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Chapter 2

Setting Up

Treasures of the Painter

Like Western artists, Chinese painters have their own tools, materials, and forms of expression. The calligrapher and the artist use the basic tools called the Four Treasures:

• Brush

• Ink stone (for grinding the ink)

• Ink stick

• Paper

Without these basic tools, you cannot paint. As a beginner, you may not want to invest in expensive tools until you see that your interest is sufficient to pursue the hobby. As in Western painting, however, better equipment helps to produce a better product. For example, you can select a detail brush and landscape paper for a landscape painting, or a large brush and wide, absorbent paper for a dramatic Zen painting.

Brushes

Brushes come in many types, depending on the following characteristics:

• diameter (number of hairs)

• size of handle

• type of handle

• tapering shape

• length of hairs

• type of hair

• softness or stiffness of the hair

The tapering shape of the hairs when wet is very important. No other types of brushes, such as Western watercolor brushes, have the tip action necessary to produce strokes properly.

The painter may use a variety of brushes depending on the types of strokes desired. You need to learn to judge the size of the brush and the kind of stroke it will produce. The scale of the strokes should relate to each other and to the subject. You can safely use ³⁄₄ of the hair when pressing down or sideways.

The calligrapher needs brushes that are fuller at the base and taper to a long point. The more hairs in the brush, the more ink that can be fed slowly to the point of the brush and the less often you have to reload it, which disturbs the train of thought.

Types of Handles

Bamboo Handles —Almost all oriental brushes are made with bamboo handles. Bamboo is plentiful and easier to make into a brush handle than wood. Bamboo grows into many diameters, and the size and number of hairs used match the diameter of the bamboo stalk.

Wooden Handles —A few special brushes are made with wooden or even plastic handles. These are very large brushes with many hairs in bundles. The painter usually uses these types of brushes to make large washes on backgrounds or to write large characters in calligraphy. Western-type brushes made with wooden handles have a metal ferrule that holds the hairs and also holds the metal to the wooden handle. The advantage of the wooden brush and the metal is that the metal will not swell when wet for long periods of time, and the hairs will not fall out like they do in a wet, swollen, bamboo brush. The disadvantage is that the metal can tear the paper if you press too hard trying to use too much of the hair length.

Types of Hair

Chinese brushes are usually referred to as hard or soft. Even combination brushes can be hard or soft. The basic distinction is brown fur—hard, white fur—soft. Brushes can be made from many unusual hairs, such as the soft hairs inside a kitten’s ear, mouse whiskers, or dog tails. The majority of brushes found in shops are made from goat, rabbit, wolf, raccoon, beaver, deer, horse, badger, and sometimes squirrel. In many cases, a brush is made with a combination of hairs, where each type of hair serves a purpose. For instance, rabbit hair makes a very soft brush that bends and does not hold a shape, but adding a core of a firmer hair enables the painter to control it better.

Oriental papers are very fragile when wet so brushes with soft outer hair are preferable to preserve the surface of the paper. Soft rabbit hair brushes are used to make wet wash areas and the soft petals on flowers.

For outlining and detailed strokes, you want to use a stiffer brush. Some of the stiffest brushes are made by splitting the edges of bamboo rings into small slivers of fiber so as to resemble the hairs of a brush. The maker must have a steady hand and be very skilled at slicing the bamboo stalk.

Other stiff brushes are made by burying bamboo stalks in dirt to digest out the soft material, leaving only fibers. These brushes are stiffer than animal hair brushes. You can use them to stroke the flying manes on horses, to make tails that reach out into space with fine separations, and to create rocks and textured areas. For such effects, you can also use a brush made out of horse hair, which is a strong, coarse hair that bounces when pressed against the paper. You can also use a horse hair brush to make “flying white,” where the brush stroke is streaked with white where the ink is absent in some areas. This streaked, dry brush effect is desirable in some cases to add interest and variety. A horse brush is also used for painting horse manes and tails and rooster tails.

