Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items: 45 Traditional Study Tools and Collectibles

This morning I found this article on the Jiangsu Calligraphy Association’s WeChat account and decided to share it for two reasons. First, this comprehensive collection of scholar’s studio objects is truly eye-opening (though some items may not be limited to study room use). Second, I’ve previously only introduced the “Four Treasures of the Study” (brush, ink, paper, and inkstone), so this article serves as an excellent supplement. While we commonly discuss these four treasures, we often overlook the other precious objects used in ancient scholars’ studios. Through this article, we can learn about these refined tools while understanding the sophisticated scholarly lifestyle of our ancestors. I also recommend reading the companion piece “Beyond Brush, Ink, Paper and Inkstone: Other Scholar’s Studio Tools Worth Owning.”

Introduction

The study room is a scholar’s realm—a space for producing intellectual work. No matter how diligent or hardworking one is, rest and cultivation are necessary. Chinese culture emphasizes not just diligent labor but also strategic vision and energy conservation.

The study room is also called “wenrfang” (scholar’s studio). When resting in this space, what did scholars enjoy and handle?

How many types of scholarly objects existed? As early as the Ming Dynasty, a man named Tu Long wrote a book called “Kaopan Yushi,” in which he documented 45 representative scholar’s studio objects.

Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-The 45 Scholar’s Studio Objects

1. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Brush Rest (Bi Ge笔搁)

Used to support brushes, also called “brush mountain” or “brush rack.” Available in various designs and materials.

2. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Inkstone Mountain (Yan Shan研山)

Inkstones made from natural stone that function both as inkstones and as objects of appreciation.

3. Brush Bed (Bi Chuang笔床)

A specialized object for laying down brushes, made from porcelain, jade, purple sandalwood, ebony, and other materials.

4. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Brush Screen (Bi Ping)

A specialized studio item combining a brush holder with a miniature screen. Available in various designs and materials, these remained popular until the 1960s-70s.

5. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Brush Holder (Bi Tong笔筒)

A container for storing brushes, available in various materials and shapes.

6. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Brush Boat (Bi Chuan笔船)

Used for laying brushes horizontally, made of wood, ivory, copper, or jade. Often rectangular with flared edges and an interior brush rest.

7. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Brush Washer (Bi Xi笔洗)

Used for cleaning brushes, typically made of ceramics or stone.

8. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Brush Tester (Bi Tian笔掭)

A tool for attending to brushes and testing ink concentration.

9. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Water Container (Shui Zhong Cheng水中丞)

A water vessel placed on the writing desk. Available in various designs and materials.

10. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Water Dropper (Shui Zhu水注)

Originally called “yan di” (inkstone drip), used to add water when grinding ink. During the Ming Dynasty’s Xuande period, influenced by Arabs, larger blue and white water pots were fired and commonly used for hand washing or watering flowers.

11. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Inkstone Case (Yan Xia 砚匣)

Also called inkstone box, used to store inkstones. Usually made from fine wood and often inscribed with text.

12.Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Ink Stick Box (Mo Xia 墨匣)

Also called ink box, used to store ink sticks. Similar to a small chest.

13. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Seals (Yin Zhang 印章)

Including name seals, leisure seals, and portrait seals. Most scholars owned multiple seals—Qi Baishi even referred to himself as “owner of three hundred stone seals.”

.If you want to learn more about seals, you can read this article：

Chinese Seals: Complete Guide to Types and Usage

14. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Book Case (Shu Xia 书匣)

Small boxes used to store books, letters, and notes.

15. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Seal Ink Container (Yin Se Chi 印色池)

A vessel for storing seal ink, usually made of porcelain or lacquerware.

16. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Paste Pot (Hu Dou 糊斗 )

A container for paste or glue.

17. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Wax Pot (La Dou 蜡斗)

Ancient scholars used wax for many purposes, especially for sealing documents rather than using paste. Wax pots and paste pots served similar functions. The image shows a five-colored double happiness floral design (the lid is missing but should have one).

18. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Paperweight (Zhen Zhi 镇纸)

Used to hold paper down when writing or painting, typically in a long rectangular form.

19. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Paper Ruler (Ya Chi 压尺)

Used to press down paper, similar to paperweights. The image shows an antique silver one with the twelve zodiac animals. Paper rulers were typically made of metal, as weight was necessary to hold paper in place.

20. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Arm Rest (Mi Ge 秘阁)

Also called “bi ge,” used to support the wrist when writing or painting, helpful when one doesn’t want to or cannot use suspended brush techniques.

21. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Paper Burnisher (Bei Guang 贝光)

Used to smooth and polish paper. Smoothing paper meant compressing and polishing it, often done with high-quality paper. Originally made from shells, hence the name “bei guang” (shell light).

22. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Spectacles (Ai Dai 叆叇)

The term “ai dai” describes thick clouds obscuring the sun. In ancient times, this word also referred to eyeglasses.

23. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Paper Cutter (Cai Dao 裁刀)

Used for cutting paper. Mainly available as metal knives, bamboo knives, or ivory knives.

24. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Scissors (Jian Dao 剪刀)

Anciently called “jiao jian” or “jiao dao,” a tool for cutting materials.

25. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Travel Grooming Kit (Tu Li 途利)

Similar to today’s beauty and manicure sets. This image includes tweezers, ear picks, toothpicks, and a nail cleaner.

26. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Ancient Coins (Bu Quan Zhi Dong 布泉指东)

Refers to precious ancient coins from the Western Han Dynasty during Wang Mang’s reign, which were very valuable at that time.

27. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Study Lamp (Shu Deng 书灯)

Similar to today’s desk lamp. (Editor’s note: I recently saw a similar lamp at a museum in Xi’an. The guide explained that the main body could hold water, and lamp smoke would flow through the bronze figure’s sleeve into the body where it dissolved in water, creating a smokeless lamp—an incredibly environmentally friendly design!)

28. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Hook (Gou 钩)

Used for retrieving or hanging objects, hooks had widespread applications in ancient times.

29. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Xiao Flute (Xiao 箫)

An ancient Chinese musical instrument. The xiao produces a clear, distant sound that many ancient scholars loved.

30. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Duster (Zhu 麈)

Made from the tail of a deer-like animal and fashioned into a duster.

31. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Ruyi Scepter (Ru Yi 如意)

Originally used by common people as a back scratcher, it later became a decorative item because of its auspicious name meaning “as you wish.”

32. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Meditation Lamp (Chan Deng 禅灯)

Similar to today’s floor lamp, primarily made of stone in ancient times and available in various designs. This image shows one type of meditation lamp. These lamps were made according to the stone material used—white stone emitted white light, red stone emitted red light, and so on, similar to today’s colored lights.

33. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Rhyme Books (Yun Pai, Yun Pu 韵牌 韵谱)

Reference books. In ancient times, with few dictionaries available, scholars relied heavily on works like “Explaining Characters and Analyzing Words.”

34. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Five Sacred Mountains Map (Wu Yue Tu 五岳图)

Refers to maps, similar to today’s tourist maps. When tired from reading, scholars could let their minds travel thousands of miles through these maps.

35. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Flower Vase (Hua Zun 花尊)

Vases for flower arrangements.

36. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Bell (Zhong 钟)

Ancient musical instrument. A series of bronze bells hung on wooden frames that could be struck with small wooden mallets. (Editor’s note: The image shows a set of chime bells. In ancient times, chime bells were exclusive to the upper class and symbolized status and power, so they might not be appropriate to list among scholar’s studio objects.)

Perhaps this is the right one：

37. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Stone Chime (Qing 磬)

Ancient percussion instrument shaped like a carpenter’s square, made of jade or stone. It could be hung up and was both visually and musically pleasing. The image shows a jade stone chime with dragon pattern carving.

38. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Prayer Beads (Shu Zhu 数珠)

Also called Buddhist beads. The character “fo” (Buddha) relates to “fu” (forbid), and “zhu” (bead) relates to “zhu” (kill), reminding one to avoid killing. Each string consists of 108 beads.

39. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Citron Fruit Tray (Xiang Yuan Pan 香橼盘)

Similar to today’s fruit tray. The image shows a lotus leaf design lacquerware.

40. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Bowl (Bo 钵)

A pottery vessel for washing or holding items, also used for grinding medicine.

41. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Sanskrit Sutras (Fan Jing 番经)

Refers to Buddhist texts in Sanskrit. Ancient scholars enjoyed this, similar to modern people reading foreign classics in their original language.

42. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Mirror (Jing 镜)

Refers to bronze mirrors, similar to today’s mirrors. (Editor’s note: This is a bronze mirror. In museums, these are typically displayed face down because in ancient times, mirrors were gifted to the deceased for burial. People believed it was unlucky for the living to look into mirrors meant for the dead to illuminate the underworld.)

43. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Poetry Tube and Kuishan Paper (Shi Tong Kui Jian 诗筒葵笺)

Actually two separate items: bamboo tubes and special paper. Ancient people would write poems, place them in bamboo tubes, and send them to distant places to prevent moisture damage. Historically, the Tang Dynasty poets Bai Juyi and Yuan Zhen (known for their “Yuan-Bai friendship”) often exchanged poetry this way.

44. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Xuanyuan Mirror (Xuanyuan Jing 轩辕镜)

An ancient mirror believed to ward off evil spirits. Shaped like a ball, it was typically hung in front of the bed.

The image shows the “Coiled Dragon Caisson” above the throne in the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City. The caisson features a dragon holding a bright spherical object in its mouth—the Xuanyuan Mirror. Legend says it was created by China’s ancient ancestor “Xuanyuan” and could identify the true emperor. Similar spherical objects can be found in some modern city squares with similar symbolic functions.

45. Ancient Chinese Scholar Desk Items-Sword (Jian 剑)

An ancient weapon known as the “king of all weapons,” wearing a sword also represented a gentleman’s dignity. Hanging a sword in one’s study symbolized being accomplished in both literary and martial arts.

Additional Resources

If you’re a calligraphy enthusiast, I recommend several articles I’ve written previously about the Four Treasures of the Study, which may help you understand these items and begin systematic calligraphy study:

• Brush: China’s Top 10 Brush Brands (with Selection and Maintenance Methods)
• Ink: China’s Top 5 Famous Inks and Common Ink Characteristics (with Selection Guide)
• Paper: China’s Top 10 Xuan Paper Brands (with Types, Selection, Maintenance Methods, and FAQ)
• Inkstone: China’s Top 10 Famous Inkstones (with Types, Prices, Authentication Methods, and Maintenance Knowledge)