The Changes of Chinese Painting Tools and the Combination of Water

WANG Kuo

The evolution of tools plays a very important role in promoting the development of a kind of painting and can even shape the development. In the process of the development of Chinese painting， the emergence and improvement of writing brush and xuan paper have directly led to the reform of the categories and methods of Chinese painting. During this period， the relationship between Chinese painting art and the medium of water is getting closer and closer. The uncontrollability of water also provides more possibilities for the uniqueness and changeable pen and ink effect of Chinese painting. It can be said that without the unique tools and medium of Chinese painting， the art of Chinese painting may lose its most important support.

Keywords： Chinese painting， tools， writing brush， xuan paper， medium， water

The basic tools of Chinese painting are writing brush and xuan paper. Like other things， these tools are constantly improved， changed and enriched in the development process of history， so as to adapt to the requirements of the times and the convenience of users. In the reform and development of Chinese painting tools， the role of water in painting is becoming more and more prominent， which makes the meaning of water far beyond medium itself and becomes the soul of Chinese painting art.

The Development of Brush and the Combination of Water

The brush used in Chinese painting is different from other kinds of pen and it is more powerful in writing and variability. The approaching perfection day-by-day of Chinese pen-making technology is also achieved in the process of continuous change. The origin of the brush can be traced back to the Yangshao Culture of the Neolithic Age five or six thousand years ago. The earliest material object of brush found today are from the Tombs of the warring States period in Zuojiagong Mountain， Changsha， Hunan Province， and the Tombs of the warring States period in Changtai Mountain， Xinyang， Henan Province. Of course， we can also get the evidence that the brush was widely used in painting and writing from the unearthed silk paintings of the warring States period. By the time of the Qin and Han dynasties， the shape of the brush had been basically complete， and the invention of papermaking technology in the Han Dynasty also promoted the development of the brush， and the materials of the brush tended to be more diversified. During the Han and Jin dynasties， most of the writing brushes chose rabbit hair with good energy and elasticity in autumn and winter， so that the technique of calligraphy and painting at that time was upright and powerful. There are more transfers of （cutting power of the brush） tip of a writing brush and less use of brush-lifting and dropping. However， brush with hairs of different animals has appeared during this period. It is recorded in Cui Baos gujinzhu that brush with hairs of different animals， is made with deer hair as the middle part of the writing brush， and the outside of the brush is wool. The advantage of the brush is that it can strike a balance between the strength and the need for larger water in the brush. During this period， the selection of brushes still focused on stiff hair brush， and the brush head was flat with uniform height which was not suitable for expressing changes in pen and ink. Moreover， most of the popular paper at that time was yellow paper， jute paper and other coarse paper， which was not suitable for painting， so Chinese painting was still painted on silk in the Wei and Jin dynasties. Due to the limitation of painting materials， fine brushwork adapted to materials became popular. At that time， as drawing lines， filling in colours on a sketch， multiple render and other techniques became increasingly popular and developed， the role of water in pen and ink appeared more as a reconciling medium， and more expressive ink-splashing and ink-breaking techniques， which relied heavily on the use of water still needed time to develop. Generally speaking， during the Tang and Song dynasties， stiff hair brush was still mainly used until after the Song Dynasty， the soft hair brush gradually became popular. There were a large number of famous brush makers in Xuanzhou in the Song Dynasty， and there was also a kind of “Sanzhuo brush”， which was said to be a long front made of sheep hair， soft and flexible， as well as a strong water storage capacity， which was a good supplement to stiff hair brush. Different types of brushes jointly promoted the innovation and development of Chinese calligraphy and painting techniques. After the Southern Song Dynasty， due to the southward shift of the political， economic and cultural center， the Hubi made by Wuxing in Zhejiang Province in the Yuan Dynasty has basically replaced the popular Xuan writing-brush in the Tang Dynasty. Although Hubi uses both rabbit hair， wolf hair and goat hair， it has shifted its focus to making high-quality and inexpensive goat hair brush. With the improvement of brush-making technology in the Tang and Song dynasties， neither calligraphy nor painting was satisfied with simple artistic effects， while the rich changes brought about by goat hair brushs strong water storage capacity also gave birth to the unique expression of ink art. Especially with the rise of literati painting after the Song and Yuan dynasties， in addition to technique of writing， calligraphy or drawing and method of the use of ink and water， the value of water technique had also been highlighted. Chen Yi of the Yuan Dynasty wrote in the Essentials of Hanlin： “calligraphy is born in ink， ink is born in water， and water is the blood of calligraphy”1. Zhang Shi also said in his Hua Tan： “the most important thing for a painter is to use ink. The ink method lies in using water， taking ink as the shape， and taking water as Qi. Qi needs to run vividly”2. It can be seen that water plays an important role in the art of Chinese calligraphy and painting. However， the change of brush is not a single event， but an aspect of the development of the whole Chinese painting tool system， and an inevitable trend driven by the needs of the times and users.

