Have you ever wondered how to use a Chinese calligraphy brush correctly?
Using this technique you will be ready to write beautiful Chinese characters in the traditional way.
Steps
Step 1. Prepare a brush for Chinese calligraphy
Step 2. Wet the brush in a cup full of water
Step 3. Remove the brush from the cup when it feels soft
Step 4. Hold the brush in your right hand or left hand
Holding it on the upper part you can create lighter and softer strokes, while holding it in the lower part, closer to the bristles, you can create more solid and defined brush strokes.
Step 5. Use the ring finger, middle finger and thumb to hold the brush
Step 6. Keep your elbow off the table
Step 7. Dip the ink stick into the water and blend the ink onto the inkstone until it has an oily consistency
Step 8. Ink in the bottle:
pour the ink on the stone.
Step 9. Start writing characters by tilting the brush with your fingers, not your hand
If desired, special effects can be achieved by tilting the brush.
Step 10. That's it
Warnings
- If you want your brush to last a long time, here are some measures to protect it:
- 1. Before using the brush, dip the tip into the water until the water ALMOST reaches the base of the bristles. Do not leave the base of the bristles too much in contact with the water, otherwise the glue that holds the bristles together can melt and you risk finding yourself with a brush that "loses its hair".
- 2. Before starting to write, quickly dip the tip of the brush into the water and pull it out and then let it soak for 5 to 10 minutes. This way the bristles won't break so easily.
- 3. As you write, only 1/3 of the tip should be dipped in the ink. If you dip it more than this you may have trouble rinsing the brush after use.
- 4. When cleaning the brush make sure it is completely clean of ink. Chinese ink contains coagulants that can damage the brush if you let it dry while still stained with ink.
- 5. Do not handle the dry brush too much. The dry bristles are delicate and can be easily broken if you drag the brush over the paper thus creating forked tips that prevent them from being used correctly.
- Don't put the brush in your mouth.
- Do not press too hard on the paper or the paper may tear.