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在林林总总的笔类制品中，毛笔可算是中国独有的品类了。传统的毛笔不但是古人必备的文房用具，而且在表达中华书法、绘画的特殊韵味上具有与众不同的魅力。
砚和笔，墨的诞生好比是孪生兄弟，几乎是同时出生，互相联系，互相影响，互相促进的。它们发端于新石器时代晚期，成形于商周，成长发展于秦汉，兴盛于唐宋，明清为其鼎盛时期，并一直沿用至今。随着时代的发展，它们正渐渐地成为实用而精美的艺术品，在各个不同时代表现出不同特色，并产生了一些光耀古今的代表人物及艺术作品。
我国古代的笔就是毛笔，它究竟产生于新石器时代晚期的什么时候，目前还没有比较确切的定论 |
清晰流畅，粗细得宜，色彩和水份饱和，这不是用一般竹木削成的笔所能表现出来的，而必须用蓄水多，柔软而有弹性的裹束起来的毛才能做到的。毛笔的雏形可能就在这个时候出现了。至殷商时期，在河南安阳发掘出来的陶器中，有用笔书写的痕迹。1932年发掘出一片写有"祀"字的陶片，笔锋清晰。1936年又出土了一件用朱笔书写的陶器和一些先写（亦用朱笔）后刻的卜辞甲骨片。这说明，我国的毛笔起源于新石器时代晚期，在商代已开始运用于绘画和书写了。
古笔的品种较多，从笔毫的原料上来分，就曾有兔毛、白羊毛、青羊毛、黄羊毛、羊须、马毛、鹿毛、麝毛、獾毛、狸毛、貂鼠毛、鼠须、鼠尾、虎毛、狼尾、狐毛、獭毛、猩猩毛、鹅毛、鸭毛、鸡毛、雉毛、猪毛、胎发、人须、茅草等。从性能上分，则有硬毫、软毫、兼毫。从笔管的质地来分，又有水竹、鸡毛竹、斑竹、棕竹、紫擅木、鸡翅木、檀香木、楠木、花梨木、况香木、雕漆、绿沉漆、螺细、象牙、犀角、牛角、麟角、玳瑁、玉、水晶、琉璃、金、银、瓷等，其中不少是珍贵的材料。
经过长期的实践，人们发现兔毛才是制笔的最好原料，尤以秋冬的山兔毛为佳，因其质坚和健，春夏的兔毛则不好用。 目前我们所能看到的最早的毛笔，当是湖南，河南出土的战国时期毛笔。笔管竹制，用麻丝把兔箭毛包裹在竹轩的外周，形成笔头，笔锋坚而挺。1954年在湖南长沙左家公山战国墓中出土的一支毛笔，是极佳的野兔箭毛所制，极宜书写简牍。还有1975年湖北云梦睡虎地秦墓出土的一支毛笔，其形制和战国笔大致相同，并在此基础上有所改良。在战国时，对于笔的称呼不一，楚称"聿"，吴称"不律"，燕称"弗"，秦统一六国后，才统一称为"笔。
毛笔鉴赏
毛笔虽然是实用工具，但随着社会经济文化的发展，毛笔的制作工艺不断改进，使毛笔日益完善和精美，逐渐也成为收藏，鉴赏的珍玩古物。但毛笔不易保存，笔毫易坏，所以毛笔的鉴赏更着眼于装饰意味浓厚，色彩艳丽的笔管上。笔毫的形制是为书写、绘画的需要而改进的。古人以竹笋式笔毫为我国传统品类，属于短锋羊毫，兼毫笔类，锋短而粗，形如笋状，落纸凝重厚实，除实用外，给人以鉴常趣味。又有兰花式笔毫，也是我国传统毛笔品类之一，笔头圆润，洁白纯净娇柔，似含苞欲放之玉兰，给人以秀美之
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感，赏心悦目。古代还有一种笔毫做成葫芦式，兼毫圆润坚劲。
笔管成为鉴赏和珍藏的对象后，人们便常以珍宝珠玉制毛笔管。如清乾隆四十三年（1778）唐秉钧在《文房肆考图说》卷三《笔说》中说："汉制笔，雕以黄金，饰以和璧，缀以隋珠，文以翡翠。管非文犀，必以象牙，极为华丽矣。"此时的毛笔，不仅是书画工具，还是供人鉴赏观玩的艺术品。古代工匠在周不盈寸的毛笔管上，巧妙的描绘，镌刻山水人物，花卉鸟兽，足以表现工艺的独特高超。故宫收藏的明代黑漆，彩漆描金云龙，龙凤管笔是传世文房四宝中的珍品。 鉴别古笔，首先对保存的遗物和各个时代古笔的历史要做系统了解和认识，分清笔的历史上限下限，区分制笔地区，把握各时廷御制品。其次看笔毫完好与损坏情况。而后再着眼于笔管的装饰，是否有制笔名家的镌刻，是否有名人的赠语及题跋。对制笔名家和名人的时代特点，个人风格，要有丰富的科学文化知识，才能识别和鉴别，从而审定其文物价值。 |
Among the various calligraphic tools, the writing brush is special to China. It represents one of the four treasures of study, which also include paper, ink and ink stone.
