Zhang Su
01 · Lineage & Regional School
At the age of 13 he was apprenticed to Zhu Bingsheng, a leading master of Xuan brush making. Within the regional tradition and school record of Xuanbi Making Craftsmanship in Xuancheng, Anhui: Xuan brush production has played a very good role in promoting the development of the local economy. In the Tang dynasty, Xuanzhou made writing brushes from the purple hair of wild rabbits; in the second year of Tianbao (743) they were designated a tributary item, and Xuanzhou thereby became the nation's brush-making center, renowned throughout the world. In the Song dynasty, the Xuan brush craft became increasingly refined, with famous artisans emerging one after another and its reputation rising daily; the Wuxin Sanzhuo brush created by the renowned brush-making family the Zhuge was of superior quality and highly valued by the world. During the Ming and Qing periods, the Xuan brush craft prospered once again.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
National representative bearer of Xuanbi (Xuan Brush) Making Craftsmanship, a third-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. In the 1960s the Jing County government of Xuancheng City engaged him as a technical adviser, and he founded the Jing County Xuan Brush Factory. In 1983 he formally founded the Xuanzhou Xuan Brush Factory, now known as the Zhang Su Brush Studio. He devised an original technique for degreasing animal hair and hide. The Xuan brushes he makes are supple to just the right degree, evenly formed on a firm core, and flow smoothly in writing, responding freely to pressure and release while holding ink without becoming sodden. His brushes have been widely praised. The celebrated contemporary Chinese calligrapher Xiao Xian commended his work with the words ten thousand hairs acting as one, the four virtues complete. Within the documented technical tradition of Xuanbi Making Craftsmanship in Xuancheng, Anhui: The Xuan brush is a kind of writing brush, named for being produced in Xuanzhou; with its unique craftsmanship and performance it occupies an important place among contemporary Chinese writing brushes. The Xuan brush's place of origin, Xuanzhou, lies in the mountainous region of southern Anhui; the local wild rabbit hair is the principal material for making Xuan brushes. At the end of the Song and beginning of the Yuan, with warfare frequent, Xuan brush production gradually declined; some Xuan brush artisans fled to Huizhou and the Jiangsu-Zhejiang region, leading to the rapid rise of the Huzhou brush of Zhejiang. After the founding of New China, the Xuanzhou local government actively organized Xuan brush production, and brands such as 'Three Rabbits' and 'Three Hairs' successively won provincial and ministerial high-quality product titles, and also received gold awards. The Xuan brush, one of the Four Treasures of the Study, has bristles of suitable softness and hardness and writes fluently; it possesses not only unique historical and cultural value but also refined craftsmanship and significant artisanal value. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Selecting hair and degreasing the pelt": The distinctive operation: hare hair taken from the pelt must be degreased and graded by length and thickness before it can be supple yet firm at the base and holding ink without dragging. "The water-trough stage": Where the hair is repeatedly combed, picked and gathered in water — the longest and hardest stage, which the inheritor Zhang Wennian took more than thirty years to master. "Shaping the tip": Trimming with a knife so the tip gathers evenly, with no hollow point, bald tip or bent hair and an even mantle — a stage decided entirely by the wrist. "Making the shaft, fitting the ferrule and cutting the inscription": Fitting shaft to hair: the shaft must run true, the ferrule seat firm without splitting, and the mounted tip soft yet resilient enough to write freely.
Selecting hair and degreasing the pelt
The distinctive operation: hare hair taken from the pelt must be degreased and graded by length and thickness before it can be supple yet firm at the base and holding ink without dragging.
The water-trough stage
Where the hair is repeatedly combed, picked and gathered in water — the longest and hardest stage, which the inheritor Zhang Wennian took more than thirty years to master.
Shaping the tip
Trimming with a knife so the tip gathers evenly, with no hollow point, bald tip or bent hair and an even mantle — a stage decided entirely by the wrist.
Making the shaft, fitting the ferrule and cutting the inscription
Fitting shaft to hair: the shaft must run true, the ferrule seat firm without splitting, and the mounted tip soft yet resilient enough to write freely.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
Male, of Han ethnicity, born in December 1942 in Xuancheng City, Anhui Province, and died in June 2009.
04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier
Historical origin
In the Tang dynasty, Xuanzhou made writing brushes from the purple hair of wild rabbits; in the second year of Tianbao (743) they were designated a tributary item, and Xuanzhou thereby became the nation's brush-making center, renowned throughout the world. In the Song dynasty, the Xuan brush craft became increasingly refined, with famous artisans emerging one after another and its reputation rising daily; the Wuxin Sanzhuo brush created by the renowned brush-making family the Zhuge was of superior quality and highly valued by the world.
05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage
National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.
| Bearer | Declared area | Roster code | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zhang Su | Xuancheng, Anhui | 03-1392 | This page |
| Zhang Wennian | Xuancheng, Anhui | 04-1894 | Same declared area |
| She Zhengjun | Xuancheng, Anhui | 05-2827 | Same declared area |
06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript. Compiled from official national representative bearer archival records and the associated project dossier, organized by topic and translated into English. 阅读中文版。