Ink Blowing the Chinese Way

What is Ink Blowing? It’s a Chinese way to paint. Simply put some black ink on the paper and start to blow. In the end, you can use brighter ink and other things to decorate.

It was first introduced by Zhumoyun. In China, we usually paint plum blossom, chrysanthemum, bamboo, orchid etc. For this culture lesson we have invited Zhuge to be our teacher. She is an ink blowing master. Ok! It’s time to start the lesson, let’s focus on the class.

Characters related to ink blowing

“梅、竹、兰、菊” what is the special meaning of these characters? In China we call them four “君子”。“君子” means the man of noble character, they all represent different noble characters. “梅” is representative of unsullied and aspiring people. “竹” is an unassertive person. “兰” is a virtuous capable person. “菊” is used to represent a recluse. For this class we are going to blow a plum blossom.

Zhuge is showing us how to do that.

Watch some ink blowing

Now let’s get started.

It is a very easy way of painting, but it is hard if your lungs are not good. You may not control the ink, when you make the plum tree you will make the branch together. Before you make the painting, you need to train your lungs. After the ink has been blown, you can put your finger on the red ink and decorate it.

Let’s see our painting, which one do you think is the best?

Have you ever tried? Would you like to try now? Ink painting is part of a variety of weekly culture classes that we run at Omeida Chinese Academy. We love to share Chinese culture and help you learn new skills in the process!

Why not check out another of our culture classes here?