page_title: Ink brush
section_title: Types
hierarchical_section_title: Ink brush / Types
caption_attribution_description: Upper Lascar Row, Hong Kong
context_page_description: Ink brushes are used in Chinese calligraphy as well as in Japanese and Korean calligraphy which both have roots in Chinese calligraphy. They are also used in Chinese painting and other brush painting styles. The ink brush was invented in China around 300 B.C. Together with the inkstone, inkstick and Xuan paper, these four writing implements form the Four Treasures of the Study.
context_section_description: Brushes differ greatly in terms of size, texture, material, and cost. The brush hair chosen depends on one's needs at the moment; certain kinds of brushes are more suited to certain script styles and individuals than others. 
  Handle: usually of bamboo, exotic brushes may instead use such materials as gold, silver, jade, ivory, red sandalwood or spotted bamboo.
  Hair source: normally the brush is made from goat, Siberian weasel (ch: 黄鼠狼 huángshǔláng, yellow-rat-wolf), pig, mouse, buffalo, wolf, or rabbit hair, while exotic ones can be made from tiger, fowl, deer, and even human hair (from a baby's first haircut, said to bring good fortune while taking the imperial examinations).
  Hair texture: soft (ch: 軟毫 ruǎnháo), mixed (ch: 兼毫 jiānháo), or hard (ch: 硬毫 yìngháo) hair.
  Hair size: generally classified as either big (ch: 大楷 dàkǎi, ja: 大筆 oofude),  (ch: 中楷 zhōngkǎi, ja: 中筆 chufude), or small (ch: 小楷 xiǎokǎi, ja: 小筆 kofude); most calligraphy is written with a medium-sized brush. The smallest brushes are used for very small pieces and for fashioning designs for seals. While medium size brushes are the most widely used, wielded by a skilled artist a medium brush can produce a variety of thicknesses of line from very thin to fairly thick. The largest brushes are used only for very large pieces.
  Hair length: generally classified by hair length for thickness of handle as either long (ja: 長鋒 chouhou), medium (ja: 中鋒 chuhou), short (ja: 短鋒　tannhou); most calligraphy is written with a medium-length hair brush. The long hair brush are more keep to hold an ink than the short hair brushes as their length. So, it used for continuous long or short stroke line scripting such as Japanese traditional hiragana style by rennmen (ja: 連綿). The hair of long hair brushes are tend to made by hard texture hair to keep their hair form, but there is a not one. Japanese very long and slender hair brushes called menso-burushes (ja: 面相筆) are used for detail painting.
  Synthetic hair is not traditionally used. Prices vary greatly depending on the quality of the brush; cheap brushes cost less than one US dollar while expensive brushes can cost more than a thousand dollars. Currently, the finest brushes are made in the town of Shanlian, in the Nanxun District, prefecture-level city of Huzhou, of Zhejiang province.
caption: Ink brushes of various size and material for sale
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