan soldiers, some pen makers may have gone south to Huzhou, which is near Lin 'an, the capital of Song Dynasty. All these have prepared the external environment for the breeding of Hu Bi.
During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, there was a war between Jianghuai for more than forty years, and Xuancheng was depressed, so calligraphers avoided Jiangnan. Huzhou, on the other hand, was very lucky that it was not looted by soldiers and became the residence of the adherents of the Southern Song Dynasty. Some pen makers who moved to the south moved to Huzhou, relying on the only remaining brush users in the south of the Yangtze River to make a living, and improving the pen-making technology as needed, and the lake pen was born.
The world-famous Hu Bi began in Yuan Dynasty. Qian Shunju's paintings, Zhao Mengfu's ci and Feng Yingke's pen are also called Xing Wu's Three Musts. With the popularity of Zhao's Ci in the world, Feng Yingke's "wonderful pen" in Zhao Mengfu's hand, which holds the pen all day long and is unbeaten in Japanese calligraphy, made his name spread like wildfire and was deeply rooted in people's hearts. In Yuan Dynasty, Huzhou was able to make pens repeatedly, and more than ten people, such as Feng Yingke, Shen Rixin, Wen Sheng, Yang Xianjun and Lu Ying, left their names in the history books, thus establishing the name of "Lake Pen".
Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang made Nanjing his capital, and Ming Taizu Judy moved to Beijing again. The cultural center moved northward, allowing the workers of Hubi to set sail and sell pens in Beijing. At that time, Jie Jin, who majored in Yongle Dadian, and others praised the excellent works of Lu Ying, Lu Wenbao, Xu Yuanxuan and Shi Tingyong. Since then, Shanlian calligraphers have gradually spread all over the north and south of the river and the main roads of Beijing. Although it has moved out of the soil, it is not easy to "name Hu Bi" for generations. According to the rough statistics recorded in relevant documents, the famous shops in Shanghai that have opened ports successively are: Dai, He Lianqing,; Yang Zhenhua, Li Dinghe, Zhou Huchen (said to be Xu Anbi) and Mao Chuntang; Suzhou Bisong Spring; Yangzhou Xingsan Temple; Tianjin Yu Yonghe et al. Constantly exporting skilled calligraphers and all kinds of lake pens and pen embryos, maintaining the reputation of "Mao Ying's stunts are the best in the world".
Manufacturing technology and characteristics of lake pen
Lake pens are exquisite in material selection, fine in craftsmanship and various in variety, ranging from coarse bowls to fine embroidery needles. According to raw materials, tiger skin can be divided into four categories: wool, wolf hair, double brush and purple hair. According to the size specifications, it can be divided into four types: block letters, inch letters, middle letters and small letters. Tiger wall, also known as "tiger shadow". Ying refers to the neat and transparent part of the pen tip, which is called "black spot" by pen makers, which is the biggest feature of the lake pen. After this pen is dipped in black, its nib is still sharp. When it is scattered, the hair inside and outside is neat and not short.
Characteristics of Hu Bi
Four Treasures of the Study-Mexico
The origin of ink
China calligraphy and painting ink is one of Four Treasures of the Study and a traditional special handicraft in China. It is an important tool for China's cultural development and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries. Ink is made of carbon (tobacco, coal) mixed with animal glue, mixed with agent and steamed pestle. Ink has the characteristics of dark and durable color, non-stick pen, strong fragrance, free calligraphy and painting, etc., especially advanced products such as tung oil, fat oil and lacquer smoke ink, which are made by adding more than a dozen precious raw materials such as musk, borneol, clove and pig bile, and the products are particularly famous. When using, the ink color can be divided into shades, which is both rigid and flexible and handy. Therefore, it has become one of the main tools for artists to express their wisdom, and established the unique style of China's painting in the world art history. Ink is also one of the indispensable material factors for the development of printing in China, and ancient books and rubbings in China have also spread all over the world through it, enriching the cultural content of the motherland. Ink painting is a unique handicraft, because it combines China's painting, calligraphy and carving skills.
