筆墨紙硯是中國古代文人書房當中必備的寶貝，被稱為“文房四寶”。用筆墨書寫繪畫在中國可追溯到五千年前。秦時已用不同硬度的毛和竹管制筆;漢代以人工制墨替代了天然墨;有了紙張以后，簡牘錦帛逐失其用;硯臺則隨筆墨的使用而發(fā)展。 “文房四寶”到宋朝以后特指湖筆、徽墨、宣紙、端硯�？梢哉f文房四寶書寫了整個文明。

　　The Four Treasures of the Study The writing brush, ink stick, ink stone, and paper were requisite treasures in the study of the scholars of ancient China, and they are often referred to as the “Four Treasures of the Study.” The writing brush and ink stick have been used by the Chinese to write and paint since 5,000 years ago. In the Qin Dynasty (221BC---206BC), people already used feathers of different hardness and bamboo trunks to make brushes. During the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD), man-made ink was used instead of natural ink. After paper was invented by the Chinese, bamboo slips, wooden tablets, brocade and silk, which originally functioned as writing surfaces, gradually faded out. The ink stone was first developed with the use of writing brushes and ink. After the Song Dynasty (960AD---1279AD), the “Four Treasure of the Study” particularly referred to hubi, the writing brush produced in Huzhou, Zhejiang province; huimo, the ink stick produced in Huizhou, Anhui province; xuan paper, a kind of paper produced in Xuanzhou, Anhui province; and duanyan, the ink stone made in Zhaoqing, Guangdong province (Zhaoqing was earlier called Duanzhou). Indeed, the Four Treasures of the Study” have writtin the whole Chinese civilization, as it is.