The Development of Paper and the Reform of Chinese Painting

Paper is another iconic element of Chinese painting. Today， Chinese painting artists still use Xuan paper and other paper products with Chinese characteristics to carry out creative practice. Chinese paper is very different from western painting materials such as Sketch paper， gouache paper， oil canvas and so on. Chinese paper is sensitive and delicate， full of unexpected subtle changes. It not only provides a platform for the expression of water， but also brings infinite possibilities for Chinese calligraphy and painting. Its development also represents the great determination of the inheritance and development of Chinese art. The initial carriers of calligraphy and painting are generally walls， utensils， wood （bamboo） boards， silk and so on， but some of these materials are bulky or expensive. When the above writing materials are objectively difficult to meet the requirements of the public， paper， as a new material with easy writing and low cost， came into being at that time. As the most important material of Chinese calligraphy and painting， Xuan paper appeared in the Tang Dynasty， flourished in the Ming Dynasty and be in a period of great prosperity in the Qing Dynasty. Up to now， it is still made in accordance with the ancient method and is widely welcomed by people.

Cai Lun， a eunuch of the Eastern Han Dynasty， invented the technology of papermaking. Emperor He of Han Liu Zhao praised Cai Lun for this and ordered the popularization of paper throughout the country. The raw materials used in papermaking in the Han Dynasty are mainly hemp， and the hemp paper produced is suitable for stiff brush such as rabbit hair brush because of its rough texture. At present， the earliest paper found in archaeology is the hemp paper unearthed from the tomb of the Western Han Dynasty in Fangma Beach， Tianshui， Gansu Province. Due to the popularity of papermaking， paper was widely used. In order to prolong the life of paper， the technology of extracting juice from Phellodendron to dye paper was invented in Jin Dynasty. Many of the classics at that time were written on hemp paper. For example， the calligraphy works in Room of Three Rare Treasures that everyone is familiar with are all hemp paper works. In the Tang Dynasty， when Chinese culture and economy were extremely prosperous， a large number of famous calligraphers appeared， and more and more paintings began to use paper， which put forward higher requirements for the variety and quality of paper. This had created room for progress in papermaking both subjectively and objectively. Mulberry paper was very popular in the Tang Dynasty， and then a kind of improved paper called Xuan paper appeared in Xuanzhou in southern Anhui. The emergence of Xuan paper greatly satisfied peoples pursuit of texture and ink effect caused by the change of ink flow. It catered to the fashion of ink painting brought by Wang Wei， Zhang Wei and others in the Tang Dynasty. However， in Tang Dynasty， the Five Dynasties and the Northern Song Dynasty， most of the paintings were painted on silk， baked paper or processed baked paper， which were suitable for works such as meticulous painting and line drawing， so fine brushwork still occupied a dominant position at this stage. In the middle and late Northern Song Dynasty， raw paper gradually began to be used in the field of calligraphy and painting， and then with the rise of literati painting， the era of raw paper really came. The emergence of raw paper provided unlimited possibilities for the application of water and at the same time greatly expanded the creative space of brush and ink. In the Song Dynasty， there were many types of paper with different textures， properties and raw materials. Almost all the high-quality paper came from the south of the Yangtze River. In the early Northern Song Dynasty， bast paper was thick， tough and soft， with white color and fine fiber， and excellent wear resistance. In the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty， bamboo paper appeared， and its fibers were finer， brighter and hairless.The literati in the Song Dynasty mostly used semi-baked paper with glue alum. On the surface， the performance and effect were similar to those of baked silk， but in fact， the change of the paper after ink was more delicate and distinct， and it also had a unique osmosis and dense effect， which could well show the virtual and real changes of ink. In the late Song Dynasty， white raw paper appeared， and the paper also appeared at a large size of 1.2 Zhang（a unit of length equal to 3.3333 metres）， 1.3 Zhang or even 1.5 Zhang， which made it convenient for people to use and supported the needs of artists for large-scale painting creation.

