The second treasure: ink
Graphite graphite is a natural thing, a kind of rock called "ink". In ancient times, without Song Yanmo, the only way to write calligraphy was to use graphite, and many people used graphite as proof of books. However, since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the use of graphite in writing has been unknown, but it was replaced by pine smoke before the Wei and Jin Dynasties, and calligraphy turned to another new realm. But since it's gone today, I won't discuss it here. After Wei and Jin Dynasties, Song Yanmo and Yan Song replaced graphite. The origin of pine smoke is very early, and there were precious pine smoke in Han Dynasty. Among the famous Mohist writers of past dynasties, Li Tinggui of Southern Tang Dynasty is the most famous. According to legend, its texture is as hard as graphite, "its ink can cut wood and fall into the ditch by mistake, which will not be bad for months." Famous Mohists in later generations include Pangu in the Northern Song Dynasty, Wu Guoliang in the Yuan Dynasty, Jun Fang and Fang Youlu in the Ming Dynasty, and Cao Sugong and Hu Kaiwen since the Qing Dynasty, all of which are giants. The third treasure: The main raw materials for papermaking are mostly plant fibers, mainly bamboo and wood. The fiber of wood is elastic, and the paper made of it has strong ink absorption; Bamboo fiber is brittle and hard, and the paper made of it has weak ink absorption, so it can be divided into two categories:
1. Weak blotting paper: made of bamboo fiber, the paper surface is smooth, the ink floats on the surface, and it is not easy to open slowly, so the color is bright. Mainly paper, such as Tang paper, clay paper and today's foreign paper also belong to this category. Integrity paper: a famous paper used by Li Houzhu in the Southern Tang Dynasty, which is as famous as Tingguimo. It is characterized by smoothness and compactness, and is known as "as slippery as spring ice and as dense as a seal". It is the top grade of weak blotting paper, which is almost called jade water paper, and the inferior one is called cold jade. "Light and crisp" is its characteristic. Shu Gui: According to legend, the ancient papermaking method of Cai Lun was spread in West Shu, and the Shu Gui produced by it was quite famous since the Tang Dynasty, such as Xue Taogui and Xie Gonggui. It is said that its water quality is pure, so its paper is great. "Thank the official document" is named after the teacher's creativity, because it has ten colors, also known as ten-color text. "Xue Taogui" is named after pottery, but this kind of colored paper is made according to the ancient method, which is easy to dye and cannot be circulated for a long time. Just for fun. Tibetan scripture paper: Tibetan scripture paper is a paper used by Buddhist temples to write or print Buddhist scriptures, also known as Jin Sugui, which is available in yellow and white. Clay gold and wax jars commonly used in Ming and Qing dynasties are rare today, and cold light jars are rare even if they have the lowest appearance. Bird paper made in Japan is widely used now, but it is expensive, not durable and really not practical. 2. Strong blotting paper: made of wood fiber, it has strong ink absorption and rough surface, and the ink falls off the paper and spreads easily. Writing is often starched or waxed, and the paper is bright and delicate, mainly rice paper. Although it appeared late, it has replaced paper and become the most valuable writing paper. Xuan Paper and Imitation Xuan: The most valuable writing paper today is Yupan Xuan. Lime for yubanxuan, mulberry, short wood, straw and sandalwood skin has the strongest ink absorption and the best texture. Xuan paper is named after Xuancheng, Anhui Province, but Xuancheng itself does not produce paper, and the surrounding local paper is declared as scattered land. Precious tracts announcement. This kind of paper can't be used by everyone, because it has strong ink absorption, so it is hard for people who use it slowly: as long as they stop writing, the ink will seep out and form a big ink ball! However, some people use its characteristics to write distinctive characters, such as Bao's light ink book and Qi Baishi's freehand brushwork. Because rice paper is too ink-absorbing and difficult to write, some people have improved it: either calendering, adding glue alum or adding pulp. After improvement, the ink absorption of rice paper is slightly reduced, making it easier to write. Wool paper, Yuan Shu paper and cotton paper: Xuan paper is expensive and is often used when learning Chinese characters. This kind of paper was originally used to print books, but