Daiyuexuan writing brush (; "''Bǐ''" means "''

ink brush Ink is a gel, sol, or solution that contains at least one colorant, such as a dye or pigment, and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing or writing with a pen, brush, reed pen, or quill. Thicke ...

''"), is a famous

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

pen A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a nib or in a small void or cavity whic ...

s in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

History

The brand was first created by brush pen maker Dai Yuexuan () in Beijing in Late-

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

. Dai Yuexuan was a professional craftsman of making ink brushes, and he was originally from

Zhejiang Province Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiangs ...

. Dai learned the techniques from

Huzhou Huzhou (, ; Huzhounese: ''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, Hangzhou to the south, and the provinc ...

, also a city in Zhejiang. Huzhou is very famous of its ink brush-making, and was the largest center of ink brush manufacture and production during that time. Ink brushes made in Huzhou are finely names as ''Hubi'' (

Huzhou ink brush The term ''Hubi'' is dedicated to the Huzhou ink brush (Traditional Chinese: 湖筆; Simplified Chinese: 湖笔; Pinyin: Húbǐ; "Hú" stands for '' Huzhou'', "''Bǐ''" meaning "ink brush"). Name The ink brushes are produced in Huzhou ( 湖州) o ...

es).

Dai went to

North China North China, or Huabei () is a List of regions of China, geographical region of China, consisting of the provinces of Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi and Inner Mongolia. Part of the larger region of Northern China (''Beifang''), it lies north ...

to develop his own business, and finally settled in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, the

capital of China This is a list of historical capitals of China. Four Great Ancient Capitals There are traditionally four major historical capitals of China referred to as the "Four Great Ancient Capitals of China" (). The four are Beijing, Nanjing, Luoyang and X ...

. In 1916, Dai opened a shop in

Liulichang Liulichang () is a district in downtown Beijing that is known for a series of traditional Chinese stone dwellings selling various craftwork, artistry, and antiques. It is one of Beijing's traditional old quarters. History The name ''Liulichang ...

, Beijing, and it was specialized in ink brush business, including manufacturing, producing, repairing, collecting, and introducing related knowledge and techniques of ink brushes. The shop later would become an ink brush

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

, and today it's still there in Liulichang (now a cultural district), Beijing.

The brushes

The Daiyuexuan ink brushes are most often seen made of

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

hair. In the early production, the goat hair was from

South China South China () is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is that most of its citizens are not n ...

, especially from Jiaxing,

Trivial

Many top

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

s in Beijing are users of Daiyuexuan ink brushes.

Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

and

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 J ...

were both long-time users of Daiyuexuan ink brushes, and in Beijing they only used Daiyuexuan brushes.

References

External links

Four Types of Famous Writing Brush in China
{{Four Brushes Chinese calligraphy Chinese ink brush

History

The brushes

Trivial

See also

References

External links