Four Treasures of the Study.

Pen, namely writing brush, is a unique writing tool in China. Because it is made of wool, hairless, mink hair and so on, it is called a writing brush. There have been writing brushes since the Spring and Autumn Period. In folklore, there is a saying that Meng Tian, a famous Qin Dynasty star, wrote a pen, and Meng Tian was regarded as the originator of the pen. Before the Tang Dynasty, the peak of the brush was short. After the Tang Dynasty, the strokes of brush became longer and longer, and there were more and more kinds of brush, including Zihao, Shuanghao, Shuihao, Langhao, Yang Hao, Daban and Chinese brush.

The high-quality brush is Hu Pen, which is produced in Huzhou (now Xing Wu), Zhejiang Province. Lake pens are made of wool produced in Hangjiahu Plain (only 2-3 taels for each sheep) through 72 processes. Lake pen enjoys a high reputation for its strict selection of materials and excellent production. Its milli-peak has four advantages: sharp, neat, round and healthy, which is cherished by the world.

(2) Ink

Ink, as a black pigment used for writing and painting, is made of pine smoke and other raw materials. The earliest ink deed in China was produced in the Western Han Dynasty. At that time, the ink was only made into small round pieces and could only be ground on the inkstone with a millstone. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, the shape of ink developed to Mo Ding, where people could grind ink directly by hand. Among the numerous China ink stick ingots, Huimo stands out. Hui ink was produced in Zhou She (now Shexian), Huizhou Prefecture, Anhui Province, and ink making began in the Five Dynasties. After the Song Dynasty, outstanding ink-makers emerged in Yunnan, Yi, Xiuning and Jixi, paying attention to quality and craft decoration, which is unparalleled in the world.

(3) Paper

Paper is one of the four great inventions in ancient China. In the early Tang Dynasty, Xuanzhou, Anhui Province (now Jingxian County) produced an advanced paper for calligraphy and painting with brush, which was also issued in Xuancheng, so it was called Xuan paper. Xuan paper is made of sandalwood bark and rice straw by hand after lime treatment, solar bleaching and pulping, and the variety has developed to more than 10. Xuan paper is characterized by white paper, delicate texture, softness, lightness, clear Mo Yun and durability. After the Tang and Song Dynasties, Xuan paper became the first-class paper for writing famous calligraphy and painting.

(4) Inkstone

Inkstone is a tool for studying ink. Inkstone has a history of 5000 years in China. In the Han Dynasty, inkstone gradually became one of the traditional calligraphy and painting arts. After the Han Dynasty, in addition to the main types of inkstones, porcelain inkstones, lacquer inkstones, pottery inkstones and metal inkstones also appeared. The technology of inkstone making in Tang Dynasty made rapid progress. In Song Dynasty, the technology of making inkstone reached a new peak. Duanyan, She Yan, Cheng Yan and Yan Tao are known as the four famous inkstones in China, among which Duanyan is the best.