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Ink Brush - Chinese Art Web |
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 Ink brushes are used in Chinese calligraphy. They are also used in Chinese painting and descendant brush painting styles (such as sumi-e).
Brushes differ greatly in terms of size, texture, material and cost.- Size: Generally classified as either big, medium or small; most calligraphy is written with a medium-sized brush. The smallest brushes are used for very small pieces and to sign works. Medium brushes are the most widely used; wielded by a skilled artist, a medium brush can produce a variety of thicknesses of line, from very thin to fairly thick. The largest brushes are used only for very large pieces.
- Texture: Either soft, hard or mixed. Certain textures are better for writing certain styles than others are.
- Material: Normally the brush is made from sheep, pig, mouse, buffalo, wolf and rabbit hair, while exotic ones can be made from tiger, fowls, deer, yellow weasel and even human baby hair (from the first haircut a baby gets, said to bring good fortune while taking the Imperial examinations).
- Stalk material: Usually normal bamboo, exotic brushes instead may use materials like gold, silver, jade, ivory, red sandalwood or mottled bamboo.
The material one chooses to use depends on one's needs at the moment, certain kinds of brushes are more suited to certain script styles and individuals than others are. Synthetic hair is not used. Prices vary greatly depending on the quality of the brush, cheap brushes cost less than a US dollar while expensive can cost more than a thousand. Currently, the finest brushes are made in Huzhou in Zhejiang.
Together with the ink stone, ink (stick) and paper, the four writing implements form the Four Treasures of the Study.
History
The earliest intact ink brush was found in 1954, in the tomb of a Chu citizen during the Warring States Period (475 - 221 BCE), located in an archaeological dig site Zuo Gong Shan 15 near Changsha. This primitive version of an ink brush had a wooden stalk, and a bamboo tube secures the bundle of hair to the stalk. Legend credits the invention of the ink brush to Qin general Meng Tian. The invention of ink brush resulted in the Lesser Seal Script (Xiaozhuan), which is elegant and curvy unlike its predecessor the Greater Seal Script (Dazhuan) which is rugged and blocky.
Imperial examination
The Imperial examinations in Imperial China determined who among the population would be permitted to enter the state's bureaucracy. The Imperial Examination System in China lasted for 1300 years, from its founding during the Sui Dynasty in 605 to its abolition near the end of the Qing Dynasty in 1905.
Before the system was introduced, most appointments in the Imperial bureaucracy were based on recommendations from prominent aristocrats and existing officials, and it was commonly accepted that recommended individuals must be of aristocratic rank. The origin of this system, called nine-rank system, can be traced back to the Han Dynasty (206 BCE to 220 CE).
Theoretically, any male adult in China, regardless of his wealth or social status, could become a high-ranking government official by passing the imperial examination, although under some dynasties members of the merchant class were excluded. In reality, since the process of studying for the examination tended to be time-consuming and costly (if tutors were hired), most of the candidates came from the numerically small but relatively wealthy land-owning gentry. However, there are vast numbers of examples in Chinese history in which individuals moved from a low social status to political prominence through success in imperial examination. Under some dynasties the imperial examinations were abolished and official posts were simply sold, which increased corruption and reduced morale.
In late imperial China the examination system and associated methods of recruitment to the central bureaucracy were major mechanisms by which the central government captured and held the loyalty of local-level elites. Their loyalty, in turn, ensured the integration of the Chinese state, and countered tendencies toward regional autonomy and the breakup of the centralized system. The examination system distributed its prizes according to provincial and prefectural quotas, which meant that imperial officials were recruited from the whole country, in numbers roughly proportional to each province's population. Elite individuals all over China, even in the disadvantaged peripheral regions, had a chance at succeeding in the examinations and achieving the rewards of holding office.
The examination system also served to maintain cultural unity and consensus on basic values. The uniformity of the content of the examinations meant that the local elites and ambitious would-be members of those elites across the whole of China were taught with the same values. Even though only a small fraction (about 5 percent) of those who attempted the examinations passed them and received titles, the studying and the hope of eventual success on a subsequent examination served to sustain the interest of those who took them. Those who failed to pass--most of the candidates at any single examination--did not lose wealth or local social standing; as dedicated believers in Confucian orthodoxy, they served, without the benefit of state appointments, as teachers, patrons of the arts, and managers of local projects, such as irrigation works, schools, or charitable foundations.
In late traditional China, then, education was valued in part because of its possible pay-off in the examination system. The overall result of the examination system and its associated study was cultural uniformity--identification of the educated with national rather than regional goals and values. This self-conscious national identity still underlies the nationalism that has been so important in China's politics in the 20th and 21st centuries.
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