Types of Brushes

Type	Hairs	Uses
soft	rabbit, kitten's ear, soft sheep and goat	Flat, extended brush used for bamboo, washes, shading, and blending backgrounds.
medium soft	soft: rabbit, goat, and sheep outer hairs; firm: badger, wolf	flowers, birds, graded petails, animals, details
medium	badger, wolf, weasel, chicken feathers	orchids, bamboo, stems on plants
medium hard	medium: coarse goat; hard: wolf, split bamboo	outlining, details, calligraphy, fine lines, landscape
hard	horse, wolf, split bamboo	stiff, sweeping strokes, horse tails, large calligraphy

Some brush hairs hold more liquid than others. A large calligrapher’s brush made of goat or sheep hair or hair with barbs will hold half a cup of ink. This type of brush is used to paint large characters, such as those seen in front of shops or in banners. Because of the quantity of ink needed in these cases, where the quality of the ink is not so important, you would normally use pre-ground, liquid ink. For most types of painting, ground ink is preferable. The brushes available may be Japanese or Chinese. Some Japanese and Chinese brushes are similar with different names, and some have the same mix of hairs. Some people in China paint without a brush. They use a fingernail grown long and stiffened so that it can hold the ink like a quill pen. These nails produce a special long, thin kind of stroke that a brush cannot do. The nail helps with lines and getting ink to the place you want to use it. Hand painters also use the side of the palm, the side of the little finger, and the base of the thumb.

Names for Brushes

Many brushes have names written on them to indicate the type of painting for which the brush is used. For example, “landscape brush” is used to paint the rocks, trees, and lines found in landscapes, and “orchid/bamboo” is used to paint orchid and bamboo. These versatile brushes can also be used for calligraphy. Other brushes without names are often referred to by their purposes or appearance: squared-tip bamboo brushes, detail brushes, wash brushes, and calligraphy brushes. Those who have used various brushes and know their uses can identify all of these brushes by their appearance since these tools are important to the artist’s production.

Names Painted on Brushes in Chinese

Name	Used for
landscape	rocks, trees, lines, calligraphy
cloud	dots and flowers
orchid/bamboo	orchid, bamboo, calligraphy
mountain horse	strokes for mountains
leaf vein	fine details
clothes line	strokes in clothing
plum blossom	dots and details
flower bird	flowers and birds
Shiguan	soft when wet, stiff in ink
Yang Xu	large washes adding color
rat hair	drawing details
bird of paradise	painting tiny details
sweet melon	painting tiny details

Collecting Brushes

With so many brushes available, a painter likes to use the brush that helps produce the most desirable effect. The old masters from China, however, could use almost any brush to good effect, as they had total control and could use their skill with any brush. Experienced painters can use the orchid/bamboo brush for both large strokes and detailed strokes with the tiny tip of the brush. Until you become so skilled, it is nice to know some brushes can help you in your practice of the strokes. When you progress and find that you desire to be a true literati scholar practicing the fine arts of China, you may want to invest in exotic bamboo brushes with black bamboo handles and gold lettering. These are collectors’ items, and many of the true scholars are also collectors of precious treasures. As a student, you will start with the simple, inexpensive tools. As you study and appreciate these tools, a beautifully shaped brush hanging from your brush rack will be very enjoyable.

Caring for Brushes

Preparing a New Brush

A new brush has a plastic case that covers the cone of the brush to protect it. After you remove the plastic case for the first time, discard it because placing it on the brush again disturbs the hairs. New brushes are also treated with a glue solution to hold the bristles in shape. Before you use the brush, you need to soak it in water to remove the glue and soften the bristles. Swish the brush back and forth to run the water through the bristles to rinse out the glue.

Washing a Brush

Wash a brush carefully in water to preserve its hairs and handle. Stroke the brush against the side of the water container to remove the excess moisture or lay it on a paper towel to help dry the bristles.

• Never thump a brush up and down to clean it as this not only softens the end of the bamboo but can also break off the ends of the bristles.

• Never try to squeeze the moisture out with your fingers on the bristles, as the oil on your fingers will spoil the hairs of the brush.

• Never leave a brush soaking in the water, as the bamboo can swell and loosen the bundles of hairs.

• Never wash a brush in soap even if it is stained.

Storing a Brush

Press your brushes on a paper towel to help them dry out faster before storing them.

• Store each brush by hanging it on a brush rack with the bristles hanging down. This method preserves the end of the bamboo and allows the moisture to drain from the tip.

• Some students store brushes horizontally in a split bamboo rolled mat. This method allows the hairs to breathe, but if the bristles are wet, they take a long time to dry and sometimes the roll gets mildew.

• Some people store bamboo brushes vertically in a tall container with the bristles upward. However, this method lets the moisture drain downward into the bamboo, which can loosen up the glue and cause the cluster of hairs to fall out. If the cluster of hairs falls out, wrap a thin thread around it, put white glue on it, and put it back into the bamboo while the bamboo is still wet. When the bamboo dries, it will shrink a little around the bristles again and the glue will hold it together.

