Biography

Xu Jiajia Feng

A brush can’t tell good or bad, we can only do it with the conscience of the artist, and we can only exercise self-discipline.

● Xu Jinfang, founder of Xu Datong Brush Shop

Xu Datong Brush Shop was founded in 1900 by Xu Jinfang. When Xu Jinfang was 13 years old, he was in the late Qing Dynasty. At that time, he went to a "Xintongwen" brush shop as an apprentice to learn brush making skills. After Yicheng became a teacher, he opened the "Xu Datong" brush shop in Dajian Alley at Baili intersection in the urban area. With excellent pen-making skills, Xu Datong's brush shop quickly gained a foothold in Wenzhou.

●Xu Datong's successor to the brush shop

Xu Jinhua

Xu Jinhua was born in 1924. He was at the same age as his father when he joined Xintongwen as an apprentice. When he was 13 years old, he followed his father Xu Jinfang to learn pen-making skills. After he got married, Xu Jinhua inherited his father's business and took over from his father. "Xu Datong". After the founding of New China, the government carried out socialist transformation of the handicraft industry. In 1956, all the pen shops in Wenzhou were merged into the cooperative pen factory. Xu Jinfang and Xu Jinhua and his sons also became the workers of the new era.

It was not until after the reform and opening up that the plaque of "Xu Datong" was re-hanged.

●The third generation of Xu Datong brush shop

Xu Wenlong, Xu Wenyi, Xu Wenping

In 2003, the "Xu Datong" brush shop, which had been in business for more than a century, moved from Dajian Alley to the current Mochifang Alley to reopen due to the needs of the old city renovation. At that time, the 79-year-old Xu Jinhua officially opened The pen shop was passed to the hands of three sons and was jointly run by three brothers (Xu Wenlong, Xu Wenyi, and Xu Wenping), who are the third generation descendants of the "Xu Datong" brush shop.

⊙Chinese Commercial Daily reporter Xu Jiaqi photographed Xu Xiaochun

One afternoon in early autumn, the autumn rain was pattering. In a small shop at the corner of Mochifang in Wenzhou City, the voice of “dang, when, when” came from this small shop from time to time. Outside the shop was a bustling business. Street, the shop is slightly old, and the three elderly shopkeepers are busy with each other. The store is very small, no different from the neighboring store, only the "Xu Datong Brush Store" on the store's offer faintly tells of the glory of a century-old brand. The old shop has been passed down for three generations and has gone through more than one hundred years. During this period, there are glories, loneliness, and glory in the revival. But it is still the meticulous, perseverance and patience of the three generations to make this brand stand for a hundred years.

The three brothers, who are also the shopkeepers, have been working together for more than ten years. The three brothers said that the older generations often told them that the brothers worked together to cut money. After so many years, the feelings of their three brothers are like every process of making a pen. Again, no one can do without this shop.

Although it has gone through more than one hundred years of wind and rain, the pen-making craftsmen of "Xu Datong" brush shop have not changed much. They still maintain the original all-manual production method, and strive for excellence in every process, and the three brothers always stick to it. The seriousness of starting an entertainer. In 2008, "Xu Datong's Pen-making Skills" was included in the second batch of Wenzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage List. As the only hand-made pen shop in Wenzhou, the century-old shop relies on the persistence of the three brothers. Farther.

Passing on:

The ancestors nurture the three brothers to inherit the ancestral industry

This is the second time the reporter has interviewed this century-old shop. Three years ago, on a winter afternoon, the reporter saw for the first time that there are so many processes and doorways to make a brush. Let’s take a look at the hands of the second shopkeeper Xu Wenyi. , There are really only craftsmen. The thick calluses on the thumbs of the three are irregularly flat due to pinching Mao Feng for years. Not only that, the spurs of camel's sifting hair should be sharp and sharp, otherwise it will not be able to pick out good front hair, but it is often inadvertently pierced into the clenched thumb, and it will bleed when it is shaved. It is said that the ten fingers are connected. Heart, this tingling taste can only be experienced through gritted teeth.

This time, I ran into three shopkeepers in the shop together. The boss Xu Wenlong was lowering his head in front of the basin and shaving. The second child Xu Wenyi was drying the prepared wool on the second floor, while the third child Xu Wenping was sitting in front of the counter pulling the thread. Make a pen. With a century-old shop, the three brothers stick to their hearts, and it is difficult to find a second one in Wenzhou.

