Ask calligrapher Wang Yuanhua how to make bamboo pens.

Pen is an important writing tool, and its meaning is very different from ancient times to modern times. In ancient times, "pen" refers to a writing brush, that is, a pen made of animal hair and bird feathers. The writing brush appeared very early, and after the technical accumulation of past dynasties, the production of writing brush reached a high level in the Tang and Song Dynasties. Understanding the making of brush is also a way to understand the ancient culture of China. The manufacture of pens can be traced back to a long time ago. Archaeologists believe that the patterns on painted pottery in the Neolithic age were drawn with "pens", but there is still a lack of physical research on what the pens looked like at that time. After a long period of development, in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, pens were manufactured and applied everywhere. Due to the geographical division, the names of pens vary greatly. Chu called it Yu, Wu called it Irregular, Yan called it Fu and Qin called it Pen. It was not until Qin Shihuang unified China that it was unified as a "pen". Ancient pens were mostly made of bamboo and animal hair, which were generally difficult to preserve. The earliest object discovered so far is a set of writing tools unearthed from the Chu Tomb in Zuojiagongshan, Changsha, Hunan Province, including a writing brush (with a pen tube attached), bamboo pieces, bronze knives and a small bamboo tube (for holding ink). The brush is covered in a small bamboo tube. Pen length 18.5 cm, diameter 0.4 cm, as thin as a bamboo needle for wool. It was observed that the bristles at that time were made of fine rabbit arrow hair and were 2.5 cm long. The manufacturing method of brush is different from the current manufacturing method of brush. The bristles are not stuffed into the pen holder, but wrapped around one end of the pen holder, wrapped with thin wires and coated outside to fix the bristles. 1975, three Qin pens were unearthed from the Qin tomb in Shuihudi, Yunmeng, Hubei Province. These pens are made of bamboo, and the lower ends of the pens are hollowed out to store pens for easy tying. Cultural relics experts believe that this is a great progress in the history of pen making. Since then, this brushwork has gradually become the customization of ancient China brush. Historically, high-quality brushes mostly came from the south, which may be related to bamboo production and local environment. Huzhou, Zhejiang and Xuanzhou, Anhui are both famous pen-making places. Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi, great calligraphers in the Jin Dynasty, successively served as the magistrate of Huzhou. They are not only good at calligraphy and painting, but also often ask the author to improve their pen-making skills. Xuanzhou Zihao Pen is made of rabbit hair and is famous for its durable nib. Xu Anbi gained more and more fame in the Tang Dynasty. Bai Juyi, a poet, once praised Xu Anbi's "Purple Poetry" and said, "A purple pen is like a cone and sharp as a knife. There are old rabbits on the rocks in Jiangnan. Xuanzhou people use bamboo to drink purple brushes, and choose one out of thousands ... When paying tribute to Xuancheng every year, the price of purple brushes is as expensive as gold. " It vividly describes the essence of Xuan pen. By the Tang Dynasty, the production of brush reached a high level, especially because of the widespread use of paper at that time, the pen changed from a stiff short-front bamboo shoot pen to a soft long-front brush. The birth of this kind of brush influenced the change of calligraphy style. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, calligraphers came forth in large numbers with different styles, which was closely related to the progress of writing brushes. It can be said that the progress of brush has promoted the development of China's calligraphy and painting. Although the brush is small in size, it is very beautifully made. The production needs to go through dozens of processes, such as material selection, skin soaking, fermentation, plucking, pot-making, splitting, boiling, gluing, tube filling, trimming and tube carving. The first thing to do is to choose materials, and the selection requirements are strict. Take Langhao as an example, the standard is the tail of the northern weasel caught in winter. It has the advantages of uniform thickness, tender front and long back, and moderate elasticity, and is the material of high-grade wolfsbane pen. All kinds of skins obtained must be soaked and fermented before they can be selected. Potters should "choose one" in the pot, choose their favorite wool, classify it, slice it, and brew it into mature slices. Cooked pieces are then tied into a pen, such as bamboo shoots, thin waist gourd, magnolia flower, etc. After installing the pen tube, it is necessary to remove impurities that hinder writing, so that each brush can meet the standard called "four virtues" by experts. The so-called "four virtues" are recorded in the textual research of Tulong in the Ming Dynasty: "The method of using a pen takes sharpness, uniformity, roundness and health as the four virtues." Sharp, sharp without fork, sharp without baldness; Qi, neat front hair, full top, vigorous and powerful; Round, rich and round, smooth and handy; Healthy, durable, solid and resilient. The "four virtues" are indispensable, and the "four virtues" are all available to become a good pen. The material, weight, thickness and length of the pen holder have great influence on the use of the pen and are also the main part of decoration. Rod-making should go through many processes such as material selection, lettering, lacquer painting, inlay, hoop, rope hanging and so on. Historically, the author chose many materials to make poles, including jade, stone, bamboo, wood, teeth, bone, porcelain, gold, silver, enamel and so on. Straight and light bamboo poles have always been the mainstream of penholders. Brush has played a very important role in the spread of ancient culture in China. It was not until the beginning of the 20th century that the original western ballpoint pens and pens were introduced to China. Because these pens are easy to write and carry, they gradually replace the writing brush in general use. However, the brush has not disappeared, and it is still useful in calligraphy, Chinese painting and formal inscriptions.