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# INTRODUCTION TO CHINESE PAINTING
A lecture delivered on 19th August 1963
HO TICKON
The technical side of Chinese painting does not present the same difficulties to a Chinese beginner as it would to a foreigner, for a Chinese is already familiar with the media he is going to use: paper, brushes, and ink or water colours.
To begin with, painting is but an extension of calligraphy, and every Chinese is trained in the mastery of brush work when he learns to write, as each ideogram requires that the strokes should be made in varying directions and that the brush pressure applied should be subject to constant alterations.
The ink and colours employed by Chinese artists differ from pigments used in the West. All are derived from mineral substances and produce an effect which pleases the eye and satisfies the imagination.
The ink should be prepared immediately before use, to ensure that the natural gloss is not lost. Pure water, a good, smooth grindstone, and an ink well are the requisites. The inkstick is rubbed gently on the stone in circular motion and diluted with water to the desired density.
Brushes are usually made in three grades: hard, soft, and medium. Objects which need sharp delineation, like the finer stems of bamboo, are depicted with a hard brush, while the texture of a flower petal, with colour shading from pale to deep, is produced with a soft brush. In painting a bird or an insect, which adds life to a flower composition, a medium brush will be used.
Before applying the pigment, the brush should be thoroughly washed. This is essential to ensure fresh and brilliant colour, as any trace of previous usage will produce muddiness. The brush is then filled with clean water up to the bamboo holder. Next, it is dipped into the lighter shade of colour up to the half-way level, and finally, the tip, up to a third, is dipped in the darker shade. Thus filled, when the brush is applied to the paper, the colours spread themselves harmoniously, shading off at a single stroke.