Four Treasures of the Study: Interesting Stories of Writing Brush, Inkstick, Paper and Inkstone

Xi Xiaoli

Xi Xiaoli is a freelance writer， is the author of the Chinese Geographical Encyclopedia. She loves traditional Chinese culture， visited the hometown of the four treasures of the study， and wrote a diary with hundreds of thousands of words.

The four treasures of the study are not only the writing tools of the Chinese literati but also the carriers of Chinese culture. In the long river of history， Chinese literati and the four treasures of the study cannot be separated for a moment. For Chinese literati， a fine writing brush and inkstick makes a happy life.

We follow the footsteps of history， explore the past and present of writing brushes， inksticks， paper， and inkstones， understand the production techniques of returning to simplicity and antique beauty， and appreciate the unique four treasures of the study. Looking back at the past， we enjoy anecdotes of ancient Chinese literati and find out the current state of the four treasures of the study and their way forward.

Four Treasures of the Study: Interesting Stories of Writing Brush， Inkstick， Paper and Inkstone

Xi Xiaoli

China Intercontinental Press

January 2022

128.00 (CNY)

Few documents are available to show the papermaking technology adopted from the second century BCE to the third century， so it is not easy to understand its complete and detailed process. However， the continuous development of papermaking technology is undoubtedly a distillation of the wisdom of the Chinese people.

In the early days of papermaking， the primary raw materials were tree bark and rags composed mainly of ramie and hemp. The most common cotton we have now was introduced from India at the same time as Buddhism， which spread to China in the late first century， and was not used for textiles until the late period of that dynasty. At that time， papermaking was still in its infancy， and the process was simple. The paper was rough in texture and lacked surface smoothness. It was not suitable for writing， generally only being used for packaging.

In 105， Cai Lun managed to improve the technology composed of a set of relatively stereotyped processes. First， separate materials. The raw materials were degummed in an alkaline solution by retting or cooking and then dispersed into fibers. Second， beat. The fiber was cut off and pounded into pulp. Third， for the paper pulp to be made into a slurry by water seepage， the pulp is fished out with a paper catcher (bamboo mat) so that the pulp is interlaced into a thin sheet of wet paper on the paper bailer. Fourth， dry directly under the sun or by airing， and then it can be removed as usable paper.

With the development of science and technology， the papermaking process has developed apace. However， the four steps outlined above basically remain unchanged. Even in modern wet process papermaking， there is no fundamental difference between the current production process and the ancient Chinese approach.

The Wei-Jin， Southern and Northern dynasties (220--589) lasted for a total of 369 years， which was a turbulent historical period featuring a great fusion of Chinese people of all ethnic groups in terms of language and ideology， as well as a period of simultaneous development of culture and art. During the period， the Chinese invented and continually improved papermaking technology， and paper of various materials competed with one another.

In the Jin Dynasty (265--420)， a movable bamboo curtain-like device was developed to gather together thousands of pieces of wet paper. The same period also saw increased varieties of raw materials and higher output and quality of the paper. From then on， there was a difference between the north and the south in papermaking techniques. A bamboo curtain was also used to gather the wet paper， resulting in bamboo-bearing patterns. Such production technology is still imitated today. The difference between northern and southern papermaking could be seen by observing the lines on the paper. Usually， people in the north used horizontal curtains to make paper， and those in the south used vertical curtains， and vertical lines would appear on the paper.

In the south， there was a kind of paper called Celi made of rich water moss. The paper with a crisscross texture on the surface was also called moss paper. This kind of paper was used by the court at that time and was a gift for the emperor. Papermaking spread from Luoyang to the area south of the Yangtze River. Kuaiji of Zhejiang， southern Anhui， Jianye (Nanjing)， Yangzhou in Jiangsu， Guangzhou of Guangdong， and other places gradually became papermaking centers.

In the Jin Dynasty， in Shanxi (now Shengzhou City of Zhejiang Province)， people also invented Shan paper from the vine skin of wild vine growing in the local area. This wild vine stood upright but crawled on the ground or climbed on the back of other things. The Shan paper is thin， tough， white， and slippery and has the characteristic of “the paper being as white as the moon.” When making Shan paper， because the fiber of shanteng is long and flexible， it must be pounded to become a good raw material for papermaking. A cold winter is the best time to make Shan paper. Consequently， it is also called “ice beating paper” .

People grow rice and wheat in the warm and humid area south of the Yangtze River. Thus， local people used rice and wheat straws to make straw paper. This kind of raw material with short and fine fibers was readily available and very easy to be reduced to pulp. Therefore， for thousands of years， people have taken this as the main raw material for papermaking. However， this yellowish texture is so relatively rough that it cannot be used as a writing material， and is mainly used for packaging or sanitation.

Today’s Dongyang County in Zhejiang Province has abundant fishery resources. People used fish eggs to make paper products called fish paper. People also invented silk interwoven cocoon paper， which is white， fine， and glossy. It is said that Wang Xizhi， a great calligrapher of the Jin Dynasty， wrote the Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion with cocoon paper.

In the Jin Dynasty， alongside the diversified development of papermaking technology in southern China， there were impressive developments in the north. At that time， northerners used mulberry stem bark fibers to make paper， also called cotton paper， because of its excellent texture， white color， strong tensile force， and the paper grain breaking like cotton silk. Such paper was much loved by the literati.

With the continuous development of papermaking technology in Jin Dynasty， Chinese papermaking technology was first spread to the Korean Peninsula and Vietnam， laying a foundation for disseminating Chinese culture and promoting the development of human society. When papermaking was introduced to the Korean Peninsula， local intelligentsia mastered using raw materials such as hemp and cocoon and learned to use kapok for papermaking. The paper made by this method was as white as jade and as tough as the Chinese variety. The silk writing material and the ink-making abilities were excellent. This was the famous “Koryo paper.”

In the Tang Dynasty (618--907)， it was introduced into China as tribute paper， being thick and straight， suitable for writing various characters， and was deeply loved by Chinese literati. According to historical records， papermaking technology was first introduced into Vietnam before the late third to early fourth centuries. In 610， Tan Zheng， a Korean monk， introduced Chinese papermaking techniques into Japan. After that， the Japanese called Tan Zheng the God of Paper. Papermaking in Japan developed rapidly during the Tang Dynasty. Even the Tang Dynasty emperors also liked to use Japanese paper.

In the 9th century， Chinese papermaking spread first to Egypt and then to Libya and Morocco in North Africa from the mid-11th century to the early 12th century. In the 12th century， Chinese papermaking crossed the Mediterranean Sea and came to Spain from Morocco. In 1150， Spain founded its first paper mill in Valencia， which was also the first one in Europe. In the 13th century， the techniques then spread to Italy. By the 15th century， Chinese papermaking was very popular throughout much of Europe.

In 1157， the technique finally spread across the Pyrenees Mountains to France， where the first Christian paper mill opened. This was another symbol of the technique’s westward spread. Today， there is still an ancient Chinese paper mill showing how people in ancient China used manual or original water wheel mallets， stone mortars， and other equipment to make paper. The quality of the paper is rough and uneven， but tourists still rush to buy it.

Before Chinese paper arrived， Europeans underwent a long period of writing on stone， wax board， papyrus， and sheepskin. At that time， nobles used the latter to write despite the fact sheepskin was heavy and expensive， thus not an ideal writing tool. However， the arrival of Chinese paper undoubtedly surprised Europeans as the cheap and lightweight fiber paper proved a satisfactory writing material. It enabled the development of European culture to move forward at a faster pace.