Taicang brush making

The afternoon sunlight streams through the window on Pan Zhandu, a 65-year-old man wearing presbyopia glasses and a cloth skirt, busying himself with his work at his desk.

There are more than a dozen tools on the board, in addition to two small pots of water, there are also different sizes of cattle bone combs, which are handed down from generation to generation, and the two burnt pots show the age of the long time. The production of brushes is divided into "work" and "water work", and Pan Zhandui uses water work, which is indispensable in the production process.

The process of making brushes is delicate and complex, and after 72 procedures, it is a finished product. Among them to choose the material, Qi hair, knot head, choose the highest requirements of the four processes. Taicang brush with goat hair from Hunan, must be the summer wool. Pan Zhandu said, Hunan wool is sharp and flexible, while the northern wool is not.

Pan Zhandu took a handful of wool, put it in a basin of water to soak, and then stick it on the ox bone comb after a few times of rolling and combing, the messy wool becomes gentle and orderly. The entire brush production is complete, must then test the water, test whether the brush is round and rotate freely. The last process is to carve the characters on the brush.

The reporter saw, he made each brush barrel is engraved with "Taicang Pan Zhandu system". Each brush according to the different materials, such as "wolf hair", "sheep hair", "both hair" and other words. "Wolf hair" is the use of weasel tail hair and other high-grade raw materials produced by the nib, belonging to the pen in the best. For such high-grade brushes, the use of mahogany, rosewood, red bamboo and other production brush.

Pan Zhandui can still make the largest millimeters long "grab pen", this pen can write three feet of large characters, can also write fly-head small regular letters

He told reporters that only every procedure to do a superb job in order to produce a "pen Qi, belly round, head pointed, healthy body "The brush to...

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Was the Ministry of mandarins as the office pen

Taikang Village in Pingle Town, Mengjin County, named after the ancient location of the royal grain silo, the village of 1,100 people in the Pan surname accounted for more than 95%. Taicang brush production history can be traced from the Qing Dynasty Qianlong years, in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China reached its peak. At that time, there were dozens of brush makers in Taicang Village, and the more famous ones were Pan Youwen, Pan Yunsheng, Pan Taisheng, etc., and these names also became their respective numbers. Two families also set up brush stores in Xi'an, specializing in Taicang brushes.

Taicang brushes are characterized by sharp edges, full and rounded, strong ink absorption, soft but not soft, smooth and flexible. At that time, Taicang brushes were sold to Shaanxi, Shanxi, Gansu, Inner Mongolia and other provinces (autonomous regions), in the northern region has long been famous. One of the most famous lowercase pen, become indispensable to the business bookkeeping tools. Taicang brushes were also favored by the Ministry of the Qing Court, becoming the daily official writing pen.

Pan Zhandu's three brothers, the eldest brother in the army as a soldier, the second brother is reluctant to learn, in order to not let this skill is lost, Pan Zhandu at the age of 14, began to follow his father to learn this skill. 1952, Pan Zhandu's father, Pan Sanduo, in the original Luoyang area handicrafts competition in the first place.

Pan Zandu is still very emotional when he talks about the hardships of learning the art. Combing the hair and pinching the nibs were the most difficult, and combing such tiny hairs in a basin of water in winter accidentally cut his hand with a sharp ox-bone comb. It is not easy to hold the hair of the pen with the thumb and forefinger and comb it in the water basin without taking it off. 72 processes are all handmade, and your back and legs ache at the end of the day.

More than 50 years later, Pan Zhandu is still in front of the board carefully combing each wool, making each pen. Because in his view, this is not only a skill, but also in the inheritance of the bones of their fathers.

Taicang brushes lack of successors

Last century, around the 1970s, because of the policy at the time, do not allow families to produce brushes, Taicang brigade to draw more than 50 people set up "Taicang brushes", the youngest, but skilled Pan Zhandu was appointed deputy director of business. The factory's salesmen traveled to and from the northern provinces. At the time of the "Cultural Revolution", everywhere in the writing of large-character posters, Taicang brush in short supply.

In 1980, after the dissolution of the "Taicang Brush Society", Taicang brushes gradually declined, and only Pan Zhandui was making them in the village.

The Taicang brushes are traditionally handmade, and at the time of the "Taicang Brush Society," Pan Zhandu could make up to 50 brushes a day. Now, he can make up to 20 a day. Because of the downturn in business, Pan Zhandui is operating at a dismal rate.

The former famous Taicang brush, now only in the county within the scope of sales, there are some units to Taicang brush as a gift.

Pan Zhandui has two sons, the eldest son and his wife are working abroad, the second son at home to see the process is too cumbersome, profits are meager, and do not want to learn. This makes Pan Zhandui very anxious, he is the only heir to the Taicang brush, his age is getting older every day, can not let the Taicang brush in their own hands lost it. To this end, Pan Zhandui not less to the second son to do the work.

August 7, 2009, "Taicang brush production process" was selected Mengjin County, the first batch of county-level intangible cultural heritage list. 2009, the end of Pan Zhandui himself spent a few thousand yuan, "Taicang brush production process" declared into the city of Luoyang intangible cultural heritage. Luoyang City intangible cultural heritage, he is also ready to declare the provincial intangible cultural heritage. These, so that the second son saw a bright light. Taicang village brush makers are mostly people with the surname Pan, so in the heyday of the "South Hubei Pan" said.

Today, Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, a large number of brush production manufacturers, has formed an industrialized, dominant in the national market for half of the brush, while Taicang village is declining. The "lake pen" originated in Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province, Shanlian Town, which is known as the "pen capital". In the small town of Shanlian, almost every family knows how to make brushes, and many families of brushes have emerged.

But with the transformation of society and culture and the innovation of writing tools, the "lake pen" could not escape the fate of the loss of craftsmen and the lack of inheritance, etc. In 2006, the "lake pen production technology" was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list. In 2007, the "lake pen" heir Qiu Changming, was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage project representative bearer list.

Taicang brush how to develop in the future, let Pan Zhandui sleepless nights. Due to changes in production and lifestyle, the rural cultural ecosystem has undergone major changes, traditional handicrafts, folklore, folk art, folk dance and other disciplines are on the verge of extinction or the trend of change and evolution. This is the conclusion of the "Intangible Cultural Heritage Census Report" (hereinafter referred to as the "report"), which was released on January 22 this year.

Dakui Town, Xinmi City, is a nationally renowned "paper-making township", handmade paper has a history of thousands of years, handmade white hemp paper is the best quality writing. In the town of dalu ditch village, Huang Baoling is the only one still using handmade paper making technology paper making people. Currently, his paper-making skills, which are on the verge of being lost, are being declared an intangible cultural heritage of Zhengzhou City.

In response to the problems mentioned in the report, recently, the relevant person in charge of the Department of Culture of Henan Province, said Henan Province will be announced in five years 400 provincial intangible cultural heritage projects, focusing on 40 endangered intangible cultural heritage projects, the implementation of rescue protection; support for 50 typical, representative of excellent intangible cultural heritage projects; planning provincial, municipal and county levels, naming 50 intangible cultural heritage protection townships, 500 famous intangible cultural heritage sites, and 500 intangible cultural heritage sites. intangible cultural heritage protection townships, 500 representative bearers of intangible cultural heritage and the establishment of 50 intangible cultural heritage protection and inheritance bases.