This is a string quartet consists of four movements. The piece was titled “Ink Spread” to illustrate the multivariate brushworks of the traditional Chinese painting. The four movements were then given subtitles of “Flowers and Birds”, “Lotus of Ink”, “Valiant Horse”, and “Spirited Waterfall”, each houses the “Meticulous”, “Freehand”, “Line Drawing”, and “Ink Splashing” schools of brushwork techniques; utilizing the unique bravura and essence of the different schools to paint the musical contour of the four movements.

The Ink and Wash painting represents the pinnacle of Chinese Art. With an emphasis on the life force and energy of “Chi”, the Ink and Wash was able to speak directly into the hearts and souls with its lines and brushstrokes. Instead of focusing on focal perspectives or lights and shadows as do Western Arts, it puts a hint of abstractionism at afar, realism when up close, all while pursuing the momentum of the objects painted, and the courage to “blank”. In order to translate these unique characteristic of In and Wash into the form of a string quartet, “note blocks” were utilized to express the spread of the ink; “rests” were employed not only to “blank”, but to bring out the motive of pentatonic scale; “woven body” technique were experimented instead of constructing melodies as do the West to illustrate the theme of the four schools of brushwork.

The first movement “Flowers and Birds” corresponds to the “Meticulous” school of technique, using polyphonic music to portrait the intricate brushwork and tonal harmonies in order to sketch the lustrous colors. The second movement “Lotus of Ink” expands the “note clusters” and slowly introduces the pentatonic motive to parallel the fruition of an idea in a painting as we move from near to afar. The third movement “Valiant Horse” steers clear from the viscous harmonies of the first two movements, intertwine dissonant motives with first violin soli to highlight the overarching theme that of the movements of the horse. The forth movement “Spirited Waterfall” utilizes unison harmony of open position and staggered dissonant harmonies to bring out the motive of pentatonic scale.