- INTRODUCTION:

Ink has been an important part of the Chinese culture for many centuries especially in calligraphy and painting. The items that Chinese artist use is called the "Four Treasures," which is brush, ink, rubbing stone, and the material used for writing on paper.( Gotze 10)

WRITING:

HOW TO PAINT AND DRAW:

Chinese painters do not use easels because the water based mediums would run off the painting and destroy the artwork; thus they work on a flat surface. Holding a brush has been fine-tuned; having it perpendicular to the painting as well as holding it with the thumb and three fingers creates a perfect equilibrium and ease. (p 61 Ch'eng-wu) (what about the ink.)

DESCRIBING A PAINTING:

"The tones of black produced by varying ink intensity give rise to an infinity of nuances, and these in association with the various tone values and textures of the ground material

of silk or paper produce multiple inter-reactions between writing and background.( Gotze 9)"

MEDITATION:

- TOOLS AND MATERIALS:

TOOLS:

Chinese brushes have been used for at least three thousand years for calligraphy. Archaeologists discovered old documents that said the brushes were made out of certain grass roots, and crushed bamboo or wood. Later Chinese brushes became more sophisticated as they used animal fur tied to either bamboo or a wooden handle. The animal fur that was used for the bristle came from raccoons, foxes, and other small animals. The length of the hair is important to the brush for it "absorbs and holds the ink and acts as a cushion to allow the brush to glide smoothly across the paper. (p. 85 Sato)" Different kinds of bristles allow the painter to give his painting different kinds of texture.

MATERIALS:

The first objects that were used to write on were "slate-like stones or thin sheets of wood or bamboo (89)" and then silk was used. In the early Han Dynasty (200 BC to 220 AD) a thick cardboard like paper was used and then an imperial household member discovered a way to use linen and other fabrics to make paper. As the years past, the Chinese have been improving their paper making technique.

The earliest Chinese ink was made out of crushed wood or grasses or from ground rocks. By the early Han period, the process of creating ink was practically the same as today:

"Carbon was crushed into a powered and mixed with glue on a flat slate saucerwith a stone stick. Later in the Han period, the paste of powdered carbon and glue were shaped into a cone and allowed to harden. Ink was also made from the soot, which collected on the ceiling and walls of temples from burning candles and oil lamps. The soot was blended with a special gelatin made from deer, and the mixture was compressed into stick form. To make ink, the cones and sticks were rubbed on a tray or plate containing water.(Sato 87)"

In the present time, ink is made out of soot from burning pine then mixing it with glue.