Liquid Ink

In addition to brushes, you will need ink. The traditional method involves grinding your own ink using an ink stick on an ink stone. You may be tempted to buy one of the forms of liquid ink currently on the market, but, unless you are doing a large painting with a large, thirsty brush, this ink is not desirable. It is thinner than the ink you can grind on your stone and it can be too shiny when it dries. On very thin papers, it does not hold a line as well as regular ground ink.

Although it is very convenient not to have to grind your own ink, in using prepared ink you have deprived yourself of the five minutes of quiet centering in preparation for the discipline of the soft martial art of painting. During the ink grinding process, you can quiet your mind, plan the composition, review the strokes to be used, become one with the subject, and thus become better able to depict the essence of the subject rather than simply its pictorial outlines. All of this, besides getting rid of distractions, is part of the process and discipline of painting and should not be passed over lightly.

Ink Stones

The graininess of the ink is determined by the coarseness of the grain in the surface of the stone. Very fine textured ink is ground on a very fine-surfaced stone. As a beginner, you will probably use a grainier synthetic ink stone made from ground minerals and molded into the desired form with a grinding surface and a well to hold the ground ink. Some ink stones have large round wells, which can hold a large quantity of ink. Some round stones have lids to keep the ink from evaporating during the day and in hot weather. When you are painting large areas and washes, you need an ink stone with a larger well. For landscapes, you use dilution dishes to dilute and create several values of gray. Most landscapes are linear with many brush strokes and small areas of graded washes.

The best ink stones are made of the fine-grained Duan stone that come from Duanxi (Tuan-chi) in Guangdong province. Collectors are constantly looking for sources of desirable ink stones. North China has several sources of fine-grained stones with beautiful hues or very subtle colors. When chosen, such stones are usually carved by an artisan into the shape of a leaf, a frog, a bug, or a water lily. These ink stones are truly the precious treasures of the literati scholar. They are kept in wooden boxes to protect them from breakage. They are made of fine-grained stone, but they are brittle and will break if dropped.

Ink Sticks

Ink is produced by grinding an ink stick with a few drops of water on the surface of the ink stone. Later, the ink can be diluted with small amounts of water to lighten the shade.

Ink sticks are normally made from ground charcoal or soot collected from burning charcoal. The soot is mixed with scented oils and glue and poured into a mold to dry. The combination of ingredients determines the smoothness of the ink on paper, the tint of the ink when diluted, and the smell of the ink during use. Ink sticks made from charcoal mixed with pine resin and glues make coarser-grained inks. Ink sticks made from soot mixed with glue and fragrant oil from fir and/or pine resins make finer-grained inks. The best ink sticks have very fine particles. There are different grades of fine particles depending on how the wood is burned and collected. Ultimately, the quality of the ink on the paper is determined by how long you manually grind the ink. Some glues are made from deer horns, cows, and fish, each of which lends a different quality to the ink. Some inks leave a very shiny, smooth finish, while others are absorbed into the paper and leave a matte finish. Some combinations of ingredients, such as lamp black or soot, produce a brownish tint when diluted into washes. Others, such as soot and red pine, produce a bluish cast when diluted. Some artists use colored ink sticks, each of which needs its own stone for grinding so the colors do not mix. One of the desirable colors is called Ming green.

The type of wood used to make a charcoal base imparts an inherent fragrance to the ink stick. The most pleasing ink sticks to work with are made from soot and fragrant oils, as the perfume of the oils escapes while grinding the ink stick on the stone. Each family that makes ink sticks uses their own distinctive fragrance.

Ink sticks vary in their outer appearances as well as in their ingredients. In addition to collecting beautifully carved ink stones, true appreciators of the artist’s treasures enjoy acquiring ink sticks of various sizes and shapes. The ink sticks are usually pressed into a mold containing impressions and designs, some of which tell stories of heroes and myths from Chinese history. In most cases, even the cheapest small stick used by beginners has touches of gold or silver foil and some calligraphy. Larger ink sticks may have scenes of historic events with colors applied in addition to the usual gold and silver. Some of the sticks are as large as three inches by eight inches. Most of the large, fancy ink sticks never get used, and some are put in display cases for all to view.

