What is the origin of the pen?

Pen refers to the ancient writing brush in China. The brush used today is said to have been improved by Meng Tian, the general who supervised the construction of the Great Wall in Wan Li in the Qin Dynasty. In 223 BC, Meng Tian, the general of the State of Qin, led his troops to fight against Chu in Zhongshan. In order to keep abreast of the situation, Meng Tian wrote the battle report with a bamboo stick dipped in ink, which was inconvenient to use.

Later, when Meng Tian was hunting, he found a rabbit's tail dragging blood on the ground, so he came up with the idea of cutting off the rabbit's tail hair and inserting it in a bamboo tube to try to write. After several attempts, it failed. Then he dipped the rabbit brush into the ink tray, and he could write smoothly, so the brush was born. Brush, a traditional writing tool originated in China, has gradually become a traditional painting tool.

The brush is made of animal hair tied to the nib and then glued to the tubular pen holder. A good brush should have the characteristics of "sharp, neat, round and healthy".

The origin of pens

The writing pen in our country originated very early. Judging from Oracle Bone Inscriptions without knives, there were primitive pens in Xia and Shang Dynasties. Judging from the patterns on painted pottery in the Neolithic Age, the appearance of pens can be traced back to more than 5,000 years ago.

By the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, all countries had made and used writing pens. At that time, there were many names for pens: Wu called it Fa, Yan called it Fu, Chu called it Xing and Qin called it Pen.

After Qin Shihuang unified the whole country, "pen" became a definite name, which has been used ever since. According to legend, the brush we used was invented by Meng Tian, the general of Qin during the Warring States Period.