One of the calligraphy tools
There are many kinds of brushes. Generally speaking, writing pens can be divided into three categories: soft pens, hard pens and gel pens. Soft pens, such as wool and chicken feathers. Hard pens include purple hair (rabbit hair), wolf hair, mouse hair and so on. Neutral (neither soft nor hard) pens are called "double brush", and there are two kinds: sheep purple and sheep wolf.
Whether to practice writing with a soft pen or a hard pen depends on the size of the words. Use a soft pen to write big characters and official scripts, and a hard pen to write small characters, lines and cursive scripts.
The quality of a pen is based on "sharp", "neat", "round" and "healthy". The so-called "tip" means that when the hair is gathered, the pen tip should be taxed. The so-called "qi" means that when the bristles are flattened, they look neat. You can twist the pen with your fingers and flatten it to see if it is all inside and outside, like a grate. The so-called "circle" means that when you write a poem, all sides are round and smooth. The whole pen must look like a fat bamboo shoot just unsheathed, round and full, without four protrusions. The so-called "health" means strong elasticity. Twist the new pen, dip it in some saliva and wrap it around your thumb nail. The nib should be round and self-contained, without "snatching hair" (the brush hair protrudes from the side). Considering these four conditions comprehensively, we can know that when choosing pens, we should choose thick ones instead of thin ones, so as to write effectively.
There is glue on the tip of the new pen. After you buy it, you must soak it in cold water and let it open slowly (don't use hot water). Don't twist or bite with your teeth. Write a pen with Chinese letters, and the whole pen is opened by one third; When writing in block letters, the whole pen should be half open, not more or fully open. After writing, the remaining ink on the pen tip must be washed with clear water, squeezed dry, brushed with a brush, inserted into the pen container or put on the pen cap. If you don't use it for a long time, you should also put camphor in the pencil case to prevent insects from eating. These practices are to protect the bristles from damage.
The second tool of calligraphy-paper
Calligraphy paper can be roughly divided into two types: raw paper absorbs water and cooked paper does not absorb water. In our impression, when it comes to promotional paper, we may immediately think of the original paper that is completely absorbent. In fact, it was written on cooked paper for a long time in ancient times. It is not recommended that you practice writing with completely absorbent raw rice paper, because such paper is so absorbent that it is difficult to show the subtle changes of the pen on the paper. Of course, there is also a view that the ink on the raw rice paper tape is naturally scattered, which also blurs the books and traces, and has the functions of soft focus beautification and installation.
To practice calligraphy and lay the foundation, we should work hard on rough and astringent paper, so it is advisable to use rough and absorbent paper. Yuan Shu paper, edge paper and Korean paper can usually be used.
When you start practicing calligraphy, such as practicing Chinese calligraphy, writing seal script and official script, you can use semi-cooked or semi-cooked meta-book paper. When writing small letters, it is suitable to choose familiar ones, such as crayons. This kind of paper also requires the skill and accuracy of the book.
When it comes to writing paper, there are many kinds of production techniques and corresponding appearances in ancient times, such as colored, sprinkled with gold and silver, and made of flowers of various plants. Gao Lian listed many methods and styles of papermaking in Eight Notes on Respect for Life, each with its own interests. He also said that only white, moonlight and Song Huase are the best and the most elegant, and all kinds of intentions are lovely.
The purchasing unit of paper is "knife". A knife of paper is usually 100 sheets, and there are 50 sheets under special circumstances. Hand-made paper can be used more than machine-made paper in calligraphy practice. Machine-made paper often does not grasp ink, so it is difficult to combine ink with paper, and it is easy to float on the surface, so it is not easy to see the spirit of words.
The preservation of paper should pay attention to insects and moisture. Old paper will be more refined and easy to use because it has faded, and it will be more valuable than new paper because it can present ink layers.
The third tool of calligraphy-ink and inkstone
There are two kinds of ink for writing: pine smoke and glue ink, and glue ink is suitable for writing. Choose light weight and fine texture (no impurities on it).