Calligraphers prefer fine-grained natural stones and ink sticks that grind into a fine, powdery ink. This ink produces a clear, decisive line when stroking small characters. When ink is not used, it tends to evaporate and changes its consistency. It is said that old ink is used to restore old paintings, while new, freshly ground inks work best on new, fresh paintings. In most cases, you should not try to rehydrate and use old ink that has evaporated. The ink becomes very grainy and makes streaks. The essence and fragrance of the ink only comes out when it is freshly ground.

White Watercolor Paint

To paint white plum blossoms on tea-tinted paper and white chrysanthemums on colored rice paper, you can use Chinese opaque white watercolor paint.

Paper

Now that you have learned about the brushes and the ink stones on which to grind the ink stick, you are ready to select the substrate for the ink.

Paper vs. Silk

In ancient times, people used leaves, split bamboo sticks, or silk made with early weaving techniques. Early silk was not very absorbent, so the ink and paint had to be painted on both the front and back. Then paper was invented from vegetable sources in l05 BC. The invention of paper was most important, as paper was more absorbent than silk and thus was much easier to paint on. Later, the silk weavers treated the silk so that it was a little easier to use, but paper became the choice even as far back as the Tang dynasty. Many still painted on silk, however, even though it was coarse and harder to paint on.

Types of Paper

The process of making paper evolved from the use of different materials and the mechanical process of collecting the pulp on the screens to dry. Depending on the mix and quantity of materials and the type of screen, different kinds and thicknesses of paper are produced. You may be impressed by the variety of Oriental papers and their feel to the fingers.

Sizes

Some artists have particular goals and need different sizes of paper. For instance, scrolls require long pieces of paper while album sheets are much smaller. Hand scrolls, although narrow, may be 60 feet long. Fans require only small sizes of paper.

Specialty Papers

Hand-made, specialty papers may contain embedded objects, such as leaves, bugs, shiny foils, and strands of colored fibers, or may have a color or bands of color. Some may be thick and textured and embossed. These papers are used for special paintings, decorative purposes, and letters. They are collected by those who appreciate fine hand-made papers and one-of-a-kind sheets.

Colored Papers— Some papers are bleached white as they are dried in the sun on the screens. Other papers have a creamier color depending on the process and materials used. Some papers are tinted with pastel colors and are quite effective when using intense black ink. Colored papers tend to be very absorbent because dying the paper makes it wet for the second time. All papers become more absorbent each time they are wetted and allowed to dry. Some papers take the rich black ink and leave a velvety black or shiny surface. Some people choose papers because of the ink quality on that type of paper. Depending on the project at hand, you choose the proper paper, brush, and the dark or pale ink to be used, knowing there can be l6 different values of black ink color, although most painters use only 10 values. For the Chinese, these values of ink are what they call colors or tones, and they are used to accent or to blend just as in using color.

Tea-Tinted Paper— For a more striking composition with white plum blossoms or chrysanthemum blossoms, you can use paper tinted light to medium brown with a tea wash. Use strongly-brewed black tea or instant tea mixed with water to make a dark brown color. With a large, flat, soft wash brush, paint long strokes across the rice paper to produce an even dark background. As an alternative, soak the paper in a tea solution in a large pan or basin. Wait for the paper to dry before applying white watercolor paint or ink. Of the colored rice papers available, the tea color paper is most authentic, as it looks like old silk that has turned brown with age.

Rice Papers— In most cases, thin papers are used for ink painting. Such papers are called “rice papers,” although they do not contain rice fibers, which are very short and do not make good papers. They are probably called rice papers because people associate rice with the Oriental cultures and the term identifies the papers with Oriental painting. The papers are actually made from long strands of vegetable fibers, like grasses and fibers from mulberry plants left after the silk worms eat the leaves.

Practice Rolls— As a beginner, you will probably want to use a roll of inexpensive practice paper made with mechanically pressed pulp. Practice rolls come in various widths and surfaces, with typical widths of 12, 15, and 18 inches. The paper is thin and white and almost like tissue paper. Usually, it has a slick side and a more absorbent, rougher side. A white felt cloth put beneath the paper absorbs any excess ink that may bleed through the paper. As the ink dries, the paper tends to pucker. Almost all oriental papers require backing. Beginners should have their paintings professionally backed. It is difficult to handle the paste and paper to prevent lumps and wrinkles, and it’s easy to ruin good paintings.

Relative Absorbency of Paper