The calligrapher's friend
By Liu Xiaolin |
September 5, 2010, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
ONE of the lesser-known artifacts of the scholar's study is the bige, a kind of arm covering used by calligraphers to prevent ink from smearing and protect their sleeves.
Bige, often a shallow piece of bamboo the length of the forearm, gave support and kept the sleeve from contact with rice paper. It was not only practical but also of aesthetic value, often decorated with poetry or pictures and considered an ornament in itself.
Traditionally calligraphy is written from right to left, with wrist and forearm elevated above the paper. A sleeve moving above the paper could smudge the ink. Sweat, from writing for long periods or in hot weather, could also stain the paper.
It is said that bige was a great friend to many officials who supervised the imperial examinations because it helped support their wrists when they had to copy all the candidates' answers.
Bige are commonly around 33 centimeters long and 8 centimeters wide, mostly crafted by splitting a large bamboo tube into three pieces, each creating a shallow cradle for the forearm.
Craftsmen often carved mottoes, poetry, patterns and pictures into the surface. Scholars later sent inscribed bige to friends or relatives as a considerate gift. Bige were considered luxuries, not necessities.
They were also made of other materials, such as jade, rosewood, ivory, porcelain and ceramics. Porcelain and pottery bige came into vogue during the reign of Emperor Kangxi (1662-1722) of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
The Shanghai Museum exhibits a exquisite zisha (purple-clay) bige that looks exactly like a bamboo tube in color and shape, even to the "worm holes" and grain of the bamboo. It was made by master craftsman Chen Yuanming during Kangxi's reign.
Bige, often a shallow piece of bamboo the length of the forearm, gave support and kept the sleeve from contact with rice paper. It was not only practical but also of aesthetic value, often decorated with poetry or pictures and considered an ornament in itself.
Traditionally calligraphy is written from right to left, with wrist and forearm elevated above the paper. A sleeve moving above the paper could smudge the ink. Sweat, from writing for long periods or in hot weather, could also stain the paper.
It is said that bige was a great friend to many officials who supervised the imperial examinations because it helped support their wrists when they had to copy all the candidates' answers.
Bige are commonly around 33 centimeters long and 8 centimeters wide, mostly crafted by splitting a large bamboo tube into three pieces, each creating a shallow cradle for the forearm.
Craftsmen often carved mottoes, poetry, patterns and pictures into the surface. Scholars later sent inscribed bige to friends or relatives as a considerate gift. Bige were considered luxuries, not necessities.
They were also made of other materials, such as jade, rosewood, ivory, porcelain and ceramics. Porcelain and pottery bige came into vogue during the reign of Emperor Kangxi (1662-1722) of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
The Shanghai Museum exhibits a exquisite zisha (purple-clay) bige that looks exactly like a bamboo tube in color and shape, even to the "worm holes" and grain of the bamboo. It was made by master craftsman Chen Yuanming during Kangxi's reign.
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