Grinding ink should be light and slow, keep the ink straight and circle vertically on the inkstone. Don't grind it diagonally or push it straight. It is better to use less water for grinding ink than to use more water. If it is thickened, add water to thicken it. Use clean water to grind ink, not tea or hot water. The ink should be ground moderately, neither too thick nor too light.
After grinding, put the ink in the box to avoid cracking. It takes a long time to grind ink. In order to avoid fatigue of the right hand, it is best to practice polishing with the left hand.
Suggestions on the method of grinding ink
-Drop a little water on the inkstone hall.
-Place the ink stick vertically on the inkstone hall, press it again and turn it gently. Slowly and gently grind clockwise. The ancients called "grinding ink like a sick man", which highlighted the word "slow".
-During grinding, water is added several times according to the thickness of ink. Be patient, grind quickly, ink bubbles easily, if it is too slow, it will be too late.
-If you need a lot of ink, you can pour the ground ink into the ink sea to continue grinding. You can also pour the ready-made bottled ink into the inkstone, add water, and grind it with an ink stick for a period of time to use it harmoniously.
-Su Mo's pen is stuck. If there is no special usage habit, wash the inkstone in time.
If we write with ink instead of grinding ink with ink sticks and inkstones like the ancients, we need to prepare an ink tray for holding ink and adjusting pens.
There are two main points in choosing an ink tray. One is to have a certain weight. A plate that is too light is not suitable, because when a larger brush dips in ink to adjust strokes, it is easy to knock over the ink plate with a little force, resulting in an accident in which ink is spilled on the table.
The second is that the edge of the ink tray should be suitable for scraping off the excess ink on the brush and adjusting the nib. Once upon a time, the ancients also specially designed small plates for licking pens. Now we all use well-designed ink dishes instead.
As for inkstone, it is an indispensable stationery for ancient writing, which is used to grind and hold the ground ink. Grinding ink really needs patience. Now we have a lot of things to do, time is limited, and we need to recharge our batteries to write well, so it is recommended that novices use ink.
If you don't grind ink, the utilization rate of inkstone is actually not high. Nowadays, it is more regarded as a kind of elegant play and wonder in the study, which entrusts our appreciation of the life of ancient literati.
The Fourth Tool of Calligraphy —— Others
feel
The felt for writing on the desk is probably the last necessary equipment for people who don't write.
When writing on raw paper or base paper, ink can easily penetrate into the desktop, and the paper will stick to the desktop. Because of its non-absorbent property, felt can hold ink well. If you use cooked paper, you can pad the skin or write directly on the table, so that the pen face is harder and sharper and the edges are clearer.
Milky white, gray and some wool felts with low color saturation are all useful. It's best not to choose felt with high saturation and bright color, which will make you very tired. Paper for writing and painting usually has certain transparency, especially for painting. Brightly colored felt will affect our judgment of color.
A plate or flat bowl for washing brush.
The water for washing pens is called washing pens, which was also called washing children in ancient times.
It has three main functions: first, it provides water when writing, and water and ink are the key to control ink color; The second is to moisten the brush, which must be moistened before dipping in ink. Long-term use of direct fragrance ink is harmful to writing brush, and the third is to wash pen.
You can prepare more pens on the table, and you can use various cups and bowls instead when you go out.
paperweight
Papertown will give us a sense of security when writing, just like its name.
When writing, if the paper moves, it will make the pen suddenly out of control or unable to exert force, so it is very important to press the paper with heavy objects. From the aesthetic point of view, the objects on the desk reflect different materials and have rich and harmonious aesthetic feeling.
Metal paperweights are easy to use because they are relatively small and heavy enough. In addition, there are paperweights made of stone or wood, so you must choose a suitable paperweight, otherwise it will be easily compacted or blocked because of its large size, which will affect the movements of hands and brushes.
Bishan
Bi Shan, also known as penholder and pen container, is a good friend of writing brush. It is the place where the writing brush rests when writing needs to be paused. When there is wet ink on the pen, it will be polluted everywhere if you are not careful, and the brush placed on the edge of the ink tray can easily roll down and stain the paper or table, so it is very necessary to find a place for it.
When you put the brush on the mountain, you will have a sense of stability and order. There are many kinds of materials for Bishan, including porcelain, wood, crystal and jade.