文房四宝 翻译
The Exhibition of the Four Treasures of the
Study in Anhui
Anhui Museum
November, 2001
Introduction
Being the traditional Chinese writing tools, the well-known f our treasures of the study including the Chinese writing paper, ink -stick, writing brush and ink -slab made a great contribution to the inheritance of Chinese culture and the advancement of world civilization. The four t reasures can be found in Anhui province, for Anhui is the birthplace for xuanzhi (rice paper made in Xuancheng, Anhui Province), Huimo (ink-stick produced in Huizhou, Anhui Province), xuanbi(writing brush produced in Xuancheng, Anhui Province) and sheyan(ink –slab made in Shexian, Anhui Province). For a thousand years, the Four T reasures in Anhui Province have gradually developed into a work of art at the command of practicality and appreciation due to the development of culture and the refining and producing work of the innumerable skilled craftsmen. Their abundant cultural connotations and clear-cut characteristics of the time are a vital ingredient of the traditional Chinese culture.
While those auxiliary stationeries such as Bitong (Pen container ), mochuang (ink rest) , yandi (a tool for dropping water into the ink-slab) and shuiyu(water container) have a general and elegant name as wenfangqinggong due to their
varied types and fabulously beautiful shapes, all of them together with the four t reasures of the study become an i ndispensable part of Chinese calligraphy and Chinese landscape brush painting
The exhibition also unfolds the making process of the writing brush, ink stick, writing paper and ink slab in order to let the viewers see the ancients’ ingenuities and feel their delicate emotions, prominent ideas and the extensive and profound Chinese culture as well.
Part1---the everlasting paper-xuanzhi (rice paper made in Xuancheng, Anhui Province)
Brief introduction:
Paper-making technique, originated from more than 2000 years ago, is one of the four great inventions of ancient Chinese science and technology. The emergence of paper ended the age of the inconvenient and complicated bamboo made or wood made paper-jiandu, meanwhile it also facilitated the cultural diffusion and advancement. The initial paper was made of linen craps, then cocoons, natural weeds fibers , cotton, bamboo fibers, and animal skin and not until Tang Dynasty(AD618—AD907) appear the most durable paper—xuanzhi.
UNIT1.The history of paper and the development of
xuanzhi
Introduction of unit1
Paper-making had already begun in the Western Han Dynasty (BC201-AD9) in China. In the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD25-AD220), Cailun refined the paper-making method by using linen craps, cortices, and straws. The paper applied the Cailun paper-making method is termed as ―Cailun paper‖. When the emperor Xian was on the throne, Zuobo from Donglai made the high quality ―Zuobo paper‖ that are perfectly white and smooth, softly bright and radiant and well-proportioned. The Tang Dynasty (AD618-AD907) was the heyday of paper –making due to the development of paper-making technology, moreover the local workshops could be seen all over the country. In Ming(AD1368-AD1644) and Qing(AD1616-AD1912) Dynasty, the paper-making technology had been fixed, meanwhile it attached great importance to the various types of exquisite processed paper such as ciqing paper(bluish black dyed paper),sajinyin(gold foil covered paper)and fenlajian(radiant wax covered paper) .
Xuanzhi is evolved from the earlier paper made from plant fibers, among which ―chengxintang paper‖ ( the first class paper
preserved in Chengxin Hall) supervised by the emperor Liyu in Southern Tang Dynasty (AD937-AD975) is a treasure. From Tang Dynasty, xuanzhi was made in every part of Xuancheng and gradually radiated to Jing County. Later on Jing County turned into the paper-making center and xuanzhi became the precious tribute dedicated to the palace.
Unit2 the raw materials and making of xuanhzi
Introduction of unit 2
Xuanzhi has been appraised as ―the king of the paper‖ for its fine qualities of elastically soft, well proportioned, smoothly white, well revealed the traces of the ink, bristletail and corrosion free, moreover the paper will perfectly infiltrated the ink and rubbing or folding won’t crumple it.
Its main raw materials are cortices of Qingtan tree pervaded in the mountainous area in Jing county of Southern Anhui Province and the straws grown in the sandy farmland. Cortices of the Qingtan tree have advantages of closely proportioned fibers, equally thin and prone to pulp. While the straws grown in the sandy farmland contain less lignin is conducive to the quality of softness and elasticity of xuanzhi.
The making process of xuanzhi including hundreds of
working procedures like soaking the raw materials, boiling, screening washing, exposure to the sun ,beating, filtrating, drying and stoving.
