Xuanbi Making Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
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 · Core Techniques & Process
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.
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.
The Song-dynasty wuxin sanzhuo brush
A landmark Song form: the coreless scattered-tip brush created by the brush-maker Zhuge, whose quality was prized at the time and shows how far Xuanzhou's craft had advanced.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Xuan brush production has played a very good role in promoting the development of the local economy.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Zhang Su (per the official archive of the associated inheritor): representative inheritor of the Xuan brush making craft, a national-level intangible cultural heritage project, in the third batch. In the 1960s, he was hired as technical advisor by the Jing County government of Xuancheng City and founded the Jing County Xuan Brush Factory. In 1983 he formally founded the Xuanzhou Xuan Brush Factory (today the Zhang Su Brush Studio). He originated a fur-degreasing technique; the Xuan brushes he made are supple and suitable, with even bristles and a firm base, writing smoothly, gathering and releasing freely, holding ink yet not bloated. His brushes were praised by figures from all walks of life; the famous contemporary Chinese calligrapher Xiao Xian praised his works as 'ten thousand bristles pulling together, the four virtues complete.' Male, Han ethnicity, born December 1942, died June 2009, from Xuancheng City, Anhui Province. Zhang Wennian (per the official archive of the associated inheritor): male, Han ethnicity, born February 1968, from Xuancheng City, Anhui Province. Representative inheritor of the Xuan brush making craft, a national-level intangible cultural heritage project, in the fourth batch. Born into a Xuan brush-making family, steeped in the craft from childhood, he learned from his father Zhang Su, first tackling brush trimming and casing, then the water-tray work, and over more than thirty years mastered the entire Xuan brush craft, with particular original contributions in bristle degreasing and shaping. The brushes he makes have orderly, gathered tips that do not scatter; no false points, no bald tips, no bent hairs; the brush head is smooth and even, with uniformly covering hairs; the casing is firmly attached, tight without gaps, not splitting; the mounted head is smooth, with no seams or cracks, the shaft straight and the hair round. He currently has more than thirty disciples in water-tray, trimming, tube-making, casing, and engraving.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Zhang Su 03-1392
- Zhang Wennian 04-1894
- She Zhengjun 05-2827
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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