Four Treasures of the Study is a pen, ink, paper and inkstone.
No national civilization is as closely related to its own writing tools as the Chinese national culture, and it can even be called "China on the tip of a pen". China's calligraphy and painting relies on Four Treasures of the Study, a traditional tool to convey the thoughts, characters, life and feelings of the ancients.
As a unique document tool and record carrier in China, in the long history of fragrant calligraphy, Four Treasures of the Study contains the feelings and memories of several generations, which is related to the inheritance of civilization and culture. It is inconceivable that China's ancient culture and art would be like without its own books, and so many brilliant classics would be passed down to this day in what form.
The name of the study originated in the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420-589 AD), which specifically refers to the study of scholars. Pen, ink, paper and inkstone are dedicated to the study and are known as "Four Treasures of the Study". The ancients were known as "excellent brushstrokes and inkstones, which are enjoyable", and the exquisite stationery in the study bears the essence of China's culture for thousands of years. Since ancient times, literati have always regarded books as their soul and pen and ink as their companions. Even Ruan Ji's madness has not been spared. In the eyes of literati, Four Treasures of the Study is not only a tool for painting and calligraphy, but also a spiritual companion.
"If a worker wants to do a good job, he must sharpen his tools first." The ancient road, the essence of calligraphy, was told by Four Treasures of the Study endlessly. Four Treasures of the Study is a necessary tool for literati to splash ink. The ancients used it to write eternal articles or describe mountains and rivers, so they attached great importance to its choice.
Xue Tao once wrote "Ode to Four Friends": "Grinding the belly of Mr. Run Se, sticking to the head of a captain in Tibet, painting a book of coal and being gloomy, resting on an acre of literature." It's about Four Treasures of the Study.
Four Treasures of the Study has a long history, which has changed slightly in different dynasties, but it is basically in the field of pen and ink. Only the famous products in different periods are different, which reflects the historical changes of Four Treasures of the Study's technology and origin.
165438+ 10, the autumn auctions of major auction companies swarmed in, which was the golden auction season. In recent years, in addition to traditional collection items such as calligraphy and painting, stamps, coins and jewelry, the auction of "school stationery" featuring China's unique musical instrument "pen and ink" is also extremely popular, which has become a hot investment spot for many collectors. Shi Shuqing, a famous cultural relic appraiser, wrote in the article "Four Treasures of the Study": "Pen, inkstone, paper and ink are all ancient inventions of China, which have excellent national cultural traditions and unique artistic styles. China's long history and culture are spread through its functions ... At the same time, Four Treasures of the Study itself is constantly improving and perfecting and developing into a unique arts and crafts in China. "
This may be related to the wide audience and large population in Wan Wen market, which is also a normal market phenomenon. After all, talking about Four Treasures of the Study now is somewhat nostalgic.
Let me briefly talk about Four Treasures of the Study.
I. Pen
When the feather pen in Europe and the reed pen in ancient Greece have long since withdrawn from the historical stage, the writing brush is still thriving. Four Treasures of the Study is headed by a pen, and there is a saying: The pen is right and the heart is right. The brush is sharp, neat, round and healthy.
According to historical records, Meng Tian built the Great Wall and used Zhongshan rabbit hair as a pen. Therefore, the earliest historical records show that the brush we used was created by Montaigne, who is regarded as the ancestor of the pen in the local area. It is also said that Meng Tian's wife, Bu Xianglian, is also proficient in pen-making skills and is honored as the Queen of Pen. This cannot be verified. Therefore, Houdian, Hengshui County, Hebei Province, which is known as the hometown of writing brushes, is on the third day of the third lunar month, just like the New Year. Every family packs jiaozi and drinks to celebrate Meng Tian's writing brush.
Qin began to use rabbit hair bamboo tubes as pens. Although the record is unknown, it is the only record in ancient books who created the writing brush. Cai Yong, a scholar and calligrapher in the Eastern Han Dynasty, said in On Writing that before writing, calligraphy should first cultivate feelings and then start writing. "If forced, Zhongshan Rabbit can't be good at all." It can be seen that Zhongshan rabbit hair was very famous in Han Dynasty.
