Treasures stand the test of time

A Zhouhuchen brush made specially for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

In 1694, brush craft expert Zhou Huchen from Jiangxi province set up the Zhouhuchen Brush Workshop in Suzhou. In 1862, the descendents of Zhou moved their workshop to Shanghai, and it was counted as the top of the four famous brush workshops in the Qing dynasty (1644-1911).

After relocating to Shanghai, the workshop was highly praised by a group of renowned artists including Zhao Zhiqian, Ren Bonian, Wu Hufan and Wu Changshuo.

The workshop tailored the nature of their brushes to different styles of painting and calligraphy, creating a distinctive Shanghai style.

In 1956, Zhouhuchen merged over 10 well-known brush workshops, further perfecting its brush-making skills. Over more than 300 years, Zhouhuchen's brush-making skills have passed down more than 10 generations.

Zhouhuchen's distinctive craftsmanship focuses on:

1. Using different animal hairs with their particular characteristics for different styles of painting and calligraphy;

2. Tailor-making brushes for artists to meet their special needs;

3. Cherry-picking a variety of brush-making skills learned from other brush makers;

4. Matching different brush heads to different genres of painting and calligraphy.