The history of Chinese brush making is long and profound. It is an important tool for spreading the profound Chinese culture and ranks first among the four treasures of the study (brush, ink, paper, and inkstone). Calligrapher Zhou Ruchang highly praised the brush in his "Eight Methods of Writing Yongzi": "Without the brush, not to mention painting, even Chinese characters will never develop and evolve into what they are today." According to "Records of the Grand Historian", Qin Shihuang ordered Meng Tian and Prince Fusu to build the Great Wall. Meng Tian and Fusu had to report to the emperor regularly. "Tian took rabbit hair from Zhongshan and tied it into a bundle, fox hair as the core, deer hair as the column, yellow sheep as the cover, and bamboo tubes. It was called a brush, so-called Canghao." They used this brush to write memorials to the court. During the Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Cheng of Jin said: "The events of the past and present are auspicious only when they are written, and the troublesome words are recorded only when they are written. The pen is a complete tool, which can complete the shapes of all things and order the principles of nature. It is truly the greatest treasure of literati and the great tool of heaven and earth." After thousands of years of inheritance and evolution, in modern times, China's pen-making industry has become more mature, among which the pen-making craftsmanship of Xuancheng, Anhui and Huzhou, Zhejiang is particularly prosperous, and its excellent pen-making craftsmanship is praised by the world. "Every year when Xuancheng imports pens, the price of purple hair is as expensive as gold." However, the most expensive brush in contemporary China is neither Xuan brush nor Hu brush, but is made by Shao Jiagan, an individual pen-making professional in Guanzhuangba Town, Dangshan County, Anhui Province at that time. During the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, the ancestors of Shao Jiagan's mother had already made a living by making brushes in Qi County, Henan. However, when it was passed to Zhang Juxian, Shao Jiagan's grandfather, he only made large, medium and small regular scripts such as mixed hair, wolf hair, purple hair, chicken wolf hair, etc. for primary school students to practice calligraphy. In the early 1940s, Shao Jiagan's grandfather Zhang Juxian passed on the brush-making skills to his mother Zhang. Zhang was diligent, intelligent, and open-minded since childhood. She followed her father to learn the brush-making skills and studied them carefully, which greatly improved her brush-making skills. However, due to historical reasons and conditions, the brush-making skills at that time were only limited to making ordinary brushes for calligraphy and painting. It was not until Mr. Shao Jiagan systematically learned the entire process from his mother and conducted in-depth research and exploration of the secrets of making high-end brushes that the original ordinary brush-making skills were able to develop rapidly and gradually reach the realm of perfection. Shao Jiagan, who is nearly 60 years old, has been adhering to his mother's family precepts since the early 1970s and has inherited the brush-making business that his ancestors have been engaged in for more than 40 years. He is the sixth-generation heir of the ancestral fine brush making business. He learned from his mother Zhang and made brushes according to traditional craftsmanship. In the 1970s and 1980s, the brushes made by Shao Jiagan were in short supply in Dangshan County and surrounding areas due to their excellent workmanship. In order to develop a top-grade brush with higher performance, in the late 1970s, Shao Jiagan personally went to famous brush-making places across the country to exchange skills, humbly seek advice from famous brush-making artists, learn from the strengths of many schools, and study hard. In 1980, he founded the country's unique high-end sheep-hair "Biyunxuan" brush-making workshop. He deeply pondered the intentions of the masters who were accustomed to writing and painting with brushes, and repeatedly asked for advice. He also gave his own top-quality "Biyunxuan" brushes to famous domestic calligraphy and painting masters such as Shen Peng, Qi Gong, Fan Zeng, Wang Xuezhong, Liu Haisu, and Li Keran for trial writing. Master Shen Peng regarded his brushes as top-quality. "The tip and roundness of the brushes are the same in ancient and modern times. It is difficult to be a saint of the brush in a thousand years? If Xizhi were still here today, he would abandon the rat whiskers and exchange them for Biyun!" The quality of Dangshan Biyunxuan brushes is excellent, well-known both at home and abroad, and can be called the best in China in terms of usability and appreciation. Information source: Anhui Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center Information source: Anhui Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center