The half-raw half-cooked Xuan paper is a unique type of Xuan paper, particularly suitable for traditional Chinese painting, especially for meticulous and freehand styles. Its production process is between raw Xuan paper and cooked Xuan paper, maintaining the ink-absorbing qualities of raw Xuan paper while offering the stability of cooked Xuan paper.
The characteristics of half-raw half-cooked Xuan paper include:
Moderate ink absorption: It has slightly weaker ink absorption than raw Xuan paper, making it ideal for works that require ink control, and it helps express fine layers of texture.
Clear texture: The paper has an intermediate level of texture, which adds richness and expressive power to the artwork.
Suitable for various techniques: It is perfect for detailed techniques such as gongbi (meticulous) painting, freehand brushwork (xieyi), landscape painting, and more. It can show both fine brushstrokes and more fluid ink variations.
Durability: Compared to cooked Xuan paper, half-sheng half-cooked Xuan paper retains good preservation qualities, keeping the artwork’s original appearance for a long time.
Half-raw half-cooked Xuan paper is widely used in Chinese painting, as its balanced characteristics make it highly popular for artistic creation.