Under the support of tool reform， Chinese painting has also made many new breakthroughs in techniques. Art masters such as “Four great Song calligraphers” and “Four great calligraphers of the Yuan Dynasty” had shown their outstanding new artistic appearance one after another. The Ming and Qing dynasties inherited the tradition of literati painting in the Song and Yuan dynasties， and painting began to enter the era of great development of freehand brushwork painting. In view of the characteristics of freehand painting， the requirements for paper also tended to be strong， tough， wear-resistant， able to absorb a large amount of water and the effect of brush and ink was rich and hierarchical， and the relationship between water and paper was getting closer and closer. Raw bast paper， raw xuan paper became the mainstream at that time. From silk to all kinds of baked paper， and then from baked paper to half-baked and even raw Xuan paper， it was precisely the process of Chinese painting from meticulous brushwork to freehand brushwork， which was also a small microcosm of the development process of Chinese painting. In this process， tools were constantly changing. The role of water as a medium for the creation of Chinese painting had become more and more prominent. It also provided the support of medium for the rise of freehand brushwork techniques and the effect of brush and ink.

The Influence of Water on Chinese Painting

The best thing about Chinese painting is that it uses water as the medium of painting， and the dexterity and romance of water are infused into the life of Chinese painting. Water seems to be weak and controllable， but in fact it has the most personality. Especially when painting on raw Xuan paper with a brush， water often shows its uncontrollable side. When more water is used， it is easy to spread out on the paper， and less water is used， and it is frivolous. There will always be some effects that are out of control， but it is these out-of-control places that have become the most vivid places. The art of Chinese poetry and painting emphasizes that “unintentional is better”. On the one hand， it refers to the state of unconsciousness in creation， and on the other hand， it also refers to a kind of artistic effect produced by getting rid of thinking， consciousness and even emotion in creation and the unique aesthetic experience brought about by this effect. Just as in ancient times， there were schools of “repeatedly deliberating verses” and “Quick Yin”， the latter of which is represented by Su Shi. Su Shi believes that there is no need to think hard about writing poems， and it is better to blurt out when inspiration comes. The theory of painting is the same. Works with beauty do not necessarily need to be carefully carved， and the painting effect after repeated hesitation may not be good. If you do what you want， you will get twice the result with half the effort. Especially in freehand brushwork， the effect of brush and ink is often not completely controllable because of the softness and elasticity of the brush， the diffusion of raw rice paper and the infiltration of water. Unconsciously， there may even be some effects that go beyond previous brush-ink experience. Although this effect is not intended by the painter， it is extremely appropriate， even if it has some defects， but it is vivid. I also think that this is the work of “wonderful hands” rather than human ability， and it is the best gift of water to the art of Chinese painting.

Today， brush-ink is still the focus of discussion， but the techniques that need to be completed with the help of water still emerge one after another. They are constantly combined with new painting materials and tools， showing the vitality and charm of Chinese painting art. Because of its colorless， tasteless， invisible characteristics and the spiritual characteristics of goodness， weakness and almost Tao， as well as its physical characteristics which are good at mixing with other medium， water deserves to be the preferred medium of Chinese painting. It can be said that the vividness， variety and dexterity of Chinese painting are inseparable from the use of water and the cooperation of brush and Xuan paper. Although the water in Chinese painting hardly appears alone， it is the basis of every stroke and ink. It is invisible but secretly arranges and dispatches everything. Water endows Chinese painting with spiritual beauty， and plays a vital role in painting itself.

Conclusion

Brush and Xuan paper are the most basic tools of Chinese calligraphy and painting， and water is the most attractive medium. Their changes have a direct impact on the writing habits and artistic direction of the Chinese people. In the process of the development of brush， Xuan paper and water， it is not difficult to find that painting materials are more and more emphasized on the affinity with water. With the development from rabbit hair brush to goat hair brush， and from short hair brush with uniform height to soft hair brush with long front， the water storage capacity of brushes changed from weak to strong with this process. The brush and ink effect has also changed from what is simple suitable for ticking lines and filling in colours on a sketch， to richer changes on Xuan paper with the help of brush lifting， light brush pushing and the elasticity of the brush. The process of paper has also developed from rough non-absorbent baked paper such as hemp paper and mulberry paper to raw paper which is suitable for ink and is more sensitive and changeable. These changes do not exist in isolation， but complement and promote each other. It can be said that the change of tools not only provides objective support for the wide application of water in Chinese painting techniques， but also opens a broader space for the development of Chinese art. Water also maximizes the performance of Xuan paper and brushes. Chinese ink art gains eternal vitality in the combination of brush， ink and water.

References

Li， J. G. （2000）. The history of writing brush《毛筆史話》. Collection of Forest of Steles《碑林集刊》， （0）， 268-273.

Qian， Y.， Jiang， Y. B.， & Luo， J. S. （1999）. The origin and development of Chinese Xuan paper culture. Guangdong Paper Association， （5）， 85-88.

Zhu， Y. Z. （2012）. A summary of the present situation of ancient writing brush research. Studio of Glorious Treasures， （11）， 134-141.