Classification and use of writing brush
Brush is listed as the first in Four Treasures of the Study. According to legend, this brush was created by Meng Tian, a general of Qin Dynasty. Zhang Hua, a native of A Jin, recorded in his Natural History that "Meng Tian made pens". In Zhou Xingsi's thousand-character writings in the Southern Dynasties, there is also a saying that "pens are tied with paper", and Meng Tian is regarded as the ancestor of pen-making. In recent decades, with the new archaeological discoveries, the appearance of brush can be traced back to more than two thousand years ago. Although the writing brush was not seen in the Western Zhou Dynasty or earlier, some signs of using a pen can be found in prehistoric painted pottery patterns and Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Shang Dynasty. During the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the brush was widely used to write bamboo slips and silk books. The writing brush of the Spring and Autumn Period was found in the tomb of Zeng Houyi in Leigudun, Suizhou City, Hubei Province. It is the earliest pen found so far. Later, the Warring States pens unearthed in Zuojiagong Mountain, Changsha City, Hunan Province, the Qin pens unearthed in Shuihudi, Yunmeng County, Hubei Province, and Fangmatan, Tianshui City, Gansu Province, and the Han pens unearthed in Mawangdui, Fenghuang Mountain, jiangling county, Gansu Province, Wuwei, Xuanquanjia, Ma Quan Bay, and Guguyan, Inner Mongolia, all have rare and precious materials.
According to 1975, judging from the three brush pens unearthed from Qin tomb in Yunmeng Sleeping Tiger Land, Hubei Province, the pens in Meng Tian era have been made very well. Meng Tian's words have never been seen in official history books. According to Records of the Historian, before he became a general, he had "tasted the script of the book prison". In the biography of Mao Ying written by Han Yu in the Tang Dynasty, there is such a record: General Meng shot a mountain rabbit and made a pen for Qin Shihuang. Therefore, the writing brush has another name "Guan" and "Zhongshujun". It can be inferred that General Meng is an expert in pen making and is famous for his technological innovation.
Traditional brush is not only a necessary learning tool for the ancients, but also has a unique charm in expressing the special charm of China's paintings and calligraphy. However, because the brush is fragile and difficult to preserve, ancient pens that have been passed down to this day are rare.
There are many producing areas of brush in China, which can be roughly divided into two schools: "Hu Pen" and "Xiang Pen" according to different producing areas and production techniques. Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Anhui and even Beijing all belong to the "Hu Bi" series; Generally speaking, Gannan belongs to the "elephant trunk" series.
kind
1. The size of the pen is divided into:
According to the size of the pen, it is divided into three types: large, medium and small. In addition to ordinary large, medium and small letters, the largest is Beijing Hawthorn Pen, Bucket Pen, Pen-lifting and Screen Equivalence, and the smallest is Gui Pen.
2. Bihao's raw materials are divided into:
According to the different raw materials, it can be divided into wool pen, wolf brush, purple brush and double-stranded brush.
(1) Ranunculus. This pen is made of goat hair. Wool pen is soft in texture and absorbs a large amount of ink, which is suitable for writing with round and solid stippling. More durable than a wolf's brush. Most of these pens are lake pens, which are relatively cheap. Generally, there are big pens, Jingti (or pen lifting), Lianfeng, Feng Ping, Ding Feng, Gaifeng, flagpole, Jade Bamboo Shoots, Yulanrui and Jingzha.
(2) Wolf brush. This pen is made of the hair on the tail of a weasel. The rat tail produced in Northeast China is the most common, and it is called "North Langhao" and "Guandong Liao Wei". Wolf hair is stronger than wool pen and suitable for writing and drawing, but it is not as durable as wool pen and more expensive. Common varieties are Zhu Lan, freehand brushwork, landscape, flowers, Ye Jin, costume patterns, red beans, small seiko, deer and wolf hair calligraphy and painting (made of wolf hair and deer hair), leopard and wolf hair (made of wolf hair and leopard hair), special long-peak wolf hair, super long-peak wolf hair and so on.
(3) font size. The writing pen is made of rabbit hair, so it is named for its purple, black and bright colors. This pen is tall and straight, sharp and sharp, and it is more elastic than a wolf's hair. Anwei's rabbit hair is the best.
(4) Double-sided brush. This pen is made of two kinds of animal hair with different hardness and softness. Common varieties are double-strand brush, wolf sheep, double-strand brush and purple sheep, such as five-purple five-sheep and seven-purple three-sheep. This pen has the advantages of both sheep and wolves, moderate rigidity and moderate price, and is commonly used by painters and painters. There are two types: harmonic type and quilt type.
In addition, there are pens made of chicken feathers, mountain horses, moustaches and bristles. There are also white hair, green hair, yellow hair, sheep hair, horse hair, deer hair, musk hair, badger hair, raccoon hair, mink hair, moustache, rat tail, tiger hair, wolf tail, fox hair, otter hair, orangutan hair, goose hair, duck hair, chicken hair, pheasant hair, pig hair and so on.
3. The length of bristles is divided into:
The front is long, the middle is short.
4. The texture of the pen tube is divided into:
There are Phyllostachys pubescens, Phyllostachys pubescens, Phyllostachys bambusa, Phyllostachys pubescens, Pterocarya pterocarpus, Sandalwood, Nanmu, Rosewood, Chamomile, Carved Lacquer, Green Lacquer, Snail, Ivory, Rhinoceros Horn, Tortoise Shell, Jade, Crystal, Coloured Glass, Gold and Silver, Porcelain.
5. According to the purpose of using the pen, there are also nicknames:
Pure and clean, round and smooth, right army calligraphy and the like, most of these pens are of good quality and moderate size, and there are dozens of them.
nature
1. Hard pen hair such as:
Bristle brush, purple brush, wolf brush, mouse brush.
2. Soft pen hair such as:
Wool brush, feather brush.
3. The pen of neutrality is as follows:
Double brush. (For example, three purple and seven wool, five purple and five wool, seven purple and three sheep wool. )
Main points of use
Write big characters with lanolin, and small characters with purple hair, wolf hair and double-stranded brush (it would be better if you could write small characters with lanolin). Write official script with wool.
Write Oracle Bone Inscriptions with bristles, and write official script with wool.
Used pens must be washed with clean water at any time, and no ink can be left.
Pen selection method
Take "sharp, neat, round and healthy" as the principle. That is, the pen should be sharp; When flattening, it should be neat, and when writing, it can be spread out on all sides, not flat or scattered into a circle; The elasticity of the pen is good, and writing for a long time is healthy. If there is a lot of lanolin and it is not easy to write, beginners can choose a slightly thinner pen. As for the ordinary fountain pen, it must not be used.