Houdian Village is located 3 kilometers south of Hengshui City. It is a village with 520 households and more than 2,000 people in Taocheng District. According to historical records, the history of pen making in the village can be traced back to the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty. After hundreds of years of inheritance, innovation and development, the production of Houdian brushes has formed its own unique process and production methods, which are mainly reflected in the development of "wolf hair" brushes. The characteristics of "wolf hair" brushes are long and hard, hard and soft, large ink content without dripping, smooth writing without stagnation, can be used for writing and painting, handy, and durable. Since then, the Chinese pen industry has been known as "sheep in the south and wolf in the north". Houdian brushes are sold in most areas south of the Yangtze River. In the Qing Dynasty, a large number of Houdian brushes were sold in Liulichang. Emperor Guangxu loved Houdian brushes very much and personally bestowed them with "palace imperial brushes". Therefore, Houdian brushes became famous all over the world. Houdian brushes are made of the best yellow wolf tails from Greater and Lesser Khingan Mountains in Northeast China. The brushes have to go through 6 complex processes and 73 small processes, such as material selection, water basin, odd jobs, dry work, carving, and packaging. The artists have their own unique skills and techniques for each process. Only through the meticulous work of 73 small processes can a brush be completed. Houdian brushes are praised by local people as one of the "Three Wonders of Hengshui" (Houdian brushes, snuff bottles, and palace goldfish). It is the crystallization of Houdian people's meticulous, dedicated research, rigorous and meticulous, and excellence in pen making spirit and wisdom for hundreds of years. According to the local chronicles of Hengshui County (1928-1929), Houdian brushes won the Panama Award at the World Expo. Houdian brushes are also valued by the leaders of the Party and the country. Former President Li Xiannian visited the brush factory and wrote "Pen Town" in his own handwriting. Vice Chairman Liao Chengzhi visited Japan and asked the Houdian Brush Factory to make four brushes as gifts to Japanese leaders. The famous calligrapher and former Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Xiao Lao wrote the four characters "Dream Brush Produces Flowers" for Houdian brushes. Houdian brushes have not only brought honor to the locals, but also created rich wealth for the local economic development. Due to the emergence of a large number of modern writing tools, brushes are no longer the only writing tools. Most of the pen makers are old, and it is urgent to preserve their unique pen making skills. Information source: Hebei Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center Information source: Hebei Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center