golden ear

Chapter 353
Looking at Wu Tianyuan's surprised look, Lao Dai said proudly: "The craftsmanship of Hubi is rigorous, and the materials are carefully selected. The value of a brush lies in the hair, and there are strict requirements on the origin, season and location of the brush hair. For example, goat hair, mountain rabbit The wool is selected from the Taihu Lake Basin, and the goat hair is collected in the northernmost area of ​​Nantong, Jiangsu."

"The weasel tail hair used in the Langhao pen must be collected not only from the local area, but also from the Northeast. Except for the green stem bamboo tubes collected from the local Anji mountainous area, the other bamboo pen tubes must go to the central and western areas of our country. Purchase Xiangfei bamboos, because these Xiangfei bamboos have natural patterns and are tall and straight. Goat hair, goat hair and bamboo pen tubes must be collected in winter, which is called "three winters."

"The selection of materials for making pens is also extremely fine. For example, the Zihao used in a "Seven Purples and Three Goats" can only use a handful of hairs with excellent elasticity on the back of the hare. There is only one Zihao for every thousand rabbits. The two are up and down, so there is a saying that "the price of Zihao is as precious as gold."

"Hubi's emphasis on sharpness can best reflect the unique style of Hubi craftsmanship, so Hubi is also called "Huying". Ying refers to the translucent part of the tip of the pen, which is called "spot". The requirements for sunspots are "Shoulders are aligned, and the sunspots are bright." "Shoulders are aligned" means that the lower end of the transparent part of the pen tip is clear and even, which means that the "spots" of each brush hair should be of uniform length."

"Front defects or hairs that are too long or too short must be removed in the water basin and the process of selecting the brush. Hei Ziming means that the more transparent the edge, the better. When this kind of pen is dipped in ink to write, the brush hairs will scatter when pressed down. It is open, plump and neat, and the brush is still sharp and conical when lifted. In terms of brushes, each goat only produces three or two brushes on average, and the sharp ones only have six coins. Therefore, Hubi won the reputation of "Mao Ying's skills are the best in the world".

Lao Dai pointed to the worker who was meticulously picking hair from the water and said: "The first step is the water basin. The water basin of the penny centimeter has to go through 15 processes such as shaking, connecting, picking, closing, and rounding. The penny water basin has to go through immersion There are 22 processes such as arranging, matching, making, and stirring. The wolf centimeter water basin has to go through 13 processes such as pulling, middle, cable, making, and lifting. The material selection of rabbit centimeters is carried out in the penny centimeter water basin, and one piece is required for picking the centimeters. One is selected and divided into categories such as purple hair, pekoe, and flower hair according to its color, nature, hardness, etc., even if there is a single miscellaneous hair mixed in a brush tip."

"It is necessary to remove broken hairs and miscellaneous hairs in the water basin, and to separate the hairs of different lengths, so as to achieve "the shoulders are even, and the sunspots are bright". There is also a process of degreasing the hair in the water basin process. One is to use lime water to degrease the root of the brush hair, and to degrease the tip of the brush hair, you need to use the method of sun exposure and night dew for a long time. This method will not damage the sharp edge due to drastic changes, on the contrary, it will also make the hair color It is also whiter and tenderer. The brushwork is commonly known as "the more people are sunned, the darker, and the more sunburned, the whiter the wool", which is also the unique feature of Hubi craftsmanship."

"The knot requires the bottom of the pen to be flat, and the wire hoop to be of appropriate depth. The binding is firm to prevent hair loss and uneven pen edge. The technical difficulty of the setter lies in the "car", that is, to dig a hole in the pen tube. The size of the hole is just right. The set of brushes. The quality requires a flat head and a neat navel. Hu brushes have the reputation of "hair does not fall off", and these two processes are the key."

"Selecting a brush generally involves processes such as surface injection, picking, and wiping. Choosing a brush is the process of twisting and forming the tip of the brush. The jargon is called "choose three points, wipe seven points." The "light" and "whiteness" required by the brush tip ", which is reflected by the skill of hand wiping. Therefore, apprentices who choose a brush must first practice the basic skills, and only practice the actual operation after the gesture is accurate. The "round" and "collapse" of the brush tip also depend on the feel of the brush Fix it."

"Character engraving is also a job with a lot of skill. The knife techniques of various strokes are called dots, strokes, straightening, skimming, pressing, kicking, and hooking. The stroke order when engraving is not carried out according to the writing stroke order, but each character is engraved at one time. The same stroke, and then engrave another stroke. Therefore, the engraving worker must be familiar with the structure of the font strokes and the arrangement of the characters. The engraved characters must be arranged evenly, and the vertical direction is like "a stick of incense", that is, the overall verticality of the characters should not exceed The deviation of a stick of incense. The engraving of the font should not be spelled, not biased, not missing the knife, not off the body, and the strokes should be flat."

Wu Tianyuan has only really seen how much ancient wisdom is contained in a small writing brush today. It seems that his decision is not wrong, and he must work hard to make them flourish and go to the world.

The two returned to the front hall, sat down and drank tea while continuing to chat. Old Dai took a breath and said, "After talking about the pen, the bottom is the ink!"

"Ink is divided into two types: lampblack and pine smoke. The lampblack ink is made of tung oil or added burning smoke, while the pine smoke ink is made of pine branch burning smoke. The oil smoke ink is characterized by black, bright and glossy color. The characteristics of pine ink It is black in color and dull. Chinese paintings generally use lampblack, and only colored paintings occasionally use pine smoke. However, it is best to use pine smoke when expressing some dull objects such as black butterflies and black velvet.”

"The ink in Chinese painting is generally processed ink ingots. When we choose ink ingots, we must look at its ink color. It is best to see that the ink glows blue and purple, followed by black, and reddish yellow light or yellowish. The white ones are the worst."

"The method of grinding ink is to use clear water, grind it evenly with force, and grind it slowly until the ink is thick. The ink used must be freshly ground. The ink that has been ground and left for too long is called Sumo, Sumo. Ink is generally not available. But there are some painters who like to use Sumo for painting, and that is just an exception."

Wu Tianyuan was no stranger to ink, a set of Longxiang Ink used by Emperor Qianlong that he hunted for treasure, even if it was collected by Huang Xuanlong at a high price, it was considered a sky-high price.

"The earliest record in China is that Xi Tinggui, a famous ink maker in the Five Dynasties, was given the surname Li in the Southern Tang Dynasty, so he was called Li Tinggui. For every catty of pine smoke, his ink was pounded with three liang of pearls, one liang of jade chips, one liang of borneol and raw lacquer. , so it is as hard as a stone, and it can last three years in water. Later generations have dragon pattern ink, sword spine double dragon round ink, panlong bullet ink, etc., all of which are called famous inks, but Li Tinggui's pine smoke is the most famous."

There are many specialties in making ink, especially the soot used in making ink, which can determine the final quality of ink.Top smoke, also known as "top smoke" or "head smoke".Regardless of pine smoke, lampblack, or lacquer smoke, they are all fired in a kiln.The soot is the farthest from the fire, and the soot on the four sides or the top of the kiln is called "top smoke", which is the top grade and the best alcohol smoke.

Xiangyan: The soot used for making ink, no matter pine smoke, lampblack, or lacquer smoke, is fired in a kiln.The soot in the middle of the kiln is called "Xiangyan", which belongs to the middle grade.

Body smoke: The soot used for making ink, whether pine smoke, lampblack, or lacquer smoke, is all fired in a kiln.The soot near the fire is called "body smoke", which is inferior.

(End of this chapter)