The four treasures of the study: ink, inkstone, brush, and paper

In China, four basic tools have been used since ancient times for writing, drawing, and painting: an ink stick (ink in solid form), an ink stone (for grinding the ink stone to create a powder before mixing it with water), a brush (the preferred implement for writing as well as painting), and paper. As calligraphy rose to become one of the chief accomplishments of the ancient Chinese scholar-gentleman, and eventually to become the Chinese art for par excellence, the tools of the art were likewise canonised as ‘the four treasures of the study’ and subjected to a level of devoted refinement which went far beyond mere practical necessity or convenience.
 
Inkstick. An inkstick is composed of several ingredients: soot is produced by burning oil or wood; animal glues are used to bind the soot together; incense and traditional Chinese medicines can be added to the mix to improve aesthetics, fragrance, and preservation. Mixed together in the right proportions they create a dough which can be pressed into a mould and slowly dried: although rectilinear or cylindrical shapes are more common, more decorative forms are also known, including maker’s marks and calligraphy (see Image 2: nine examples in the Ashmolean are available here). A good inkstick is hard as stone, with a sheen like lacquer, and rings slightly when struck.  
 
Inkstone. In order to produce liquid ink, the inkstick must be ground on an abrasive surface and mixed with water, in the manner indicated in the graphic above (Image 3). Each scholar-calligrapher-painter must therefore mix their own ink, and the precise quality and texture of the ink depends largely on the stone on which it is ground; so it is perhaps unsurprising that ‘Four Famous Inkstones’ came to be particularly treasured:

• Duan stone (a volcanic tuff from Zhaoqing in southern China: Image 4),
• She stones (a black slate, from further north),
• Tao(he) stones (crystalline stones, similar in appearance to jade, and found at the bottom of the Tao River, in northwestern China), and
• Chengni stones (which are ceramic and originate in  Luoyang, in China’s central plain). Bronze, iron, and porcelain were also used.

At the peak of this scholarly culture during the Tang and Song dynasties, inkstones were richly carved to become intricate works of art in their own right (Image 4).
 
Brush.
 
Paper. As in the case of the other 'four treasures', particular papermaking processes from different Chinese regions were regarded as particularly valuable, above all the Xuan paper explored in the previous video.

Credit: Howard Hotson (April 2019)