1. Chinese Calligraphy  

2. Chinese Calligraphy Tools
Chinese ink- It is solid, and usually comes in the shape of sticks.  Black ink is made from the soot of pinewood or oil smoke, and a gum substance.  Often, these sticks are decorated and highly prized by themselves.

3. Chinese brush- Brushes are made from animal hair that is bundled together and put on bamboo reeds.  The Chinese use hair from wolves, sheep, rabbits, deer, foxes, or mice depending on the type of writing.  For small delicate writing, use rabbit hair.  For bold writing, sheep hair is good.  You must take good care of the brushes to keep the point stiff and straight. 

4. The seven strokes or 'Seven Mysteries' as they are called:
Horizontal line
Dot
sweeping downward stroke
vertical line sharp curve
downward stroke

5. Paper- The texture is fine and somewhat absorbent.
Brush rest- These stands are used to hold extra brushes.  They are usually decorated.

6. Happy Chinese New Year!

7. Happy Chinese New Year!
Asians all over the world celebrate for 15 days.
The holiday is also called Lunar New Year and Spring Festival.
On Chinese New Year’s Eve, families eat big dinner. Everyone comes home for it. After dinner, they may watch TV or play games. Then at 12:00, firecrackers welcome the new year!

8. Happy Chinese New Year! In Chinese culture, each year has an animal.
It’s the Year of the Dragon!

9. Happy Chinese New Year!
People decorate their homes with flowers for Chinese New Year. Flowers mean new life and good fortune.
People have oranges and tangerines in their homes too. These fruits also mean good fortune.
People hang the Chinese word fu(福) in their homes too. Fu means blessing and good fortune.

10. Happy Chinese New Year! Children love Chinese New Year.
They get hong bao(紅包) or red envelopes with money in them. Parents and other adults give the envelopes.

11. Happy Chinese New Year!
Chinese also hang spring couplets by their doors at Spring Festival time. These are written on red paper. They have wishes for good fortune and happiness in the new year.

12. The Story of Chinese New Year
In a Chinese legend, “Nien” was a terrible beast. It ate not only animals but also people.
People felt that they had to do something to stop Nien from eating any more people.

13. The Story of Chinese New Year
They found out that Nien was scared of three things – anything colored red, loud noises and fire.

14. The Story of Chinese New Year
When the next winter came, many people put couplets on their front doors.
People set off firecrackers to make loud noises.

15. The Story of Chinese New Year
One night, Nein came.
The red couplets, the noises and the fire frightened it.
So it ran away to the mountains and never came back again.
People stayed up all night that night with their families because they were afraid.

16. The Story of Chinese New Year
The next morning, people discovered that Nein had run away!
They congratulated one another by saying “Gon Xi.”

17. Spring Couplets
Each Chinese New Year, families in China decorate their front doors with poetic couplets of calligraphy written with fragrant India ink and expressing the feeling of life's renewal and the return of spring.