The lake pen boarded the Expo Hall and the monks and couples were worshipped as "pen ancestors"

The lake pen “Pen Wang” appeared in Nanxun, and the “Pen King” was 5.01 meters high and 1.68 meters long.

Whether it is the elegant and elegant in the color, the extensive in the books of the classics, or the free and easy on the wall of the banana leaf... The thousand-year-old Chinese civilization cannot be separated from the one. The lake pen produced in Huzhou deserves to be "the leader in the pen", and is also known as "four treasures of the study" with Huimo, Xuan paper and Duan.

In 1915, Lake Pen boarded the Panama World Expo Hall, which spread the ancient and wonderful Chinese culture to the other side of the ocean.

The monks and nuns are enshrined as "pen ancestors"

The goodness of Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, is known as the hometown of the lake pen. There are ancient legends about the birth of the lake pen. The master of this legend is the general of the Qin Dynasty and his wife, Bu Xianglian.

When did the monk come to Huzhou? How did the couple invent the lake pen? There are many different versions of the folklore that are preserved today. Among them, the most widely circulated is the record of "Guan An Miscellaneous Record".

According to this record, Meng Yu came to Huzhou during the Eastern Tour of Emperor Qin Shihuang, and there was a woman named Bu Xianglian who had a mutual affection and became a Qin Jin. One day, the smart and considerate Bu Xianglian saw that the pen she used when she was reviewing the official document was very unsatisfactory. It turned out that the pen at the time was to open the top of the bamboo pole, sandwich the tip in the middle, wrap it in a line, and then paint it. Bu Xianglian boldly improved the pen and made a pen with "Tuomu as the bone, deer hair as the column, and wool as the quilt". Later, she thought of using lime water to degrease the rabbit hair into the production of the brush. Meng Yu used his wife's pen, which was very smooth and convenient to write. Other doctors also praised this kind of pen.

After the death of Emperor Qin Shihuang, Qin II and Zhao Gaozhen took the throne, and the monk who assisted the Prince Fusu was also killed. Bu Xianglian took the child with the help of the doorman and fled to the hometown to take refuge. She taught the craftsmanship of the pen to the local villagers, and the lake pen has since taken root in the good land.

How many of these legends are true, and now there is no research, but the Mengzi and Bu Xianglian couples have an unshakable position in the hearts of the good people. In order to commemorate the obscurity, the good-natured people of later generations specially built the "Mongolian gong", the locals respectfully called the ancestors "pen ancestors", and Bu Xianglian was also regarded as "the ancestor".

Every year, on the 16th day of the Lunar Calendar, the "Zhuzu" birthday, Shanshan people have the tradition of "going to the gods". The pens carry the pencil case, a few brush pens on the chest, and carry the monks like marching on the streets. The people also sang and danced along with the parade. On the same day, all the pens will touch the hands of “Zi Zu” and “Pen Zu Niangniang” and pray that the “Pen Zu” couple will bless the business. On the day of the birthday of the "Penzu Niangniang" on March 16th of the lunar calendar, the good-natured villagers of the family of Bu Xianglian will set off firecrackers and celebrate the candles at home.

Zhao Meng’s selection pen is extremely picky

Since the birth of the legend of the Mongolian pen, Huzhou, which is the land of the Southeastern region, has been closely integrated with the pen and Chinese calligraphy art.

The famous calligraphers in Chinese history, from Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi in the Wei and Jin Dynasties to Yan Zhenqing in the Tang Dynasty, to Su Shi and Mi Fu in the Northern Song Dynasty, and Wang Shipeng in the Southern Song Dynasty, all served as officials or residences in Huzhou. Wang Zhizhi's VII Sun Zhiyong was once in the Yongxin Temple in Huzhou for more than 30 years. Zhiyong loved calligraphy for a lifetime, and his writings were enough to accumulate the five hexagrams. He buried these writings and called them "returning pens." It is precisely because of the arrival of these calligraphers that the rise of Huzhou pen industry has become a historical necessity.

However, before the Yuan Dynasty, the Lake Pen has not yet become a good literati. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, Xuanbi was the most used stationery for people. Until the Southern Song Dynasty, the war disaster continued, Xuanzhou pen workers have avoided the disaster. However, Huzhou was not robbed by the war, but was fortunate to be a place where the relics of the Southern Song Dynasty lived. The Huzhou pen industry has flourished.

For the real fame of the lake pen, Zhao Meng, a great calligrapher of the Yuan Dynasty, was indispensable. According to the records of Huzhou Fuzhi, Zhao Mengfu had asked someone to make a pen for him. One was not as good as he intended, and he immediately ordered the demolition and re-creation until he was satisfied.

Zhao Mengfu's almost demanding requirements have guaranteed the quality of the lake pen, and a group of pen-making experts in Huzhou in the Yuan Dynasty, such as Feng Qingke, Feng Yingke, Shen Rixin, Wen Sheng, Yang Xianjun, Lu Ying, etc. have all been named Qingshi. Zhao Mengfu himself is quite fond of Feng Qingke's pen. The "Miao pen" in his hand that holds the pen all day long and the Japanese book is unbeaten.

