The "four treasures of the study - 文房四宝 wén fáng sì bǎo

Four stationery items indispensable to any Chinese scholar and calligraphy practitioner are brush pen, inkstick, paper and inkstone. They are main tools with which one carries out ones scholarly work, calligraphy and/or traditional Chinese painting. For this reason, they are called the "four treasures of the study" - Wen Fang Si Bao. It is only through these tools that the beauty of Chinese art receives concrete expression.


Brush pen (máo bî) 毛笔
The brush pen was invented very early in Chinese history. According to a few recent archaeological researches, the ancient oracle characters inscribed into the tortoise shells were first written with brush and ink, then carved with a knife. If this is proven, the use of brush pen can be dated as early as 11th century B.C. which is about 3,000 years ago.

Unlike fountain pens, ball-point pens, and other writing instruments with a hard tip, a brush pen is made from fine, soft animal hair. Hairs from goat, rabbit, wolf, horse, mouse and weasel are commonly used to produce various kinds of brush pens. Goat hair brushes are soft, flexible, and absorbent. Rabbit hair brushes produce bold, vigorous lines and are best suited to calligraphy. Sometimes, a mixture of two or three different kinds of animal hairs is used to satisfy a particular style or taste.

Some famous calligraphers even produced their own brush pens according to their own requirements.

The resulting flexibility of the point of the brush pen is perhaps its most outstanding and unique characteristic. An experienced calligrapher can manipulate a brush pen not only to the left and right on a two-dimensional plane , but can also to raise it up and push it down, thus creating lines of varying thickness.

Many aspects of the unique style of Chinese calligraphy evolved due to the special characteristics of the brush pen and how the brush pen is manipulated.


Ink (mò)墨
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 color, without murkiness or roughness. The control of hue is crucial to the success of a work in ink.


Paper(zhî)纸
One of the most important Chinese inventions, paper was invented by a Chinese scholar during the Eastern Han dynasty (25 - 220 A.D.). Since the paper is the medium which a piece of calligraphy is presented and preserved, it is utterly important to use the right paper. An ideal paper must be able to absorb ink quick and hold it well. The surface of paper can not be very firm and smooth. Chinese calligraphy and traditional Chinese painting require different kinds of paper


Ink Stone (yàn)砚
To use ink in the traditional stick form, an inkstone is required. As the name suggests, most inkstones 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. Today, many students use ink bottle to replace ink stick and ink stone.

Source:web.fccj.org