In ancient China, there were many kinds of pen-making materials. In addition to common wolf hair, rabbit hair and wool, chicken feathers, beards, fetal hair and tiger hair can all be made into pen hair. According to the hardness of strokes, there are three kinds of brushes: hard brush, soft brush and double brush. According to the length of strokes, there are three types: long front, center and short front. The lines drawn by brushes with different textures, shapes and sizes are not the same, or graceful, or round and solid, or vigorous and straight, or peaceful and smart.
People endow the brush tip with "four virtues" of neatness, neatness, roundness and health, which not only embodies the quality standards of neatness, sharpness, roundness, strength and durability, but also implies the literati's keen literary mind, broad vision, tolerance and spirit of self-improvement.
In the eyes of the ancients, the brush itself is a symbol of culture and feelings.
Second, ink.
Then there is ink. Ink is a unique writing and painting material in China, which has existed since the book contract. The ancients used pine smoke, lampblack, cinnabar and other materials to make ink, and the fine ink made was firm and delicate, suitable for painting and calligraphy, not only with excellent texture, but also beautifully decorated. The production of ink gradually tends to be gorgeous and complex from simple, and poems, books, paintings and seals are all reproduced on ink. Ancient literati wrote poems, inscriptions and notes for ink, and their love and love for ink can be seen, which set off the wind of literati making ink. Han Xizai's own creation of "Musk Moon" ink, Su Dongpo's "storing a hundred branches of ink", Li Xiaomei's thousands of miles to enjoy ink, Cao Yin's "Lantai elite's gift of ink", Ji Xiaolan's "appreciation of Taoist poet's ink" and Liu Yong's "love of ink hall" all reflect the literati's ink style and interest. Bao wrote in A Pair of Ships in Qing Dynasty: "However, both painting and calligraphy are based on pens and formed in ink, so ink painting is a key to calligraphy." The use of pen and ink directly affects the charm and style of painting and calligraphy. Thick ink put pen to paper, dignified and calm; Painting in light ink is elegant and vivid, and China's calligraphy and painting is unique because of the change of ink color.
In the Tang Dynasty, the ink-making industry was unprecedentedly prosperous, with lean production and numerous craftsmen. The most famous master of ink painting in the late Tang Dynasty and even in the past dynasties was Chao, and his two sons, Yan Gui, were appreciated by Li Yu, the ruler of the late Southern Tang Dynasty. The whole family took "Li" as the national title and named Li Yangui as the official of the ink. From then on, "Li Mo" became famous all over the world. In the Song Dynasty, Shexian, the birthplace of Li Mo, was renamed Huizhou, and Li Mo was renamed Huimo. Today, Tunxi District and Shexian County of Huangshan City are the manufacturing centers of Huimo.
Third, paper.
There are thousands of waters in Qian Qian on the paper. Without good paper, even if calligraphy and painting are natural, it will affect the texture of calligraphy and painting. As the product of one of its four great inventions, paper is the carrier of printing, knowledge and information, and the channel to convey human nature and feelings. Paper is the carrier of writing, painting and printing. Its appearance ended the complicated history of ancient bamboo slips in China.
For the ancients, paper is a tool for fun, a carrier for criticizing the disadvantages of the times, a parting talk, and a sustenance for unexpected feelings. For most people in China, paper is the essence of China culture and history. When it comes to paper, people will think of the glorious history written on paper, splendid culture with a long history, hearty calligraphy and vivid paintings flashing in front of them.
Cai Lun Biography of the Later Han Dynasty wrote that Cai Lun made paper: "Bamboo slips have been woven since ancient times, and those who use silk are called paper. Expensive and simple, inconvenient for people. Lennart created this idea, using bark, hemp head, our cloth and fishing nets as paper. In the first year of Yuanxing (105), the emperor was good at it. Naturally, it's all about use. Therefore, the world is salty and called Cai Hou Paper. " Cai Lun was a eunuch in the Eastern Han Dynasty and the period of Emperor Wudi. Thanks to him, he came up with a method of making paper from plant fibers. Raw materials for papermaking vary from place to place. According to Su Yijian's Paper Spectrum, "Shu people use hemp, Min people use tender bamboo, northerners use mulberry bark, Tunxi people use rattan, Hairy kernel uses moss, Zhejiang people use wheat straw, Wu people use cocoon, and Chu people use paper." Most of them are plant fibers, which are made from local materials. China's papermaking spread to Central Asia more than 600 years after Cai Lun, and then to Europe for 400 years, which greatly promoted the spread and development of China and even the world culture.