Part2 Never fades away- huimo (ink-stick produced in Huizhou, Anhui Province)
Brief introduction:
Ink is the painting and writing material and it is mainly divided into songyan and youyan. Ink-stick songyan is made from black coagulation of the burned pine trees, while ink-stick youyan is made from the smoke burned from animal or plant oil, mostly called tongyan ink-stick. The ink suitable for writing comes from the rubbing of the ink-stick on the ink-slab and it is an indispensable writing material in ancient China. Benefiting from this novel ink material, the dreamlike aesthetic beauty of Chinese calligraphy and Chinese landscape brush painting are perfectly displayed, meanwhile the myriad of ancient books, official documents and words copied from ink tablets are well preserved and handed down. As a kind of consumable article, the ancient ink-stick is extremely precious to be seen until today.
Unit 1 the history of ink-stick and the development of huimo Introduction of unit 1
Scripts written by ancient ink-stick had already been found on the oracle bones in Yin Dynasty ruins (BC17th century -BC11th century).So far, the earliest ink-stick unearthed in the tomb of the Warring States Period (BC475-BC221) in Jianglin, Hubei Province. Ink -stick in the early period was mainly for practical use and shaped by hands. Then in the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD25-AD220) first appeared the ink-stick mould and the shape of the ink-stick tended to standardized. The ink-stick making industry flourished in Sui Dynasty (AD581-AD618), Tang Dynasty (AD618-AD907) and Five Dynasties (AD907-AD909).However the chaotic war aroused at the end of Tang Dynasty ,the ink-sticker makers of Xi clan in Yishui (Hebei province) moved to Shezhou(now Huizhou, Anhui province) and settled down there. They created the first-class ink-sticker possessing the characteristics of soft glow, perfect texture and paint like brightness from the pine trees of Mount Huang. The emperor Liyu in Southern Tang Dynasty (AD937-AD975) bestowed his royal surname on the ink-stick, namely Limo and since then Limo has gained the world wide reputation going like ―It is easy to get gold than Limo.‖ Youyan
ink-stick was founded In Song Dynasty (AD969-AD1279) and ink-stick for medicinal uses started to appear .Meanwhile ink-stickers gradually started to have the artistic and aesthetic function.
The ink-stick making industry thrived in Ming (AD1368-AD1644) and Qing (AD1616-AD1912) Dynasty, for ink-stick workshops were widely spread and a variety of skilled ink-stick makers emerged at that time. The emergence of the mineral dyestuffs made Semo marked the coming of the heyday of the making of huimo. Moreover the ornamenting of the different decorative patterns and the painting of damp-proof storage boxes have reached the peak of perfection.
Unit2 the raw materials and making of huimo
Introduction of unit2
Huimo has long been apprised of solid as stone for a long time and once used it will still as glossy as it was just recently made. Its main raw materials are black coagulation of the burned pine trees, wood oil soot, ashes of the burned paint and gum, also with some precious medicinal herbs such as musks and borneol. It is refined and completed after the meticulous procedures of igniting, mixing, pestling, moulding, drying, rasping, ornamenting with gold flowering patterns. The softly
gleaming black color, anti- bristletail fragrance and permanent quality can be found in huimo. The making of ink-stickers can not do without the ink-sticker moulds enclosed by six dimensional parts with ink inside of it. The ink-stickers are shaped by the ink-sticker moulds.
Part3 the key to the reigning of a civilized country-xuanbi (writing brush produced in Xuancheng, Anhui Province)
Brief introduction:
Writing brushes ,as the unique writing and painting tools in China ,play a vital part in the reigning of a country ,the cultural heritage and our daily social lives.
As a requisite in ancient Chinese studies, writing brush also presents superior glamour in Chinese calligraphy and landscape brush painting. The stub of the writing brush is made of the processed soft long animal hair and it can be classified into the hard weasel hair writing brush, soft weasel hair writing brush and mixed types of weasel hair writing brush. Serving as a consumable writing tool, the writing brush has a tendency of getting damaged by bristletail and hardly to preserve .So we can rarely see the intact and perfectly preserved writing brush
handed down from ancient times.
Unit1 The history of the writing brush and the development of xuanbi(writing brush produced in Xuancheng, Anhui Province)
Introduction of unit1
China has a long history of using writing brushes .Their traces can be found on the ancient painted pottery in Neolithic times, the oracle bones and the inscriptions on the Chinese bronze wares in Shang Dynasty(BC17th century -BC11th century). Not until Qin Dynasty (BC221-BC207) were they officially called ―bi ‖ (writing brush), before that period they have different titles such as ―yu ‖, “fu ‖ and “bulv ‖. In Han Dynasty (BC202-AD220), painting skill on the pen holder had been applied to the making of writing brush and inscriptions and decorative carvings first appeared .In Tang (AD618-AD907) and Song Dynasty(AD960-AD1279),Xuanzhou(Xuancheng,Anhui Province), the writing brush making center ,was abounded in exquisitely beautiful Zihaobi(writing brush made of hare ’s hair). At that time, the Chen and Zhuge clan were well-known for their writing brush making craftsmanship. Yanghao writing brush (made of goat’s
hair) were extremely prevalent in Yuan Dynasty (AD1271-AD1368) and the writing brush making center gradually moved to Huhzou(Zhejiang Province).The Ming (AD1368-AD1644) and Qing Dynasty( AD1616-AD1912) were the golden times of the writing brush making techniques, meanwhile writing brush also served as a kind of handicrafts and artistic article for appreciation ,not just a writing tool.
