The history of the development of the pen can be divided into three periods:
(1) The initial period of writing with sticks: the birth of the pen came from the branches used to draw symbols on the ground. Sticks, bones, etc. are just a bare pole. However, it is this simplest thing that has drawn the oldest writing of mankind. The ancient Sumerians used this kind of pen to draw the world-famous words on clay tablets. The ancient Egyptians used it to record their own hieroglyphics. Later, as the carriers of writing appeared, oracle bones and stone tablets, knives and pens appeared. The knife and pen are also rod-type, and they appear to deal with hard oracle bones and stones. Since the ancients discovered that charcoal sticks can be used to scribble text, this method has been used. They also discovered that graphite can also be used for scribbling. However, whether a charcoal stick or a graphite stick is held in the hand, it is easy to dirty the hands. Smart humans have used charcoal sticks and graphite sticks to scribble. The graphite rod has a layer of outer coating, mostly made of soft wood, which is now the pencil. Its biggest feature is that the handwriting is easy to change. Once the eraser is wiped, the handwriting will be gone.
(2) The period of dip pens: With the development of writing carriers towards cloth and bamboo slips, the period of writing with rods slowly ended, and the second generation of dip pens began to appear, among which the first one was the brush. The writing brush uses a bamboo section as the rod and animal hair as the tip. The animal hair is moderately soft and hard, and has strong water absorption. However, because the writing brush has high requirements on the posture of holding the pen and the speed of writing, another type of dip pen has appeared. Form - quill pen. People found that the long feathers of the bird's wing tail are hard and suitable for holding in the hand. The feather shaft is hollow and can just be dipped in ink. It is very convenient to write. Therefore, the quill pen came into being. , but it has many shortcomings, such as the amount of water in the quill pen is difficult to control, the writing is sometimes thick and sometimes thin, and it is difficult to drip the ink on the paper.
(3) The period of portable pens: Since the invention of the fountain pen based on the quill pen in the mid-1880s, the fountain pen quickly replaced the traditional quill pen and became the main writing instrument in the 20th century. The fountain pen is also called a fountain pen. It is a portable pen made based on the principle of air pressure. The pen liner is a small empty cylinder. Squeeze it to discharge the air. After you let go, the volume of the space inside increases, the pressure becomes smaller, and the inside and outside are larger. The pressure causes the ink to be sucked into the pen liner, and the ink that is pressed in when writing flows out with the pen tip under the action of gravity. In this way, there is no need to keep dipping in ink when writing, which greatly saves time, and writing is smooth and convenient. Later, another invention was invented Ballpoint pens are more convenient for writing. Because they are oil-based writing materials, they avoid the trouble of pens leaking ink. They can write longer, are lighter, more convenient, and more economical, so they are deeply loved by modern people.