Brushing up a legacy
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Brushing up a legacy

China Daily  

It takes 25 to 30 days to make a Huzhou writing brush. At its peak time in the 1960s and '70s, the factory saw 500 to 600 artisans producing 1.2 million writing brushes a year, most of which were exported to Japan, but now there are only 50 to 60 artisans, says 63-year-old Ma Zhiliang, head of the factory. Now, few young people are willing to do the work, Qiu says, which is the major challenge they face about how to pass on this precious craft. In addition to taking apprentices, Wang Xiaohua says that they want to get the interest of more young people through livestreams and by holding events at schools. In terms of innovating on writing brushes, she says they are trying to mix different materials to meet different writers' needs.

Yang Qiu  writing  legacy  work  brushes  apprentices  xiaohua  artisans  qiu  yao  yang  young  brushing

History of this topic

Writing brush culture festival celebrates medium in Huzhou
3 months ago

Writing brush culture festival celebrates medium in Huzhou

China Daily  

The scene of the opening ceremony of the 12th Huzhou Writing Brush Culture Festival. The 12th Huzhou Writing Brush Culture Festival announced its opening in Huzhou, Zhejiang on Friday, showcasing the unique cultural charm of the medium. At the national-level intangible cultural heritage productive protection base, Shanlian Huzhou Writing Brush Factory, brush artisan Wang Xiaohua has deeply felt the changes …

Qi writing brush
4 months ago

Qi writing brush

China Daily  

The Qi writing brush, an intangible cultural heritage item of East China's Shandong province, has a history spanning over 2,000 years. According to Guo Mingchang, a master of the Qi writing brush-making technique, crafting this type of brush involves over 150 meticulous steps, including soaking, pulling, combing, binding, connecting, and trimming, all of which are executed manually and require exceptional …

A tradition worth dyeing for
4 months, 3 weeks ago

A tradition worth dyeing for

China Daily  

Yang Shenghua, 55, weaves Dong cloth on a loom, with her mother Yang Xiuying spinning threads by her side at their home in Dali Dong village, Rongjiang county, Guizhou province. LI JIN/WANG QIQI/CHINA DAILY Seeds of revival After Yang Shenghua married, she had less and less time for weaving, as she was preoccupied with housework, farm chores and raising children …

Brushing up a legacy
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Brushing up a legacy

China Daily  

By Yang Yang | China Daily | Updated: 2024-05-28 10:23 Editor's note: Traditional arts and crafts are supreme samples of Chinese cultural heritage. A short soft brush connected to a long hard handle, both vigorous and gentle — a simple Chinese writing brush can describe the most sophisticated idea. In his book Huzhou Writing Brush and Chinese Culture published by …

Brushing up a legacy
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Brushing up a legacy

China Daily  

Editor's note: Traditional arts and crafts are supreme samples of Chinese cultural heritage. A short soft brush connected to a long hard handle, both vigorous and gentle — a simple Chinese writing brush can describe the most sophisticated idea. In his book Huzhou Writing Brush and Chinese Culture published by Peking University Press in 2010, scholar Ma Qingyun quotes Zhou …

Brushing up a legacy
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Brushing up a legacy

China Daily  

Yang Wen, 30, hones his skills under the instruction of Qiu Changming, 74, a national inheritor of the Huzhou writing brush craftsmanship. Perfecting the craft The complete crafting process of a Huzhou writing brush comprises eight procedures, meticulously subdivided into 128 steps, according to Qiu Changming, a national-level inheritor of the craftsmanship. In 1966, at age 16, Qiu, who came …

Brushing up a legacy
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Brushing up a legacy

China Daily  

Yang Wen, 30, hones his skills under the instruction of Qiu Changming, 74, a national inheritor of the Huzhou writing brush craftsmanship. YANG YANG/CHINA DAILY When Wang Xiaohua fully mastered the skills, she understood more about writing brushes. "It's not only a writing tool, but also closely connects with the entire history and culture of China," she says. The writing …

Brushing up a legacy
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Brushing up a legacy

