Browse Items (43 total)

Oil soot ink is made using the soot of burnt tung oil or various other oils. There is more glue (animal glue, e.g. egg white, fish skin, or ox hide glues) in this type of ink than the other kinds, so it does not spread as much. Oil soot ink has more…

Pine soot ink is made from the soot of pine wood, which is produced by the anoxic burning of pine wood. It has less glue (animal glue, e.g. Egg white, fish skin, or ox hide glues) and so spreads more than oil soot ink. Pine soot ink is a lot less…

Duan stone is a volcanic tuff, commonly of a purple to a purple-red color. There are various distinctive markings, due to various rock materials imbedded in the stone, that create unique designs and stone eyes (inclusions) which were traditionally…

Seal script (篆書) developed in the Zhou Dynasty and was adopted as the final script for all of China during the Qin dynasty. It was widely used for decorating and engraving purposes during the Han Dynasty. It belongs to the Bronze Age of China and in…

Running script is a cursive style of Chinese characters. Because it is not as abbreviated as cursive, most people who can read regular script can read running script. It is highly useful and also artistic.

Running script had already been formed in…

The clerical script is an archaic style of Chinese calligraphy which evolved from the Warring States period to the Qin dynasty, was a dominant script in the Han dynasty, and remained in use through the Wei-Jin periods.

Due to its high legibility…

Cursive script is faster to write than other styles, but difficult to read for those unfamiliar with it. It functions primarily as a kind of shorthand script or calligraphic style. People who can read standard or printed forms of Chinese may not be…

Known as the greatest Chinese calligrapher in history, Wang Xizhi (王羲之) is regarded as one of the Four Talented Calligraphers (四賢). He mastered every writing form and style, especially running script (行書). It is also said that some of Xizhi's…

Yan Zhenqing (顏真卿) was a notable calligrapher and a governor of the Tang Dynasty (唐朝). He mastered Regular script (楷書) as well as Cursive script (草書) but was famous for his "Yan" writing style and the only calligrapher who is paralleled with the…

Ouyang Xun (歐陽詢) was a cultured scholar and a calligrapher born on early Tang Dynasty (唐朝) in a family of government officials. Xun famous for his regular script known as "Ou style" and regarded as one of the Four Great Calligraphers of the Early…