Watercolor, the medium for calligraphy

Dear friends,

In Chinese traditional art, watercolor has been the formal medium for both calligraphy and painting. Oil has never been used as a base in mixing pigments, except the vermilion ink for seals.

Even in the cave linen frescoes, as in Tun Huang, opaque colors were used, somewhat like egg tempera, but they were all prepared in glue (undoubtedly from animals) and water.

Chinese ink, which dates back to archaic times, is made from the soot of burned wood. The most famous type of ink is made from pinewood in the Yellow Mountain area in An-Hwei province, known as the pine smoke of Yellow Mountain.

The ink is prepared by first burning the pinewood, then grinding the soot of the smoke and purifying it. The resulting fine powder is mixed with an animal-based glue. It is then molded into different shapes, either into a cylindrical shape or the more popular rectangular block bars. The ink sticks are often decorated with landscape designs in rich colors, such as turquoise blue and green, gold and silver. The ink also comes in other shapes, such as hexagonal, round, oblong, etc.

For the purpose of collection or use for special gifts, one can have the ink made to order in whatever shape and pattern one desires, with special inscriptions molded on the bar. Popular inks often bear brand names. Among the most popular are "Dragon Gate" and "Lavender Jade Light."

Ink sticks vary a good deal in size. Some weighing one "catty" (16 ounces) which are 10 inches high and 1.5 inches in diameter are made for professional artists' use. For everyday use, two or four ounce bars are sufficient.

The superiority of Chinese ink lies in its delicate, fine and smooth color tone. It is transparent as well as waterproof. Once it is used on paper, it becomes permanent and will last for centuries without fading. The ink on early scripts and paintings excavated from the ancient Chu tomb in Ch'ang Sha has remained unchanged, although they date back as far as the fifth century B.C. The color of the ink on the widely reproduced painting Admonitions of Instructress (fifth century) has turned a grayish brown.

Inkstone

An inkstone ink well is made of natural rock. The most common shapes are rectangular or round, with a circular indentation which serves as a well in which to grind the ink. The size varies a great deal. For ordinary use, people choose the small ones, with a grinding well about four inches in diameter. Calligraphers and painters need larger ones because they require more freshly ground ink.

The quality of the stone is important. If the stone is too fine, its surface will be too smooth and it will take too much time to grind enough ink paste. If it is too coarse, the surface will be too rough to produce an ink that is fine enough and therefore suitable for brushwork. The stone commonly used is somewhat like slate or silkstone.

In China, ancient tiles, particularly those of the Han period, are treasured as excellent material for making inkstones. The well-known Twan Yan, a special kind of fine stone, is produced in quarries in Tuan-Hsi, Kao Yao in Kwang Tung province. Its color is liver-red. There are olive-green spots on the stone which are called the "eyes" and considered invaluable.

The edges of an inkstone are, as a rule, decorated with all sorts of carvings, such as locusts, fish, dragons and lotus flowers, done by expert carvers.

Many scholars collect inkstones as a hobby. In the 17th century, when prime minister Ho Shen was evicted from his house, several thousand pieces of Twan Yan were found in his collection. This was quite a treasure.

The most popular kind of inkstone is Sho Yan, a product of the Sho district in An-Hwei province, not far from Nanking.

Scholars and artists all treasure their inkstones. There is a saying: "An artist loves his tool just as a mother loves her son."

Good inkstones are usually kept in exquisite boxes of ebony or redwood; they look highly decorative on a desk and are well worth the close care and admiration of connoisseurs.

-- David Kwo