Unit2 the raw materials and the making of xuanbi Introduction of unit2
Xuanbi is well-known for its strict raw material selecting processes and elaborate craftsmanship. The pureness of animal hair, the elasticity and durability of the brush, the extrinsic features of pointy stub, round brush shape and smooth brush quality are its unique features. Most of the brushes draw the raw materials from the hair of hares, goats and weasel tails. While the writing brush holders are mostly made of bamboos, other raw materials like the red sandalwood, ox horns, animal bones, ivories jades can also be used. From the raw material selecting to the finished products, there are hundreds of extremely complicated making procedures mainly including raw material selection, cutting, grinding and decorating.
Part 4- The jade like eternal quality---sheyan(ink-slab made in Shexian, Anhui Province)
Brief introduction:
Yan, as the traditional ink-producing tool, was evolved from the grinder in Neolithic times and was called ―yan ‖ before Han Dynasty (BC202-AD220).Characterized by its various types, yan can be classified into shiyan(ink-slab made of stone),taoyan(ink-slab made of pottery),ciyan(ink-slab made of porcelain),yuyan(ink-slab made of jade),tongyan(ink-slab made of copper),tieyan(ink-slab made of iron ), qi(sha)yan(ink-slab made of emery and gum),and wayan(ink-slab made of tile) ,while shiyan were the mostly used. Sheyan in Anhui Province, together with duanyan(ink-slab made of stone),taoheyan(ink-slab made of the rock taken shape along the taohe river),chengniyan(ink-slab made of the filtering clay), is the most renowned in China.
Unit1 the history of the ink-slab and the development of sheyan(ink-slab made in Shexian, Anhui Province) Introduction of unit1
The ink-slab, through the evolvement from the Neolithic times and the refinement of Qin (BC221-BC207) and Han
(BC202-AD220) Dynasty, subsequently has various types like taoyan, tongyan, and ciyan.
Diverse kinds of raw materials had been gradually applied to the making of ink-slabs in Tang (AD618-AD907) and Song (AD960-Ad1279) Dynasty. Meanwhile a great breakthrough had been made in the moluding and engraving of ink-slabs. In Ming (AD1368-AD1644) and Qing (AD1616-AD1912) Dynasty, the cultural connotations had been continuously enriched due to the prevalence of the appreciation of ink-slabs and since then a distinctive artistic category came into being. During the heyday of the ink-slab handicraft- making industry, a large number of skilled ink-slab making craftsmen emerged.
Sheyan was first made in Tang Dynasty (AD618-AD907) and was appraised as the first-class ink-slab in Southern Tang Dynasty (AD937-AD975), therefore appeared the tailor-made official department for administrating the ink-slab handicraft- making industry. In Song Dynasty (AD960-AD1279), sheyan was one of those precious tributes dedicated to the palace and marked the coming of the heyday of the making of sheyan. In Ming (AD1368-AD1644) and Qing (AD1616-AD1912) Dynasty, Longwei ink-slabs were not exploited on a large scale, however the exquisite engravings on ink-slabs were not stopped and a
great number of first- class ink-slabs appeared.
Unit 2 the raw materials and making of sheyan
Introduction of unit 2
The raw materials of Sheyan enjoying a jewelry green color, dense texture, jade like solidity and smoothness, and soundless while producing ink. This kind of ink stones can mainly be found in Yi county (ancient Shezhou, Anhui Province), Xiuning county (Huangshan, Anhui Province), and Wuyuan county (shangrao, Jiangxi Province).Among those places, ink stones formed in Longwei mountain, Jiangxi Province(namely Longwei ink-slab) are the best. Shipin(different patterns on the ink stones ) can be classified into different categories according to their flowering patterns, such as Jinxing(little shining spots look like golden stars),Jinyun(golden like dispersed patterns),Yinxing(little shining spots look like silvery stars),Yinyun(silvery like dispersed patterns),Meizi(wave like patterns),Luowen(patterns look like silk texture),Yuzi(densely distributed black spots look like fish eggs),Shuasi(densely lines look like brush bristles),Yudai(jade band shaped patterns ),zaoxin(elliptical shaped ink-stone embedded in the whole ink-slab),Douban(bean
leaf shaped patterns),Jincu(brocade patterns ),etc. Jinxing, Jinyun, Yinxing, Yinyun, Meizi, Luowen are the most common patterns.
Made of the argillaceous rock, sheyan is characterized by the exquisite surface engraving, the simple and streamlined lines and the flat shallow and quadrate shape, which is the most typical style of sheyan.