The suppression of the Jiangnan scholars in the Yuan Dynasty made them unable to take their official knowledge on the road. They had to express their grief and depression in the paintings and calligraphy, and the style of the "literati painting" was also rising. "Literature painting" pays attention to the use of pen and ink. Before the Yuan Dynasty, the hard-nosed and rabbit-based hard-headed ones could not meet the new demands. The lake pens that were so long-known were increasingly an irreplaceable tool.

This aesthetic tendency has continued to the Ming and Qing Dynasties. As Dong Qichang's paintings and calligraphy became the favorite of the emperors of the Qing Dynasty, the normative font "the pavilion body" evolved from the Dongshu as a blueprint was also popular in the Qing Dynasty examination room. At this time, the lake pen undoubtedly occupied the peak of the Chinese pen industry with an overwhelming advantage.

"One million in the hair"

The reason why Lake Pen can become the favorite stationery for Chinese literati is inseparable from its elaborate production process.

To make a lake pen, all parts of a pen must be selected from good materials.

The pen of the lake pen mainly takes the chicken bamboo under the Lingfeng Mountain in the northern foot of the Tianmu Mountain in western Zhejiang. It has thin and straight branches and small gaps in the bamboo. It is an ideal raw material for making pens.

The sheep of the lake pen traditionally only chooses the high quality mountain wool produced in the area around Hangjiahu. This area of ​​goats eats high-protein cocaine leaves or water peanuts in winter, which is a good choice for pen making. The laborers classify these high-quality pen materials according to their quality grades, and divide more than 40 varieties such as “fine light front”, “coarse light front”, “yellow sharp”, “white sharp” and “huang Gaifeng”. Under each breed, a number of sub-categories are subdivided to show the level of sophistication.

The lake pen is also called "Hu Ying". The terminology of the pen tip is called "black son" in the pen work. Only the goat's neck and the part of the arm that is not easy to rub with the outside are used. Under normal circumstances, only 4 or 2 hairs on a strong goat can become a pen. The only ones with "black spots" in the 4 and 2 are only 1 or 6 yuan. The picking workers then divide the pens into 10 grades according to the characteristics of oblate, straight, long and short, and with or without fengying. They are used on different pens. It can be seen that the saying "one million in the hair" is by no means an exaggeration. .

There is also a pay attention to the sitting posture

In addition to the selection of materials, the lake pen also advocates pure hand-made, the process is very complicated, involving more than 10 major processes such as basin, knot, sleeve, pudund, inlay, pen selection, lettering, etc., from which it can be subdivided into more than 120 Small process.

Among the many processes, the water basin and the pen selection are the most demanding.

The basin is the most complicated and critical process in the production of lake pens. In the large basin workshop, neat rows of rows of tubs, the pens are holding the corner combs in one hand, and the degreased wool in the other hand is repeatedly washed in the basin, selected one by one, according to the color, the front, Different grades, such as soft and hard, are classified and combined one by one, and are made into blade-shaped cutter head hair, and then placed in the water to analyze the minute, the broken head, the frontless, the curved and the straight, The flat and not round hair is removed, and the whole process is very fine.

The selection of the pen is also a process of sorting the vellus. The pens put the semi-finished brush pens in a dry state and then spread them, holding the pens in one hand, holding the repair tools in one hand, and picking up the pens without the sharpness against the light.

It is worth mentioning that in the operation of the basin and the selection of two procedures, there are special requirements for the sitting posture of the pen. The pen worker needs to sit sideways while working, facing south and slightly east, so that it can be exposed to natural light. Because the brilliance of the brilliance can only achieve clear and optimal visual effects under natural light.

What kind of brush can be called a real lake pen?

The Huzhou brush is abbreviated as “Lake Pen”. This does not mean that the brush from Huzhou can be called “Lake Pen”.

Lake pen, also known as "Hu Ying". Ying is a neat and tidy part of the tip of the pen. The pens are called "black sons", which is the biggest feature of the lake pen. After the pen is black, the pen is still pointed, spread it out, and the hair inside and outside is neat and short.

Specifically, the characteristics of the lake pen are summarized as "three meanings and four virtues."

"Sanyi" refers to the fine, pure and beautiful technology. "Fine" means that 72 procedures such as picking, dip, dialing, combing, matching, matching, and loading are all meticulous; "pure" means that the material is strictly fine; "beauty" refers to the shape, color and matching of the hair rod, engraving, The decor is highly uniform.

The "four virtues" should be explained from the effect of writing, that is, "Qi, sharp, round, and healthy." "Qi" means that the pen is full and thick, and the ink is evenly spread; "sharp" is sharp and sharp, and it is good for hooking; "round" means round and comfortable, and sweeping freely; "health" means strong and durable, not distracting Defeat, with elasticity and the power of the book reader.

[World Expo Honor Roll] · Lake Pen

Huzhou brush is referred to as “Hu pen”, which is native to Shanyu Town, Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province. It is also known as “four treasures of Wenfang” with Huimo, Xuan paper and Duan. Lake pen, also known as "Hu Ying", its biggest feature is a neat and bright edge of the pen tip, known in the industry as "black son." At the 1915 Panama World Expo, Lake Pen appeared.

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