Tracing back to the origin of ink, it can be divided into natural ink and artificial ink. Natural ink began in the Neolithic Age. For example, in 1980, a complete set of painting tools was unearthed from Yangshao cultural tomb in Jiangzhai village, Lintong, Shaanxi Province, including inkstone, millstone, water tank and black-red iron oxide ore. When in use, the stone is pressed on the ore and ground on the inkstone with water. This black-red iron oxide ore is a natural ink. Artificial ink, from the earliest literature, "Shangshu? The article Yi Xun said: "If you don't punish officials, you will be punished. Shangshu again? The article "On Life" says: "Only being right is right. "Book of Rites? "Jade Algae" said: "Stone ... turns fire into turtle, making it ink." The above three different uses of ink punishment, ink rope and ink turtle are all based on ink and have different uses, indicating that the origin of artificial ink began in the Oracle Bone Inscriptions period, that is, the Shang Dynasty. For the scarlet letter and black words written on the Oracle Bone Inscriptions, Americans once made a micro-chemical analysis of the pigment in 1937's Industrial and Engineering Chemistry (analytical edition). The results show that the pigment written on Oracle bones is vermilion and black is carbon (the raw material for making ink now). Laboratory tests show that cinnabar and ink were found in the Yin Dynasty, that is, before12nd century BC, and have been used to write Oracle characters.
Ink type
The types of ink have different classification methods from different angles.
According to time, there are two categories:
Graphite graphite is a natural thing, a kind of rock called "ink". In ancient times, without Song Yanmo, the only way to write calligraphy was to use graphite, and many people used graphite as proof of books. However, since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the use of graphite in writing has been unknown, but it was replaced by pine smoke before the Wei and Jin Dynasties, and calligraphy turned to another new realm. But since today is gone, I won't discuss it here.
After Wei and Jin Dynasties, Song Yanmo and Yan Song replaced graphite. The origin of pine smoke is very early, and there were precious pine smoke in Han Dynasty. Among the famous Mohist writers of past dynasties, Li Tinggui of Southern Tang Dynasty is the most famous. According to legend, its texture is as hard as graphite, "its ink can cut wood and fall into the ditch by mistake, which will not be bad for months." Famous Mohists in later generations include Pangu in the Northern Song Dynasty, Wu Guoliang in the Yuan Dynasty, Jun Fang and Fang Youlu in the Ming Dynasty, and Cao Sugong and Hu Kaiwen since the Qing Dynasty, all of which are giants.
According to different uses, there are:
Commercial ink, which accounts for most of the ink production, is made for public sale and writing by ordinary people. The carving of ink mold is relatively simple, the shape of ink is generally applicable, and the material for selecting cigarettes is also relatively general, but there are also good and bad points.
Precious ink, which lacks practical value, has become a category pursued by busybodies and collectors because of its exquisite selection of materials, meticulous production and high artistic level. This kind of ink is customized by Mohist school for personal use and collection, and some of it is sold to the outside world, but its quality is much higher than that of ordinary commercial ink.
Elegant play with ink, this kind of ink is mostly customized by refined people and officials to Mohism, such as names of people, poems, names of study rooms, painting and calligraphy patterns, etc. They are all for personal use or as gifts, and the materials are exquisite in workmanship, which has always been cherished by collectors.
Gong Yumo, Mo Yu in the Qing Dynasty began in Kangxi, and Yu Shu's Mo Yu was not as good as Huimo's, but it was not the same as Huimo's. Another source of royal ink is the tribute of local officials or government taxes. Tributes of local officials are generally engraved with the words "I am respectful" or "I am so-and-so". This tribute ink is excellent in material selection, fine in carving, striving for perfection, and sparing no expense.
Gift ink is a gift to celebrate people's birthdays, weddings and children's enlightenment. Most of these inks have exquisite decoration and gold washing, such as "Shou Ping Ink" and "Baizi Map", but they are not very particular about the selection of tobacco materials, and only emphasize the luxury and exquisiteness of appearance, so their use value and quality are generally not as good as other types of inks.
Gu Mo is divided into more types according to tobacco materials.