because of its good paper quality, some people bought books and cut them out to practice writing, so it is called "pleated paper". This kind of paper is mainly made of bamboo, which is yellow in color and excellent in texture, which is very different from the machine-made selvage paper used by primary and secondary school students now. Yuanshu paper is similar to fringed paper, but it is unknown today. The cotton paper produced in this province can also be regarded as this kind, with good texture, toughness and low price, which can be used as calligraphy. The fourth treasure: inkstone 1. Duan Yan: Her name is Duan Yan Dou, and Duan Yan is better than her. It is said that it was used in all previous dynasties. When Li was in power in the Southern Tang Dynasty, he used up all the stones, so he had to use the second one. Duanyan is superior to inkstone, and it can also be graded. Produced in Fukeshan, Gaoyao City, Guangdong Province, it belonged to Duanzhou before the Tang Dynasty, hence the name. Three or four miles away from the river, the mountain trend gradually rises to Xia Yan, Zhongyan, Shang Yan, Longyan and Bangkeng quarries. The next hole is at the foot of the mountain, which is soaked all year round. The inkstone is expensive and moist, and the quality of the next rock is the best. However, it is not easy to mine submerged rocks. Only when the river drops in autumn and winter can it enter the pool. The swimming pool has no exit. 70 people have to row seats and upload the jars filled with water to the rock mouth one by one. If you do this for more than a month, the pool will dry up before you can go in and get the stones. If the water level rises next spring, everything will have to start all over again. But if not, how can the inkstone made of stone under the rock be so inky? "If God wants to bring great things to Sri Lanka, he must first work hard on his bones and muscles." . However, the lower rocks were completely mined in the Northern Song Dynasty, and the quality of new pits or middle-upper rocks opened after the Ming Dynasty was inferior. Another feature of Duanyan is that it has eyes. Such as "Ying Ge's Eye" and "Brother's Eye", it is said that when a stone is tender, there will be more eyes, but when it is old, there will be fewer eyes. Some people will judge good or bad by their eyes, most of which are living eyes, followed by tears and dead eyes. In fact, the so-called "eye" is the stone pattern on the inkstone, but it is not necessarily related to the quality. It is good to look at the inkstone with watery eyes when writing, and it can also increase the appreciation of the inkstone. But if the place is not good, it will affect the ink grinding, but sometimes it is not as good as it is. In addition, the color of the end stone is also considered to be related to quality, including purple, cyan and white, of which white is the best and purple is the lowest. The advantages of Duan inkstone are: first, inking, second, inking, and third, no loss. 2. Inkstone: Also known as Duanyan, it was named after it was produced in ancient Zhangzhou (now Wuyuan County, Anhui Province). The making of Duanyan Stone is purely coincidental. During the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, hunter Ye chased wild animals to the Great Wall and saw that the stones there were beautiful, so he took out a few pieces and polished them into inkstones. Several generations later, his descendants gave this inkstone to the state magistrate, who loved it very much and invited people to mine it, thus it was handed down. When he arrived in Yuan Zong in the Southern Tang Dynasty, the emperor was overjoyed. Because he was interested in calligraphy, he promoted him to be an official. He preserved and enshrined the inkstone. She inkstone is therefore famous all over the world, and its reputation is even greater than that of Duan inkstone. The official exploitation of She Yan began in the Southern Tang Dynasty, and its location was also soaked in water, so its texture was wet. Her inkstone has a "grain", just like her inkstone eye. The so-called Luo inkstone refers to the inkstone with a stone pattern like Luo Gu Hu. There are thick and thin lines, and the thin lines are the wizards of inkstone, and the thick and thick tendons are also top grades, all of which are comparable to Duan Xi and Xia Yan. Eyebrow inkstone is named after thrusting a thrush because the stone lines are like people, just like Luo inkstone. The characteristics of inkstone are also like Duan inkstone, where ink is more important than ink, making big characters, and the end is more important than fine water, and writing small characters.