China Daily  

Editor's note: Traditional arts and crafts are supreme samples of Chinese cultural heritage. A short soft brush connected to a long hard handle, both vigorous and gentle — a simple Chinese writing brush can describe the most sophisticated idea. In his book Huzhou Writing Brush and Chinese Culture published by Peking University Press in 2010, scholar Ma Qingyun quotes Zhou …

Brushing up a legacy
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Brushing up a legacy

China Daily  

Editor's note: Traditional arts and crafts are supreme samples of Chinese cultural heritage. A short soft brush connected to a long hard handle, both vigorous and gentle — a simple Chinese writing brush can describe the most sophisticated idea. In his book Huzhou Writing Brush and Chinese Culture published by Peking University Press in 2010, scholar Ma Qingyun quotes Zhou …

Brushing up a legacy
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Brushing up a legacy

China Daily  

Editor's note: Traditional arts and crafts are supreme samples of Chinese cultural heritage. A short soft brush connected to a long hard handle, both vigorous and gentle — a simple Chinese writing brush can describe the most sophisticated idea. In his book Huzhou Writing Brush and Chinese Culture published by Peking University Press in 2010, scholar Ma Qingyun quotes Zhou …

Brushing up a legacy
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Brushing up a legacy

China Daily  

Wang Xiaohua, 60, a master artisan, shows one of the best writing brushes produced by the Shanlian Huzhou Ink Brush Factory. Right posture Sitting in front of a plastic water basin in the Shanlian Huzhou Ink Brush Factory, 60-year-old Wang Xiaohua, wearing a pair of golden-rimmed presbyopic glasses, is deftly combing the small pile of wet goat wool with a …

A brush with history
11 months, 4 weeks ago

A brush with history

China Daily  

Chinese calligraphy is the artistic vehicle in which the nation's cultural lineage is carried. Editor's note: There are 43 items inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage lists that not only bear witness to the past glories of Chinese civilization, but also continue to shine today. When Zhuo Heng entered a showroom of the National Art Museum of China one day …

A brush with history
11 months, 4 weeks ago

A brush with history

China Daily  

Chinese calligraphy is the artistic vehicle in which the nation's cultural lineage is carried. Editor's note: There are 43 items inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage lists that not only bear witness to the past glories of Chinese civilization, but also continue to shine today. When Zhuo Heng entered a showroom of the National Art Museum of China one day …

Master brushmaker helps keep traditional art form alive
2 years, 8 months ago

Master brushmaker helps keep traditional art form alive

China Daily  

Guo Mingchang makes a Qi writing brush. Guo Mingchang, from Guangrao county in Dongying, East China's Shandong province, is one of the few people who can still master the ancient art of making writing brushes. "On the one hand, our team promoted the Qi writing brush technique in schools, teaching students about its historical and cultural origins as well as …

Craftsmen enjoy their brush with success
3 years, 3 months ago

Craftsmen enjoy their brush with success

China Daily  

NANCHANG－Zhou Pengcheng, 76, has dedicated his life to the centuries-old intangible cultural heritage of making writing brushes. Wengang's long-standing tryst with brush pens dates back to 1979.Over the decades, the town has grown into one of the country's biggest brush-pen markets, attracting tens of thousands of buyers from across China. In Chinese culture, writing brushes are counted among the "four …

A father's gift
4 years, 3 months ago

A father's gift

China Daily  

Yang graduated from the art school of Tsinghua University, majoring in brocade art. Yang created the book along with his team of four schoolmates, who work in such fields as urban planning, industrial design and environmental art. "It's like producing a film, and I'm the director," says Yang. Talking about his future plans, Yang says Legend of the Phoenix is …

A father's gift
4 years, 3 months ago

A father's gift

China Daily  

Yang graduated from the art school of Tsinghua University, majoring in brocade art. Yang created the book along with his team of four schoolmates, who work in such fields as urban planning, industrial design and environmental art. "It's like producing a film, and I'm the director," says Yang. Talking about his future plans, Yang says Legend of the Phoenix is …

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