The classification of brushes is mainly based on size, as well as the type, source, shape, etc. of the brush hair.
According to the raw material of the pen tip, it can be divided into: fetal hair brush, wolf hair brush (wolf hair, i.e. weasel hair), rabbit shoulder purple hair brush (purple hair), deer hair brush, chicken hair brush, duck hair brush, wool pen, pig hair brush Calligraphy brushes (bristle brushes), mouse brushes (rat whisker brushes), tiger brushes, ox ear hair brushes, stone badger hair brushes, etc., rabbit hair, sheep hair, and wolf hair are preferred.
①Sheep hair pen
It is made from the beard or tail hair of green sheep or yellow sheep. It can be seen that it started before the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and by the Qin Dynasty, the new pen improved by Meng Tian had become a pen-making material. The most important thing in calligraphy is pen power. The hair is soft and has no edge, and the calligraphy is also "soft and boneless", so calligraphers in the past dynasties rarely used it. The use of sheep's hair brushes only became popular after the Southern Song Dynasty, and it was only after the early Qing Dynasty that it was widely adopted. Because the Qing Dynasty valued mellowness and subtlety, not showing off one's talents and promoting one's own, only the soft and plump wool could meet the requirements of the time and was widely used. The softness of the hair also varies. If it is properly matched with paper and ink, it can also express a plump and soft style. It is cheap and easy to obtain. The hair is long and can write large characters over half a foot.
The brush is relatively soft and absorbs a large amount of ink, so it is suitable for writing round and thick stipples. It is more durable than the Langhao pen. Most of these pens are Hu pens, which are relatively cheap. Common ones include large regular script, Jingti (or Tibi), Lianfeng, Pingfeng, Dingfeng, Gaifeng, banner, jade bamboo shoot, magnolia pistil, Jinghao, etc.
②Langhao pen
Literally speaking, it is made of wolf hair. The previous generation did use wolf hair to make pens; but the wolf hair we call today is the "ha" from the "wolf" of the weasel, not the wolf hair. The record of seeing the wolf hair is very late. Some people also refer to the "rat whisker brush" as the wolf hair brush, so the use of the wolf hair can be pushed back to before Wang Xizhi's Jin Dynasty, but it is not certain. Only the tip of the weasel's tail can be used to make a pen. It is tough in nature, second only to rabbit hair but better than sheep hair. It is also a strong pen. The shortcomings are similar to Zihao, and they are not too big.
The most popular type of langhao pen is the rat tail produced in Northeast China, which is called "Northern Langhao" and "Guandong Liaowei". Wolf brush pens are stronger than sheep brush pens and are suitable for writing and painting, but they are not as durable as sheep brush pens and are more expensive than sheep brush pens. Common varieties include orchid and bamboo, freehand brushwork, landscape, flowers, leaf tendons, clothing patterns, red beans, small Seiko, deer and wolf hair calligraphy and painting (made from adding deer hair to wolf hair), leopard and wolf hair (made from adding leopard hair to wolf hair), Specially made Changfeng Langhao, super-grade Changfeng Langhao, etc.
The surface of the Langhao pen is bright yellow or yellow with reddish color, shiny, and if you look carefully, each hair is straight and firm. The waist is thick and the roots are slightly thin. Wet the tip of the pen and pinch it into a flat shape, and you will see that the tip of the pen is translucent and light yellow. The longest wolf tail hair is 6 centimeters (including 1 centimeter in the pen). It is produced in the Northeast region and is particularly expensive. Generally, the length of common langhao pens is 4-5 cm. Most of the common wolf hair pens on the market are made of yellow horse hair or ox hair. There are also some fake wolf hair pens with goat hair dyed yellow to make the pen tip. The surface is yellowish brown or reddish brown, and the color of the root is Slightly lighter or slightly gray. The price of fake wolf cents is 10 less than the price of real wolf cents, making them almost unusable.
