What are the four traditional tools of Chinese calligraphy collectively called?

The four traditional tools of Chinese calligraphy are collectively called the Four Treasures of the Study.

The set consists of the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. In Chinese, the expression is 文房四宝 (wénfáng sìbǎo), literally “the four treasures of the scholar’s studio.” These were essential implements in the study of educated Chinese literati and later became important across Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese calligraphic traditions.

The phrase appears to date from the Southern and Northern Dynasties period (420–589 CE). Each treasure also developed famous regional forms: Xuanzhi paper from Anhui, Huizhou inksticks, and celebrated inkstones from places such as Duanxi and Shexian. The oldest of the four is the brush, with archaeological evidence reaching back to the Zhou period.

A common mix-up is confusing the Four Treasures with the Four Arts of the Scholar, which were activities: music, the board game go, calligraphy, and painting. The “Four Gentlemen” instead refers to plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum in Chinese painting.