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Calligraphy and painting were two of the most prized art forms in antediluvian China. Calligraphy was thought to be the highest and purest form of painting. The history of painting in China dates back to the 2nd century BCE. In the earliest era, painting and writing were made out on silk, until paper was later invented during the 1st century CE. Chinese art, and in particular, Chinese painting is greatly treasured around the globe. Chinese painting can be retraced to as far back as six thousand years ago in the Neolithic Age when the Chinese have begun utilizing brushes in their paintings. Chinese art dates back even earlier than that. According to subject matter, Chinese paintings can be categorized as landscapes, character paintings and flower-and-bird paintings. In traditional Chinese painting, Chinese landscape painting embodies a major category, portraying nature, especially mountains and bodies of water. Landscapes have traditionally been the favorite of the Chinese because they show the poetry inherent in nature. Accordingly, many esteemed paintings are landscapes. The most popularly known form of Chinese painting is “Water-ink” painting, where water-ink is the medium. Some of the basic things required for the Chinese painting include: paper, brush, ink or ink stick, ink stone, and color. • Brush: The Chinese brush is a necessary element for Chinese painting. The brush should be strong and flexible. Two types of brushes are used. The softer brush is made from white sheep hair. This brush should be wet first, and then dried out to deter coiling up. The latter one is fabricated from fox or deer sable fibers, which are very resilient, and tend to paint better. The way the brush is used depends on the different attributes of brush strokes one wants to achieve, such as weight, lightness, gracefulness, ruggedness, firmness, and fullness. Different types of shades are used to express space, texture, or depth. • Ink Stick: There are three types of Ink Stick: resin soot, lacquer soot, and tung-oil soot. Of the three, tung-oil soot is the most commonly used. Otherwise, Chinese ink is best if ink stick or ink stone are ineffectual. • Paper: The most commonly used paper is Xuan paper, which is made of sandalwood bark. This is exceptionally water retentive, so the color or ink disperses the moment the brush stroke is put down. The second most popular is Mian paper. • Color: The most former Chinese paintings used Mo, a kind of indigenous ink, to bring about monochrome depictions of nature or day-to-day life. Made of pine soot, mo is diluted with water to obtain different subtleties for expressing desired layers or color in a painting. Chinese painting is called shui-mo-hua. Shui-mo is the combination of shui (water) and mo. There are two styles of Chinese painting. They are gong-bi or meticulous style, and xie-yi or freehand style. The second is the most common, not only since the objects are depicted with just a few strokes, but likewise because shapes and sprites are drawn by uncomplicated curves and natural ink. Many ancient poets and scholars used xie-yi paintings to express their spiritual angst.
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Harold Mitschka Is a researcher and writer working for www.tibetana.com, where you can get all the best Chinese art and artifacts at the best prices. Visit us for all your Chinese artifact needs.
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