③Chicken halo pen
It is made of chicken breast feathers and is quite soft. It is difficult for beginners to master calligraphy, so it should not be used. The chicken quill pen used by the ancients was to use the long hair on the neck of the rooster to remove the stems and pluck out the delicate short hair to make the hair on the head such as regular script. For example, the ancients used small regular script pens such as Beiwei Chicken Wolf Hair, Best Chicken Wolf Hair, Yellow and White Chicken Wolf Hair. These Chicken Wolf Hair are made of small weasel tail hair, purple hair, or goat hair mixed together to make the center pillar of the pen head. Short and thin chicken feathers are used to make the coat, so it is called various kinds of chicken and wolf hair. This kind of chicken and wolf hair is very labor-intensive and expensive to make, so it is rare in the market. Modern chicken quill pens are made with simple craftsmanship. They use accurate pieces of chicken feathers with stems and are bundled into a ball to make a chicken quill pen. It is impossible for this kind of chicken quill pen to have the "four virtues" of sharp points and roundness. It is conceivable that this kind of chicken quill pen It doesn't apply. Maybe it's just a few painters who want a special style or playfulness.
④Purple hair pen
It is made from the hair on the back of hare’s neck. It is named after its black and purple color. The strength of the rabbit hairs in the north and south of my country is different, and some are made from a combination of the northern and southern hairs.
Rabbit hair is tough, so it is called a strong hair pen. Northern hair is the most popular. Its hair is long and sharp, suitable for writing strong, straight and square characters, so it is valued by calligraphers. Bai Juyi's Yuefu Ci for Purple Hao Brush: "The tip of the Purple Hao Brush is as sharp as a cone and sharp as a knife." The characteristics of the Purple Hao Brush are described very completely. However, because only the hair from the back of a hare's neck was available, it was expensive and not long-lasting, so it was impossible to write large characters on the plaque.
Purple hair is straight and sharp, and its elasticity is stronger than that of wolf hair. The hare hair produced in Anhui is the best.
⑤Rat-whisker pen
It is made from the whiskers of domestic mice. The strokes of the pen are pure, smooth and sharp, and the written characters are soft and strong. Wang Xizhi's "Preface to the Lanting Collection" was written in this style. Is the rat referred to here a rat, a chinchilla or a squirrel? Manufacturers do not use the beards of these animals because they are not suitable for making pens. The so-called "rat whisker pens" on the market are not necessarily authentic and need to be further verified. Wang Xizhi's "Bi Jing" also quoted the word "Shizhuan". Some historical documents are also skeptical about the existence of rat whiskers. For example, "Wen Fang Pu Volume 1" states that "rat whiskers are very rare."
⑥The bristle pen
is made of steamed bristle and is used for writing large plaques.
⑦Jianhao pen
It is made by combining two or more kinds of hair and named according to their mixing ratio, such as three purple and seven sheep, five purple and five sheep, etc. Meng Tian's improved brush used "deer hair as the pillar and wool as the quilt", which is a combination brush. For both hair and hair, one should be strong and one soft should be matched. The strong hair should be the main one and located inside, which is called "pillar"; the soft hair should be placed outside and serve as the auxiliary, called "quilt". The length of the pillar is long and the hair of the quilt is short, which is the so-called "column and quilt" pen. And if the quilt also has multiple layers, there are rabbit hair as the pillar, plus a shorter wool quilt, and then draped with hair equal to the length of the pillar. It has three layers, so the root is particularly thick and the tip is thinner, which stores more ink and is easier to write. The characteristics vary depending on the mixing ratio, either hard or soft, or moderately hard and soft, and it is cheap and labor-saving. These are all advantages. .
The common types of jianhao pens are Sheep Wolf Jianhao and Sheep Zi Jianhao, such as Wuzi Wuyang, Qizi Sanyang, etc. This kind of pen has the advantages of Sheeplang hao pen. The advantages are moderate hardness and softness, and the price is moderate. It is commonly used by calligraphers and painters. The types include harmonious style and heart-quilt style.
In addition, according to the length of the brush tip, the brushes are divided into long tip, center tip, and short tip. , with different performances. The long tip is easy to draw graceful lines, the short tip is easy to make the lines dignified and thick, and the center tip is suitable for painting landscapes. According to the size of the brush, the brush is divided into small and medium. , large and other models. When painting landscapes, you need to prepare a few types of brushes. Generally, you should prepare one "small landscape" (little wolf hair), "small white cloud", "big white cloud" brush, and a larger brush "double brush". "That's it. The new brush tip is so sharp that it is only suitable for drawing thin lines. The old pen is more effective for chapping, erasing and dotting. Some painters like to use bare pens, and the dotted lines have a strong and simple look.
So the Yuan Dynasty pens you mentioned should have the above types of pens