Four arts

Weiqi is a game in which two players take turns placing black and white stones on a board consisting of a grid of 19x19 lines.

I prefer that as a title, especially as it is made clear in the preface that this latter phrase is meant to be called to mind, and is meant to imply that the book offers the way to mastering marvels in the form of go tesujis.Shu (書) refers to Chinese calligraphy, which dates to the origins of recorded Chinese history, in essence ever since written characters have existed.

Chinese calligraphy differs from western calligraphic script in the sense that it was done with a brush instead of metal implements or a quill.

Finally, strict regularity is not required, meaning the strokes may be accentuated for dramatic effect or individual style.

Calligraphy was the means by which scholars could mark their thoughts and teachings for immortality, and as such, represent some of the more precious treasures that can be found from ancient China.

The most valued of all art treasures in China have been examples of the writing of certain aristocrats from the fourth century CE, including casual notes exchanged between them.

It was also connected intimately to the role of writing in upper class life, to notions of personality, and the visible expression of personality.[...]

Brush painting is the final art form that a scholar was expected to learn, and was arguably the greatest measure of individual creativity.

Often Chinese paintings would be produced on a sheet of plain white rice-paper or silk using nothing but black ink and a single brush.

These paintings were made to demonstrate the power of a single line, and in them was reflected a skill that valued intentional and calculated strokes over instinctual erratic creation.

[citation needed] The growing complexity of society at the end of the sixteenth century was reflected in an enriched cultural life in which heterogeneous tastes supported a wide variety of artists and craftsmen: the presence of foreigners at court and increasing affluence, which made the merchants independent of the court and of the official class, were only two of the many factors which nurtured artistic diversity.