Jing Hao
Chinese ink drawing it could be argued is the oldest continuous drawing tradition that uses liquid ink. The Chinese term for ink and wash painting is 'shuǐ-mò' (水墨, 'water and ink'). Landscape was regarded as the highest form of this art and the tradition is well over a thousand years old. If you look carefully at the brushwork of the early practitioners, for instance in the images made by Jing Hao (c. 855-915) or Li Cheng (c. 919–967), you will find most of the mark making techniques that reoccur throughout this brush drawing tradition, already in use. This reflects on the fact that the basic implements for making ink brush images have stayed pretty much the same over the last thousand years.
Li Cheng
The ink for Chinese ink painting as well as Japanese ink painting, is traditionally formed into 'ink sticks'. Ink sticks or ink cakes are basically solid ink made from soot and animal glue. When you are ready to use them for liquid ink, they need to be ground against an inkstone with a little water. You vary the concentration of the ink according to preference by reducing or increasing the intensity and duration of ink grinding, as well as the amount of water that the ink stick is dissolved into. The tradition of making ink sticks is very old and there is an extensive literature surrounding the significance of them in Chinese culture, and probably of all the traditional inks you could use, Chinese ink sticks are the most rich in terms of cultural meaning. There is also, because of the many years of their use, a long tradition relating to the aesthetic appreciation of them, for instance, the best inksticks make very little noise when grinding due to the fine soot used, which makes the grinding action very smooth, whereas a very loud or scratchy grinding noise indicates an ink of poor quality that has been made with a grainy soot. The inkstone is also subject to a long cultural history, as are brushes, papers, bamboo pens and the various ways that the ink can be applied. The inkstick is considered one of the Four Treasures of the Study of classical Chinese literary culture.
What is significant for myself is that a culture can take something like ink and surround it with a mythical aura. Over the years a rich tradition is built that means that you can go back and look at a drawing made in ink a thousand years ago and think about how and why it is as it is. This helps us to then think about how any ink, any material that allows us to make marks, could also become just as deeply immersed into a cultural history. For instance oak gall ink can be seen as an ink carrying a very powerful history of its own. Ball point pen ink, although in the scheme of things is very new, has managed during its short time of usage to also become culturally significant. It is in the development of 'material myths' that you can glimpse a certain type of 'animist' attachment to the physical world, these inks are not just dissolved glue and soot, they are liquid life forces, black blood that can be used to animate the artist's vision. I also know of some artists that would say the same of the ink used in their biros.
In Japan where the Chinese tradition was passed on the art is called 'sumi-e'. (Sumi 墨 = black ink, e 絵 = painting). Zen Buddhist monks from China introduced ink art to Japan in the fourteenth century. Over time the main difference that began to emerge was one of reduction and simplification. The brush strokes that were used to represent forms were reduced in number and stripped down to an essential focus and were often combined with poetry.The tools surrounding Japanese ink brush painting were also integral to the art and various types of brushes were invented to deal with the types of marks required. Even beginners were expected to use a quality brush and they were expected to understand its construction as well as its purpose. The town of Huzhou in China is known as the 'Hometown of Ink Brush' and brushes have been made there since the 13th century.
A sumi brush hanger
Brushes had to be cleaned immediately on use and because the fibres were held together using animal glue, only cold water could be used to remove the ink.
The ink brush was invented in China around 300 B.C and is still manufactured using traditional materials. The handles are made from bamboo and the hair can come from a variety of animals, including goats, pigs, mice, weasel, buffalo, rabbit, etc. and they have even at times been made from human hair. When buying a brush the texture, (soft, mixed or hard), the size (from big to small) and hair length (long, medium or short) are the most important considerations.
A 'large' Chinese brush made of goat hair (the terminology would be 'wolf-hair) and the hair is regarded as 'stiff'.
I was looking at some ideas recently whereby the world could be depicted by various combinations of simple forms, and as always I am amazed at how long similar ideas have been around, in this case the basic Chinese brush painting strokes, include: upright vertical, oblique, reverse, hidden, exposed, scatter, drag, rub and dot and out of various combinations of these strokes images of everything can be constructed.