With the development of society, the papermaking technology is also changing, and the paper is gradually from rough to smooth, from simple to exquisite, from single to diverse. Hemp paper, Tibetan scripture paper, rice paper, leather paper, bamboo paper, paper stationery, palace silk and other varieties were born one after another.
The most important paper for literati is Xuan paper, which is produced in Xuanzhou, Anhui Province, now Xuancheng County, hence the name. Xuan paper enjoys the international reputation of "paper life for thousands of years" because of its flexible texture, white and smooth, durable color and strong water absorption. Xuan paper can be divided into raw and cooked, and can also be divided into single Xuan and tribute. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. The ancients liked to use cooked paper, while the neighbors preferred to use raw paper. The base paper is easy to penetrate ink, and the moisture in the pen should be properly controlled, showing the charm between dry and wet.
Even in the prevalence of machine-made paper today, some traditional handmade papers still reflect its irreplaceable role and glow with unique brilliance.
Four. inkstone
The inkstone, also known as the inkstone, is the last of Four Treasures of the Study, but it can be handed down for hundreds of generations because of its hard texture, and it is also known as the "head of Four Treasures of the Study". Su Dongpo's neighboring inkstone and Mi Fei's Zijin inkstone are very famous. Chen Jiru in the Ming Dynasty said: "A scholar has an inkstone, like a beauty mirror, and he is the closest in his life." If the ink stone is not refined and the pen and ink are not appropriate, there is no way to reflect the essence.
Because ink can only be called by adding water to grind it, and the stone punishment for sending ink is inkstone. Among them are pottery, clay, bricks, metals, lacquerware, porcelain, stones and so on. The most common is inkstone. There are many stones that can be used as inkstones. China has vast territory and abundant resources, and famous mountains and rivers are everywhere. Guangdong's Duanyan, Wuyuan's She Yan, Shandong's Luyan, Jiangxi's Weilong inkstone and Shaanxi's Chengni inkstone are all very good.
Among them, the most famous is Duan Xi in Gaoyao County, Guangdong Province. Su Dongpo is a good inkstone. He once said: "a thousand people hold ribbons, and a hundred people carry Jin;" I will give birth to Jane under the bonfire. " It can be seen that Duanyan is precious. She Yan, with the same name as Duanyan, was produced in Suixi, Wuyuan County, Jiangxi Province (formerly Anhui Province). During the Southern Tang Dynasty in the Five Dynasties, the imperial court paid special attention to the production of inkstones, ordered people to dig stones in Zhangzhou to make the official inkstones of the Southern Tang Dynasty, and set up an inkstone supervisor in Zhangzhou to be responsible for the production of inkstones, which improved the status of inkstones production.
Unfortunately, due to over-exploitation, Duanyan and She Yan are rare. Therefore, the auction trend has increased in recent years. I can only know a thing or two from the writings of the ancients. Interested friends can learn about Mi Fei's History of Inks, Sun's Notes on Inks, and the Book of Inks, which was anonymous in the Southern Song Dynasty.
Today, the spread of Chinese civilization is closely related to these four books. It was invented in ancient times, but it has always influenced modern times. It has its own irreplaceable position. Different from the myth of religious idols, pen and ink have no majesty of gods, and they are things of secular life. People can kiss, laugh and curse, which is suitable for Zhuang and harmony. People cherish books and tools, in essence, they cherish life. Although there are many interesting stories about literati, pen and ink, such as wonderful pen and flowers, wonderful pen and flowers, Ma Liang, etc., they truly reflect people's interests, ideals and life.
People's feelings for them are not so much worship as too much hope for their own lives.
As time goes by, traditional books and tools are gradually replaced by paperless office software. Writing is gradually divorced from people's daily life, and handwritten characters are closely related to us and become the object of our nostalgia. Traditional writing with brush is drifting away.
Fortunately, nowadays people begin to re-examine their own culture, and the ancient cultural heritage has become the object of general concern. Although pen, ink, paper and inkstone are no longer indispensable tools for modern people, they are all returning to people's lives in another way, becoming the pleasure of collection and enjoyment, and cultivating the elegance of sentiment.