Paper and Inkstone
2 min readPaper
Paper is invented in China by Cai Lun.But paper used for traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy is not the commonly-used paper.It is usually made from silk and hemp and bamboo.It has its typical features:longer fibers，less delicate quality，less smooth surface，longer processing，stronger absorption of water.It can show brighter colors without too much bleaching powder.
There are four kinds of paper popular in painting and calligraphy：
（1）Xuan Paper in Xuanzhou ；
（2）Maobian Paper in Jiangsu Province ；
（3）Yuanshu Paper in Zhejiang Province ；
（4）Lianshi Paper in Fujian Province .
Inkstone
Inkstone or ink-slab is the most important of Four Treasures of the Study.They have been handed down from ancient times for its solid texture.
Natural ink stones are made from slate, which is hard enough to grind natural ink-stick. After the invention of artificial ink-stick, pottery inkstone, lacquer inkstone and copper inkstone appeared in the Han Dynasty.
During the Wei, Jin and Northern-and-Southern Dynasties, round tripod porcelain ink-slabs were in vogue. It was in the Sui and Tang Dynasty that”Piyong”inkstone with circular legs appeared. Chinese ink stones usually have a lid to cover the stone, sometimes made of wood or sometimes made of the same stone.
There are often three steps to check the quality of the ink stone:
(1) To check whether the teeth on the surface of an ink stone are tilted in one direction, for regular teeth can grind off small particles of the ink stick when rubbed against it.
(2) To check whether the absorption is fine or regular, for if the stone is too absorbent, it is in bad quality.
(3) To check whether the grinding surface is flat and smooth with fingers or sometimes with tongue.
