Brushing up a legacy

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.

"It also served as a cultural bridge in global exchanges in the 1980s and '90s. The writing brush perfectly showcases the wisdom of ancient Chinese people."

In the water basin procedure, artisans dip wool in cold water, and after washing, sorting, combing and shaping, they process the wool into semifinished brushes.

After steps such as drying, bundling and inserting the brush into the hallowed end of a handle, it is Qiu's job to polish the brush, removing all substandard wool so that the brush becomes smooth and white.

The outline of a good brush should resemble that of a bamboo leaf or a bamboo shoot, depending on its size, Qiu says.

The key procedures require artisans to be extremely patient as they need to sit there for hours every day. "Not to mention that if you want to become an excellent artisan, you need to have an intuitive understanding of the work," he says.