When they talked about why they took the hard way of making pens, the three brothers had the same answer. They said that it was just like the father was influenced by his grandfather, and he spent the whole day with his family and friends. Perhaps it was the blood inherited from the craftsman. , So that they have deep feelings for this ancestral industry, and naturally inherited it.

Xu Wenlong said that although there are dozens of processes involved in making pens, it is not as documented as other crafts, and can only rely on years of accumulated experience. When it comes to this, Xu Wenlong rarely reveals the pride of a craftsman.

Decades ago, the three brothers had more choices in life. The elder Xu Wenlong was an educated youth, and worked as a worker in the second plastic factory after he recovered. The second child Xu Wenyi was in the machinery factory, and the third Xu Wenping was in the sports shoe factory. I returned to this small shop a few years later. Although I was busy with my factory work when I was outside, sometimes I still helped my father make brushes, so when I came back to open the shop, my craftsmanship was not lost at all. "Maybe you earn more outside than in the store, but I always feel free here. The most important thing is that this job is handed down by our ancestors. Our three brothers are reluctant to bear it." said the second child, Xu Wenyi.

Shou industry:

Seiko and meticulous brothers stick to the ancestral industry

Craftsmen are easy to get, but ingenuity is hard to practice. The craftsmanship of hand-made brushes is extremely rigorous. Xu Datong's centuries-old shop is based on fine pen work: From the beginning of the selection of materials, Xu Datong's brush shop is very particular about it. This is also one of the principles given by his parents. The older generation warned the three brothers of the Xu family that there is no technical standard in the brush-making industry. The quality of a brush depends on the craftsman's own control. Therefore, self-discipline is very important. Sometimes it takes several generations to work hard to establish a brand, but only a bad brand. It will take a few years, and it’s no good if you don’t discipline yourself.

Every winter, the second shopkeeper of Xu's family will go to Huzhou and Jiangxi to choose the wool for the whole year. Because animal vellus hair is the longest and the most uniform in winter, the front of each vellus hair is the most shiny and the transparency is also the best. Yes, it is more suitable for sharpening the front. Xu Wenyi said that the longer the tip of animal vellus hair, the higher the price, and the better it can be made into a good brush. The price of a writing brush is also proportional to the length of the tip of the vellus hair.

In the old store, the most expensive pen is called Extra Large Beilanghao, priced at 588 yuan. In fact, not many people buy this top-level brush. It took a long time to sell one. It took a long time for this pen to be sold. It was made because good raw materials had to happen by chance. If this batch of raw materials were not ideal, the three brothers could only wait for a while before making them, and would never use this batch of unfavorable raw materials to make it again. The three brothers said that this is the bottom line of their craftsman. .

In addition to the use of ordinary purple and wolf hair, Xu Datong's brushes have many other meticulous details. For example, the outermost hair of the brush is protected by Huai rabbit hair instead of ordinary rabbit hair, because Huai rabbit is Domestic rabbits from Anhui have finer hair roots, soft and shiny hair.

After selecting the raw materials, the next step is to remove the grease from the hair with lime, and then sieve the hair. This process is the most test of skill, and the key to the quality of a brush lies in this. Different wool materials or materials processed to different degrees require various camel bone plates. Why do you need camel bone plates instead of ordinary iron combs? Boss Xu Wenlong told reporters that iron combs tend to rot if they are tied to the hands, while the camel bone plates are slightly better. "In the past, well water was used for flexibilities. If you pierce your fingers in winter, it will be really painful. Fortunately, you can have electric heater Heat cold water and you don’t suffer that much anymore.” The boss Xu Wenlong said that sometimes he would have to sit and work all day. Without the spirit of having fun in hardship, he couldn’t do so for a long time.

