[MUSIC] Well dear friends, so, We have prepared our table for writing. We've put the felt rag, we've put the inkstone. We dropped some water and we dissolved the ink, we prepared our brush. We put the paper on the rag nicely. So, what comes next? What will we need during the writing besides those things that we've already spoken of? The very simple question, where and how shall we put the writing brush if we need something during our writing process? For instance if we need another brush, that is very simple. Sometimes, we are writing big characters and then we need to write very small characters and sometimes this is not possible to do with one brush. We need really big brush for big characters, then really small brush for the small ones. So where shall we put this brush? We can put it somewhere on the top of something which is very unconvenient, then being put like that for instance, the brush is going to dry very quickly. So we need some sort of a tool that will keep our brush in this position with the rised working part. And actually this tool exists. This is called the brush rest and here we go. Actually, you have seen this brush rest for all the time during all the classes, it was on the table and this brush rest, though it is a new one, but it is done in a very traditional style. It is done in the shape of a mountain. Well, believe me, this thing, this shape is the traditional shape of a mountain as the Chinese, Imagine a regular mountain. It must have the main peak and two side peaks and then it's okay, then it's normal good mountains. So, why a mountain? It's not only this brush rest that is done in the form of a mountain, many of them of course, they were done in different forms, but one of the most traditional and most popular forms for this brush rest is the form of a mountain. Why, so, because, First of all, the writing process is inseparable with the idea of the traditional ritual, ritual in its prime in the very sense of this word. Ritual as something that makes this world exist. So then, we are the part of this ritual and the characters that we write are the magic symbols involved in this ritual. Ritual can be divided into two halves, into two parts, the yang and the yin part. The yang part is connected with the idea of young, the bright, the hot sphere of the life, something that is, Associated with the male, Idea, the idea of the male sex. The female part of the life, which is associated with something dark, something cold is another, Hemisphere of the universe. So, the two parts of the universe yang and yin, Require two different ways of ritual, the ritual that makes our world go on and that makes all the human beings living prosperously and happily is associated with the young ritual. The young ritual or the idea of this young energy is associated with some symbols and the most distinguishing symbol of young is a mountain, something that goes up, goes to the heaven in that direction at least. So a lot of the traditional ceremonies, a lot of kinds of traditional rituals were connected, were associated with those mountains and during some holidays like the holiday of the double nine, people were going to the mountains to absorb the young energy that is abundant there in the mountains. So no wonder that this brush rest is done in the form of the mountain. There is also, Another sphere, another part of this symbol. Everything on the table of course and everywhere must be set up in the harmonious way, must be set up in harmony. And here on the table, this harmony must be kept as well. We have, A very, Obvious, Symbol of yin just here on the table, of yin which is associated with water and with dark water and we have the basin of this dark liquid on our table which is our inkstone. So the counterpart of this yin symbol, the, Yang symbol to match, is this brush rest made in the shape of a mountain? So the yang symbol and yin symbol together on the same table make the harmony, the harmony of the table is the basis of the harmony of the soul of the person who is going to write something with this brush going inside the yin. Inkstone and then resting on the yang brush rest. Besides this kind of a tool suitable for placing a brush, there are the brush stands for the brushes to hang after washing because after writing, you have to wash the brush clean and then hang it, For drying. So, those brush stands you can see them on the slide are made of wood or something or some other precious materials, maybe even under the brushes, they have this sort of a loop. So you can hang ' on those brush stands. In some cases though, the brushes don't have this loop and so they cannot dry hanging. So then there are special sort of wooden vessels, and may be big wooden cups and things to put the brush standing inside. All those things are done nicely with expensive, Kinds of wood, sometimes they are decorated with engraving. Sometimes they are decorated with some, Maybe painted stuff on them. So, these things are going to be beautiful. These things are going to be nice so that the aesthetics of the brushed stands, of the brush rests and the like, Will, Evoke the inspiration of the calligrapher and make him write something very special and very beautiful. So, the brush rest.
