Q&A for How to Use a Chinese Calligraphy Brush

It is hardened ink in the form of a brick/stick. You grind it against the ink stone and add water to create the the ink needed for painting, writing, etc.

You can find a brush on eBay or Amazon. Just make sure it has a reasonable price and that the seller has at least 95.5% good reviews so you won't get scammed.

The symbol for China is 中国.

Yes you can, but Chinese calligraphy brushes often have a very broad range of line variation. That quality makes them more useful for writing Chinese characters.

The original author is unknown, but there are at least 17 co-authors who contributed.

No. You can write with whichever hand you like. There is no difference.

It depends on the stroke you want. I would recommend putting most of the movement in you fingers if you are doing smaller pieces, and in your elbow and arm when doing larger pieces.

Take your thumb and index finger, pinch the tip until it gets the shape you want, then dip it in water.

If you're referring to printer paper or notebook paper, these will allow for bleeding through of the ink. Watercolor paper would be preferable, and can be procured from most craft stores and on large online stores. Traditionally, Chinese calligraphy is best on rice paper which can also be found in large online stores.

A traditional Chinese calligraphy brush uses goat's hair, which is extremely soft and absorbent. If you can get clean mark whose line variation is easy to control, it would seem that you found a good buy!

Wipe them with a non-shedding washcloth/rag. Don't use toilet paper or paper towels as they may leave residue behind.

"美" (pronounced měi - 3rd tone) means beauty. "智" (pronounced zhì - 4th tone) means wisdom.

You can find those materials in an art supply shop, or order online. Be careful, though: an ink stick can be very expensive! Ink stones are used to grind up ink sticks to make the ink used in calligraphy. You can probably find one in a Chinese or Japanese calligrapher's set.

Chinese calligraphy or Shodo (Japanese calligraphy) are not usually used to write western languages, but you don't have to write in cursive in order for it to be considered as calligraphy. If you want to write in calligraphy for western languages, practice the script you want to write in first. If you are referring to the other two styles of Chinese/Japanese calligraphy, semi-cursive and cursive styles, they demand a lot of skill to write the characters. If you're a beginner, just write the characters in regular script at first.