In the small room on the second floor, the second shopkeeper likes to sift the hair with the window open. He has a radio on one side, a tea cup on the other, his own teddy at his feet, and the band-aids that he keeps in the drawer at any time. These are what he used for a day. Daily, "This has been the case every day for decades, and our work is too boring," Xu Wenyi said. It takes several days to sieve a single process, and sometimes it takes even a week to sift out a short handful of pens. If it is not so boring. Perseverance and patience are absolutely impossible.

future:

If you can do it, you will never give up

It is difficult to find an heir to most of the traditional handicrafts. This situation is a real experience for the three brothers of the Xu family. So far, the three brothers have not found a suitable inheritor of their skills. Perhaps it is because it is too hard to understand this pen-making craft, and none of the three brothers is willing to let their children inherit this ancestral business.

Among the three brothers, only Xu Molie, the son of the second shopkeeper Xu Wenyi, had a touch with the brush. When he was in college, he studied painting, so he sometimes used brushes made by his father and uncles. At that time, the family expected their brushes to be able to Helping children to achieve success in painting, but Xu Molie's interest has changed quickly. After graduation, he is engaged in photography, but his family still supports the children's choice. Xu Wenyi also taught his children, “It doesn’t matter how much money you earn. The important thing is to photograph your own unique style. Just like our brushes, you can only be liked by customers if you continue to innovate.” Xu Wenyi said that he can’t tell the truth. But the children all know, "Now that more people are looking for him to take pictures, I would advise him to take his time and not rush, even if he has to turn off a few deals, he must do his job first." This is like the three brothers do. Like pens, the mass-produced brushes are usually produced only one or two thousand a month, slow work and meticulous work, even if they have an order, they will do every process.

Today, the combined age of the three brothers is 173 years old, but the body is still strong, so they can persist. In 2008, Xu Datong Brush Shop was listed as the second batch of Wenzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage List. After that, they were often invited to participate in various exhibitions to demonstrate brush making on the spot. The three brothers also realized that writing brushes may also be a way out for crafts. “The effect is still quite good. Many people have never seen making brushes. Now we still have a counter in the exhibition hall of the cultural market.” The three brothers once wanted to offer a handicraft course. , To teach the students manual skills, but the camel-bone plate was too sharp, and was afraid that the child would poke or hurt others. In addition, the cumbersome process of a writing brush could not be completed at one time on the spot, so I had to cancel it first.

However, there are more and more opportunities for various cultural exhibitions. Xu Datong brushes appear in front of everyone in a new form. Maybe they are used in daily calligraphy, maybe they are handicrafts collected by literati, or they are in front of a century-old shop. The tire brushes launched in the past few years have given Xu Datong a new lease of life. In recent years, more and more overseas Chinese from Taiwan and returnees have come to buy, and the three brothers of the Xu family feel that although the brush line is difficult to restore to its former glory, it is also not easy to disappear. This tenacious vitality is like the heart of a craftsman. Generally, no matter how the current changes, I still have my original intention.

Evaluation

●Xu's brush is truly "handy"

The old man Ye, a good friend of the three brothers, is a college teacher, and he usually writes palindrome with a brush. He happened to meet him during the interview that day, but the old man has been unwilling to be named, only saying that he is a calligraphy lover. In addition to writing poems, he also helped the three brothers of the Xu family to name their new brushes, such as Zixu Minhao, Falling Paper Ruyun, Youzhong Zhifa, etc. These names that sounded extremely Zen were taken from Old Boss Ye. Hands, and each one has a meaning.

Every time there is a new product, the first thing the three brothers think of is to give Mr. Ye to try his pen, talk about the pen experience, and talk about the areas that need improvement. After Mr. Ye’s suggestion and naming, these brushes seem to be really good. Like life.

For example, the writing brush "Paper like a cloud" is praised as the font can be changed endlessly when the pen is written, and it does not appear sluggish. Zixu Minghao has a double meaning. First, "zi" represents baby lanugo hair, while whiskers are mouse whiskers, indicating that this pen is made of lanugo hair and rat whiskers. The other meaning is pen writing. To seek truth from facts, you need to be aware of everything like being a human being.

As for the pens made by the three brothers of the Xu family, Old Uncle Ye has the most say, "I have used almost all of their pens and watched them make them one by one. As a medium for people, calligraphy and painting in calligraphy, they have already made brushes. It's the best," and Mr. Ye used his pen to write "handy" to evaluate Xu Datong's brush shop. This may be the best comment for the brush and the three generations of craftsmen.

Author: Strongink Pen Kits