In traditional industries, the materials used to make ink are carbon produced by incomplete combustion of plants, vegetable oils and minerals, mixed with rubber compounds and spices. Therefore, according to the selected tobacco materials, it can be roughly divided into pine smoke, tung oil smoke, lacquer smoke, petroleum smoke and so on. The system of pine smoke is the oldest, and it was the mainstream before tung oil fume was used to make ink in Song Dynasty. Tung oil, tung oil is made of tung oil, 10 kg tung oil can produce 500 grams of high-quality tobacco. Modern painters like to use tung oil smoke ink, which is dark in color and calm in connotation, but pine smoke is not taken seriously. In addition, such as peanut oil, rapeseed oil and so on. Because tung oil fume is prevalent and neglected by people, pine smoke and tung oil fume are the most popular. Pine smoke is blue-black and not suitable for painting; Tung oil is smoked black and purple, which is suitable for painting and calligraphy. The ink made of pine smoke is light, dark and dull; Tung oil smoke ink has luster. Of course, the weight is relative. If the glue is removed for a long time, it may be light and wet, and less glue is used for production. On the contrary, it is heavy and cannot be generalized. In addition, the place where the inscription has the words "pine smoke" and "pine coal" is Song Yanmo; Wherever there are words such as "tribute smoke", "top smoke", "super top smoke" and "five cigarettes of petroleum", it is Tongyou cigarette ink.
Two kinds of ink
Each ink-making company has its own different ink-making styles and unique ink products, thus forming different factions. Because Huimo is famous, except Huimo, other ink merchants can ignore it. Mohism refers to Xie Xian and Xiuning School in Huimo. Since Li Tingwa was born in Huizhou, there have been many Mohists in Huizhou for more than a thousand years, all of whom are famous for their own artistic styles. The so-called difference between Shexian and Xiuning is only the difference between their artistic taste and ink.
The Mohist works of Shexian School have various styles and categories, and Mohists come forth in large numbers, mainly with great momentum and exquisite workmanship. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the tributes of the court and local officials were mostly made by Shexian Mohist school. In addition, the literati made their own Mozi and entrusted it to Shexian Mohist school. Among the Xiuning School, Wang and Wu are important towns, and their descendants are prosperous and famous all over the world. At the same time, Xiuning's Mohist school has many good poems, and many people are also literati, so the ink made is famous for its elegance and charm. Xiuning Mohist initiated ink collection, which had a great influence on later interest in ink making. At the same time, Xiuning ink making, as well as simple and practical all the way, sells well all over the country, and there are also many people with high quality and fine quality.
There are many famous Huizhou ink merchants whose works have spread all over the world. In the Ming Dynasty, there was a well-known Yulu, a Wanli Mohist, whose name was Jianyuan, whose name was Taixuan, and he was from Moyinshan. The name of the room is Jiari Building, such as Shi Ru, who is from Shexian County. Cheng Junfang, a Wanli Mohist, was named Youbo, Zi, a Taoist in Yin Mo. The names of the rooms are also Puzhai, Zhai, Shi and Shexian people. During the Wanli period, the Mohist Ye Xuanqing, alias Taoist, room number Cangshi, was born in Xiuning, and wrote Taiyi Ling Xuan and Shibaomo, which were praised by the world. Wu, a Mohist, is between the Apocalypse and Chongzhen. His name is Mian, Yu, and the room is Zhai. He was born in Xiuning, with no paint on his clothes. He is quite antique, elegant and refined, and is highly respected by scholars. In the Qing dynasty, there were famous sages, Yu, Deer and Shexian people. He is one of the four great masters of Huimo, and his purple jade lamps are excellent. Wang Jinsheng, a native of Xiuning, is one of the four famous Huimo people. Wang Jiean, Yi Li, is from Shexian County. He has a good reputation in Qianlong and is one of the four famous people in Huimo. Hu Kaiwen, a native of Shexian County, is a rising star among the four great schools. His ink paintings are popular all over the country. In addition, there are famous Mohists Wu Shoumo, Hu Xingju, Wu and others in the Qing Dynasty.