The writing brush has a long history in China. Legend has it that the brush was invented by Meng Tian (? - 210 BC), a general under the First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty (221-206BC), but primitive painted pottery contains decorative designs painted by tools resembling a brush. Clearly visible stains or brush marks remain in certain places on the pottery. This evidence suggests that the brush may have predated written language itself. The history of the Chinese brush can be traced back at least 6,000 years.
A brush comprises two parts: the head and shaft. The head is made of goat, wolf, rat or rabbit hair, which is softer than bamboo, a pencil, quill or ballpoint pen. The shaft is made of bamboo, wood, lacquer and porcelain, as well as some precious materials, including mother-of-pearl inlays, ivory and jade. |
There are four types of famous writing brushes in China.
1. The Hu Writing Brush, produced in Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province
The Huzhou writing brush falls into four categories. The first is made of goat hair, which is very flexible; the second, of brownish rabbit hair; the third, of stiff weasel hair; and the fourth is a mixture of goat and weasel hair, which is neither too flexible nor too stiff.
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The workmanship of the brush is exquisite and complicated since it contains more than 120 processes -- from selecting materials to the finished products.
These brushes are especially handy both for painting and calligraphy. Due to its shaft, this type of brush is usually made of either red sandalwood or mottled bamboo, white porcelain or even with ivory. It is therefore regarded as the best-quality brush and the most exquisite handicraft.
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2. The Xuan Writing Brush
The Xuan writing brush, together with the famous Xuan paper, is made in Jingxian County, Anhui Province. In ancient times, Jingxian County was under the jurisdiction of Xuanzhou Prefecture, where the product got its name.
Scholars of the Jin Dynasty (256-420) were especially fond of the Xuan brush. During the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties, Xuanzhou became a writing-brush manufacturing center, and the Xuan brush was listed as a tribute to emperors.
At that time, folk artisans made a breakthrough in craftsmanship in selecting materials and polishing the shaft. Brushes were both sharp and neatly cut, and plump and smooth at the tip, enabling artists to write and draw freely. The Xuan brushes, made elaborately from brownish rabbit hair, are considered to be the best and come at a very high price.
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3. The Daiyuexuan Writing Brush
This writing brush was originally made by the venerable artisan Dai Yuexuan. Now, the brush is well known in Beijing for its high quality and elaborate craftsmanship. With the semi-manufactured writing brushes from Huzhou of Zhejiang Province as the main material, artisans used their immense skills to create a tool with a unique, sharp point, neat cut, with a smooth roundness and graceful stiffness at the tip. Because of these four characteristics, this brand enjoyed high prestige among artists and calligraphers. |
Dai actually worked for a writing-brush workshop located by the east entrance to the Liulichang Cultural Street in Beijing 80 years ago. His brushes were much better than the brand from Huzhou, even though the same materials were used. Later on, the Daiyuexuan brand became renowned far and wide.
4. The Houdian Writing Brush, produced in Houdian Village
The manufacture of writing brushes came into existence in Houdian Village of Shandong Province during the reign of Emperor Yongle around 1404 of the Ming Dynasty, and flourished in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). In the early years of the Republic of China, almost all brushes sold at Beijing's famous Daiyuexuan and Hukaiwen stores were made by workers from Houdian. In 1952, the Houdian people built a large plant to pass on the traditional craftsmanship to the younger generation and to develop it.
The main materials for the brush come from animals' tails, such the wolf and civet, or ox ear hair, in more than 40 varieties. Hair collected in the winter is best for making high-quality brushes. Five main procedures are followed strictly to produce the brush correctly: washing and dying of the hair, carving characters on the shafts, packaging, and miscellaneous processes. Each of the five procedures contains about a dozen processes before a uniquely shaped brush with a special specification is made for different purposes.
Brushes made at Houdian Village are durable, offering a good combination of flexibility and stiffness, the ability to absorb more ink than others, and with little likelihood that the hair will out.
Without the writing brush, Chinese painting and calligraphy could not have achieved such distinct features, and thus would not have enjoyed such great success around the world. The writing brush makes great contributions to the dissemination of Chinese culture. With the development of social economy and culture, craftsmanship is continually improving, and the types of writing brushes are on the rise. |
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