Huzhou ink brush or ''Hubi'' (; "Hú" stands for ''
Huzhou
Huzhou (, ; Huzhou dialect: Romanization of Wu Chinese, ''ghou² cieu¹'') is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province (Hangzhou–Jiaxing–Huzhou Plain, China). Lying south of the Lake Tai, it borders Jiaxing to the east, Hangzho ...
'', "''Bǐ''" meaning "
ink brush
A Chinese writing brush () is a paintbrush used as a writing tool in Chinese calligraphy as well as in Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese which all have roots in Chinese calligraphy. They are also used in Chinese painting and other brush pain ...
") is a kind of Chinese
ink brush
A Chinese writing brush () is a paintbrush used as a writing tool in Chinese calligraphy as well as in Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese which all have roots in Chinese calligraphy. They are also used in Chinese painting and other brush pain ...
.
Name
The ink brushes are produced in
Huzhou
Huzhou (, ; Huzhou dialect: Romanization of Wu Chinese, ''ghou² cieu¹'') is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province (Hangzhou–Jiaxing–Huzhou Plain, China). Lying south of the Lake Tai, it borders Jiaxing to the east, Hangzho ...
(
湖州) of
Zhejiang Province
)
, translit_lang1_type2 =
, translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese)
, image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg
, image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains
, image_map = Zhejiang i ...
, China. Historically, the
workshop
Beginning with the Industrial Revolution era, a workshop may be a room, rooms or building which provides both the area and tools (or machinery) that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods. Workshops were the only ...
s of ink brushes were congregated in ''Wuxin'' (Traditional Chinese: 吳興; Simplified Chinese: 吴兴; Pinyin: Wú Xìng), currently
Wuxing District of Huzhou. So it's also named ''Wuxing Hubi'' (Traditional Chinese: 吳興湖筆; Simplified Chinese: 吴兴湖笔; Pinyin: Wúxìng Húbǐ).
History
Huzhou has a long history of manufacturing
ink brush
A Chinese writing brush () is a paintbrush used as a writing tool in Chinese calligraphy as well as in Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese which all have roots in Chinese calligraphy. They are also used in Chinese painting and other brush pain ...
es, and it can be traced back to
Qin dynasty
The Qin dynasty ( ) was the first Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China. It is named for its progenitor state of Qin, a fief of the confederal Zhou dynasty (256 BC). Beginning in 230 BC, the Qin under King Ying Zheng enga ...
. Huzhou's ink brush production and manufacture gained prominence in the
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...
(13th century). Now Huzhou is known as the "''Hometown of Ink Brush''".
Huzhou also holds annual "Huzhou Ink Brush Festival", and the
festival
A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...
also has some memorial activities dedicated to
Meng Tian
Meng Tian (c. 250 BC – August or September 210 BC) was a Chinese inventor and military general of the Qin dynasty who distinguished himself in campaigns against the Xiongnu and in the construction of the Great Wall of China. He was the elder ...
- the inventor of ink brush pen.
Famous ink brush makers
There are several famous craftsmen in history from Huzhou, the early big five were:
* Tang Jianchi ()
* Yao Zhenxing ()
* Zhong Weijin ()
* Chen Yunqin ()
* Fei Sanduo ()
Workshop
The most famous brush pen workshop in Huzhou could be the ''Shanlian'' (Traditional Chinese: 善璉; Simplified Chinese: 善琏; Pinyin: Shàn Liǎn), and its brush pens are named ''Shanlian Hubi'' (Traditional Chinese: 善璉湖筆; Simplified Chinese: 善琏湖笔; Pinyin: Shànliǎn Húbǐ).
Shanlian is also a local place name, whose ancient name was ''Mengxi'' (蒙溪, literally means "the creek of
Meng Tian
Meng Tian (c. 250 BC – August or September 210 BC) was a Chinese inventor and military general of the Qin dynasty who distinguished himself in campaigns against the Xiongnu and in the construction of the Great Wall of China. He was the elder ...
").
Meng Tian
Meng Tian (c. 250 BC – August or September 210 BC) was a Chinese inventor and military general of the Qin dynasty who distinguished himself in campaigns against the Xiongnu and in the construction of the Great Wall of China. He was the elder ...
made brush pens there.
[《歸安雜錄》：“善璉古稱蒙溪。相傳 秦始皇東巡稽(今 紹興)、郵拳(今 嘉興)，命護駕大將 蒙恬屯兵遊城，鎮搞吳越。蒙納蔔夫人，隨征塞上。蔔夫人，宇香蓮、賢而慧，取羊毛、兔毫制筆、書於帛，仕尉皆頌其才。後蒙恬遇難，夫人攜幼子穎，由門蔔遷，沈且伴歸故裏隱居，授鄉民以制筆三技。]漢武帝
Emperor Wu of Han (156 – 29 March 87BC), born Liu Che and courtesy name Tong, was the seventh Emperor of China, emperor of the Han dynasty from 141 to 87 BC. His reign lasted 54 years – a record not broken until the reign of the Kangxi ...
時縊封蒙恬，立祠以祭，稱其地為蒙溪。”
See also
*
Daiyuexuan writing brush: another famous kind of brush.
*
Four Treasures of the Study
*
Huzhou
Huzhou (, ; Huzhou dialect: Romanization of Wu Chinese, ''ghou² cieu¹'') is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province (Hangzhou–Jiaxing–Huzhou Plain, China). Lying south of the Lake Tai, it borders Jiaxing to the east, Hangzho ...
*
Ink brush
A Chinese writing brush () is a paintbrush used as a writing tool in Chinese calligraphy as well as in Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese which all have roots in Chinese calligraphy. They are also used in Chinese painting and other brush pain ...
*
Meng Tian
Meng Tian (c. 250 BC – August or September 210 BC) was a Chinese inventor and military general of the Qin dynasty who distinguished himself in campaigns against the Xiongnu and in the construction of the Great Wall of China. He was the elder ...
*
Xuan writing brush: another famous brush
References
* ''
Records of the Grand Historian
The ''Shiji'', also known as ''Records of the Grand Historian'' or ''The Grand Scribe's Records'', is a Chinese historical text that is the first of the Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written during the late 2nd and early 1st ce ...
'': ''The Biography of
Meng Tian
Meng Tian (c. 250 BC – August or September 210 BC) was a Chinese inventor and military general of the Qin dynasty who distinguished himself in campaigns against the Xiongnu and in the construction of the Great Wall of China. He was the elder ...
'' (《
史記·
蒙恬 列傳》)
External links
Four Types of Famous Writing Brush in China
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huzhou Ink Brush
Chinese ink brush
Huzhou
Culture in Zhejiang