How to use ink
Gradually add water: water is needed to grind ink. If there are impurities in the water, the ground ink will be impure. As for adding water, it should not be too much at first, so as not to soften the ink bubble or splash it on the ink. It should be added slowly.
Ink school: There is a so-called "pen school" in Liu Gongquan, and so is grinding ink. The right ink is also correct. If the ink is not straight or oblique, it is neither elegant nor uniform.
Uniform force and moderate urgency: when grinding ink, the force is too light and too heavy, and the ink will be thick and uneven if it is too urgent and too slow. Too light force, too slow speed, wasting time, floating ink; If the force is too heavy and the speed is too fast, the ink will be very thick and light. The correct method should be "finger push", with moderate strength and no hurry.
Moderate concentration: Let me clarify here that even Dong Qichang's light pen is written with thick ink, and the difference lies in the amount of ink dipped, not the depth of ink. If the ink contains too much water, the pen will spread quickly when it touches the paper, forming ink clouds of different sizes and shapes. How can you have a stroke? But don't overdo it. It's terrible to write with ink as thick as half jelly. You also need to remember to use white paper, especially thick ink. If you use colored paper, it can be a little lighter.
Use with grinding: The ink must be re-ground, because if the ink is left for more than one day, the glue and coal will gradually separate, and the ink will be dull and not durable, so it is easy for Su Mo to fade when used as a book. Some ready-made inks sold in the market are sticky and sticky, some are too low in concentration, paper is easy to melt when dropped, and there are many preservatives, which are easy to damage the nib and should not be used.
Storage box: Take out the ink immediately after grinding, and don't put the inkstone pool, otherwise the glue will easily stick to the inkstone pool, and it will not be easy to take off when it is dry, and it can also prevent the ink from becoming soft and wet and hurting both sides. You can't expose yourself to the sun to avoid drying. So it's best to put it in a box, which is the best way to prevent moisture and avoid direct sunlight and dust.
Ink and wash appreciation
Guo Da moved to Mo Qilin in Ming Dynasty.
Bai Zi Tumo Meimei in Ming Dynasty
The oval ink of Shuanglong national treasure in Yongle period of Ming Dynasty
Collecting ink in Ming dynasty
Ming cheng Hua su mo rectangle
Poems of Cao Sugong's Agricultural Weaving in Qing Dynasty
Study on Five-color Ink in Qing Dynasty
Qing gan long Shi you
Hundred Flowers Zhu Mo during the reign of Qing Qianlong.
Four Treasures of the Study-Paper
The origin of paper
Paper was invented by working people in ancient China. Together with the compass, gunpowder and printing, it is called the four great inventions of ancient science and technology in China, which provided a material basis for the prosperity of China culture and promoted the rapid development of China books from the bamboo slips era to the scroll era, and even from the scroll era to the engraving era. It also plays a positive role in promoting the development and exchange of world culture. In particular, the Xuan paper created by the working people in China is known as the "king of paper" and has the characteristics of thinness, compactness, uniformity, whiteness, toughness and durability. Since its birth, it has been combined with China's painting and calligraphy art, which has provided convenience for painters and calligraphers of past dynasties to express their artistic interests. At the same time, due to its unique reputation of "paper lives for thousands of years", a large number of ancient calligraphy and painting marks and woodcut rare books made of rice paper have been well preserved and become treasures in China's national cultural heritage.
At present, there are two different opinions on archaeological discoveries: one thinks that Xi 'an Baqiao paper is not paper, but a kind of natural piled hemp fiber pressed under the pressure of bronze mirror; As for the Jinguan paper in Juyan area of Inner Mongolia and Zhongyancun paper in Fufeng County of Shaanxi Province, although they have the original form of paper, they have not gone through the process of copying, and the paper is rough and cannot be written. It can only be regarded as embryonic form or base paper, not real paper. Therefore, it is concluded that Cai Lun is still the representative or inventor of papermaking. Another view is that Xi 'an Baqiao Paper is the earliest paper in China. They believe that Baqiao paper is made by the basic process of papermaking, and it is impossible for the weight of the bronze mirror to press the accumulated hemp fiber into thin sheets. Baqiao paper can be uncovered layer by layer when unearthed. Baqiao paper is a scattered sheet with irregular interweaving of single fibers and has a typical paper structure. As for Jinguan paper and Fufeng paper, it has been proved that both have gone through the basic papermaking process, and the fibers are short, thin and soft, and the quality is better than Baqiao paper. After the exam, you can write on it with a brush. According to the above analysis, it is reasonable to think that all the ancient papers mentioned above are real papers, which shows that Cai Lun had made paper before.
