Chinese parchment paper, also known as rice paper in English, has been used by artists for literally thousands of years. According to the website Asia-Art, this practice began at the end of the first century, when parchment was made from materials including pulp, fishnet and bark. Parchment paper today is typically machine made, although there are many artisans who craft their own paper. The art itself, whether landscape or figural, is traditionally meant to follow a Chinese tenet of beauty which, according to the website Chinatown Connection, defines the artist's goal as “painting in poetry, and poetry in painting."
Types of Parchment
According to the website Chinese Paintings, there are two types of art parchment or rice paper: raw and sized. Raw paper is thin and smooth, while sized paper is thicker and has a textured surface. The texture of a piece of parchment will determine how quickly it absorbs ink and paint; however, all parchment types used for Chinese painting are very thin and need to be handled with extreme care, particularly while being hung or mounted.
Types of Paintings
According to the website Chinatown Connection, Chinese paintings typically followed the “xieyi” style--with an emphasis on freehand brushwork--or the “gongbi” style--which featured close attention to detail and fine brushwork. Artists often painted their works in scroll form, with the hanging scroll and long horizontal scroll being the most utilized. Chinese artists also pasted their parchment art on bamboo strips; this created a fan-like effect in the parchment surface.
Other Materials
According to the site Chinese Paintings, Chinese brushes were nearly always made of animal hairs, ranging from fine-tipped to broad-ended for background painting. Inks and paints were water soluble, and bright colors were usually composed of minerals such as chalk, and plants such as red sandalwood. This mineral and plant matter was ground into a pigment consistency and mixed with a binding agent to produce a workable paint.
Styles of Artwork
There are three categories of Chinese parchment art: figural, landscape and flower and bird painting. According to Chinatown Connection, as landscape painting developed, colors such as greens, blues and reds began to define the genre; these were set against backgrounds of vivid brushstrokes. Figural painting flourished during the Tang Dynasty from 618 to 907, when ladies of the court were particularly popular subjects for the artist's brush. These exquisite works, according to Chinatown Connection, "exerted an eternal influence on the development of shi nu hua (painting of beauties), which comprise an important branch of traditional Chinese painting today."