Notice how important the elbow to wrist relationship is when maintaining fluid control of the brush
It is perhaps in the coordination between the body and these tools that a wonderful dance can be glimpsed. Fingers 're-find' themselves as they hold a brush in the most delicate manner. The elbow begins a new set of movements parallel to the horizontal surface of the drawing. Shoulders move up and down as pressure changes and breath control becomes essential to the rhythmic continuity of a brushstroke. The brush control in making certain marks that are 'like' forms found in nature is practiced over and over again, so that as the artist becomes more proficient these forms can be combined to make hybrids, which will enable even more 'likenesses' to forms seen in nature to be visualised.
Rat's foot marks; light to heavy brush tip touch, 5 different directions
Chrysanthemum marks; 7 to 8 radiating out in different directions from the same point, weight on the brush slightly varied
Jie marks; dropping from centre, even brush weight
Blob shapes; wet oval strokes with blurred contours
Even-headed marks; horizontal strokes applied lightly with a little
more pressure at the end of the stroke than at the
beginning. The brush is dragged at an angle. (Often used for depicting rock formations)
Pine leaf dots; quick, downward strokes directed toward the centre, done with the tip of an upright brush.
Wutong leaf marks; the upright brush is pressed down in units of four
strokes, with the tip forming the top and the upper
bristle the bottom of the stroke.
Prunus blossom marks; 5 short strokes form a unit.
Outline marks; the triangles are outlined in black using three strokes
Pepper marks; often used for cedar leaves. Done with an upright
brush quickly dabbed onto the paper using a brush tip.
Because landscape is seen as the main and most important subject matter for Chinese inkbrush painting, there are several types of brush strokes that are required learning if you are to become proficient. For myself the most interesting issue that is associated with this particular approach is the way that line and texture become synthesised within single marks. In western European drawing traditions we much more commonly use line and then add tone and texture, but here we can see that by careful controlling of brush angle, speed of movement plus ink mix and amount, one can achieve wonderful textural and tonal control using line alone.
There are some basic approaches to working from landscape, the marks above are mainly for working with depictions of masses of plant life, the marks below are usually used for large landscape forms at a distance.
Small axe-cut marks; triangular strokes resembling cuts made by an axe;
done
with a slanted brush.
Long hemp-fibre marks; long, slightly wavy, relaxed strokes. Done with an
upright brush held in the centre of the handle.
Short hemp-fibre marks; shorter and more ragged than the long hemp-fibre strokes, done with the brush tip.
Ravelled-rope marks; each stroke retains a twist; done with the slanted
brush.
Cloud-head marks; curving strokes built up in the shapes like cumulus
clouds.
Mi dot marks; extremely wet, diffuse dots or marks creating a blurry, atmospheric effect, made by laying the brush sideways and parallel to the
picture horizon.
Bands dragged in mud marking; free and spontaneous, the general shape is applied in
wash. Before it dries, strokes are added to produce a
less clearly defined effect.
Nail-head marks; resembles the profile of a nail with a prominent
beginning and ending with a sharp tip. The brush is
pressed down at an angle and the stroke is finished
with the brush in an upright position.
Because of the integration of landscape with calligraphy, the flow of experience that was being captured also led to the development extremely long formats, which then had to be rolled. Rolled paper formats needed to be handled carefully and as a result handscrolls were developed. A hand scroll is viewed by one, two, or maybe three people at a time. It is unrolled with the left hand
and rolled with the right, thus being viewed two or three feet at a time, from left to right. (See post on Emakimono scrolls)
Wang Hui (1632 - 1717) Endless streams and mountains; handscroll, 21 x 480½ in
The rituals associated with this form of ink drawing ensure that these images are encrusted with entanglements, they pull together perceptual memories of landscapes, ritualised hand movements, symbolic equipment, and a language of marks; as well as giving material significance to ink, surfaces (papers or silks), the body and the landscape, all woven into a dance like performance.
The tradition continues and you will find several contemporary Chinese and Japanese artists exploring the possibilities inherent in both the media itself and the cultural myths that surround its use.
PU RU (1896-1963): Lotus & Dragonfly
Lao Dan, Chinese ink on rice paper
Several contemporary artists use ink and brush work in their performances or installations, such as Xu Bing and Yang Yongliang who both in their own ways link the contemporary world with Chinese tradition.
Xu Bing
Yang Yongliang
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