Paper type
The main raw materials for papermaking are mostly plant fibers, mainly bamboo and wood, and the fiber of wood is flexible, so the paper made has strong ink absorption; Bamboo fiber is brittle and hard, and the paper made of it has weak ink absorption, so it can be divided into two categories:
Weak blotting paper: made of bamboo fiber, the paper is smooth, the ink floats on the surface, and it is not easy to open slowly, so the color is bright. Mainly paper, such as Tang paper, clay paper and today's foreign paper also belong to this category.
Integrity paper: a famous paper used by Li Houzhu in the Southern Tang Dynasty, which is as famous as Tingguimo. It is characterized by smoothness and compactness, and is known as "as slippery as spring ice and as dense as a seal". It is the top grade of weak blotting paper, which is almost called jade water paper, and the inferior one is called cold jade. "Light and crisp" is its characteristic.
Shu Gui: According to legend, the ancient papermaking method of Cai Lun was spread in West Shu, and the Shu Gui produced by it was quite famous since the Tang Dynasty, such as Xue Taogui and Xie Gonggui. It is said that its water quality is pure, so its paper is great. "Thank the official document" is named after the teacher's creativity, because it has ten colors, also known as ten-color text. "Xue Taogui" is named after pottery, but this kind of colored paper is made according to the ancient method, which is easy to dye and cannot be circulated for a long time. Just for fun.
Tibetan scripture paper: Tibetan scripture paper is a paper used by Buddhist temples to write or print Buddhist scriptures, also known as Jin Sugui, which is available in yellow and white. Clay gold and wax jars commonly used in Ming and Qing dynasties are rare today, and cold light jars are rare even if they have the lowest appearance. Bird paper made in Japan is widely used now, but it is expensive, not durable and really not practical.
Strong blotting paper: mostly wood fiber, with strong ink absorption and rough surface. When ink falls off the paper, it is easy to disperse, and writing is often done with paste or wax. The paper is bright and delicate, mainly Xuan paper. Although it appeared late, it has replaced paper and become the most valuable writing paper.
Xuan Paper and Imitation Xuan: The most valuable writing paper today is Yupan Xuan. Lime for yubanxuan, mulberry, short wood, straw and sandalwood skin has the strongest ink absorption and the best texture. Xuan paper is named after Xuancheng, Anhui Province, but Xuancheng itself does not produce paper, and the surrounding local paper is declared as scattered land.
Let's continue to talk about the precious jade plate announcement. This kind of paper can't be used by everyone, because it has strong ink absorption, so it is hard for people who use it slowly: as long as they stop writing, the ink will seep out and form a big ink ball! However, some people use its characteristics to write distinctive characters, such as Bao's light ink book and Qi Baishi's freehand brushwork. Because rice paper is too ink-absorbing and difficult to write, some people have improved it: either calendering, adding glue alum or adding pulp. After improvement, the ink absorption of rice paper is slightly reduced, making it easier to write.
Wool paper, Yuan Shu paper and cotton paper: Xuan paper is expensive and is often used when learning Chinese characters. This kind of paper was originally used to print books, but because of its good paper quality, some people bought books and cut them out to practice writing, so it is called "pleated paper". This kind of paper is mainly made of bamboo, which is yellow in color and excellent in texture, which is very different from the machine-made selvage paper used by primary and secondary school students now. Yuanshu paper is similar to fringed paper, but it is unknown today. The cotton paper produced in this province can also be regarded as this kind, with good texture, toughness and low price, which can be used as calligraphy.