Chen Ching-tsung (陳景聰), who has been making calligraphy brushes for more than 50 years, said he sees himself as a “a life-long warrior-artisan” and wants to attract young brush makers to preserve the craft.
The 65-year-old, who has been recognized as a “knowledge holder” by the Taichung City Government for his work in preserving ink brush making, is the focus of an exhibition at the Changhua County Art Museum, which ends on Monday next week.
The Changhua County Cultural Affairs Bureau invited Chen to display more than 100 of his handmade ink brushes, along with 80 calligraphy pieces from his private collection.
Photo: Chang Tsung-chiu, Taipei Times
The exhibition features ink brushes made from animal and human hair to represent the harmonious coexistence of Taiwan’s multiethnic groups under the theme of “Together, we are one life on this island.”
The calligraphy collection includes pieces with expressions such as “Do not drink and drive,” “Walking among three people, at least one is good enough to be my teacher,” and “Be happy, enjoy every day.”
Over the past few decades, Chen has focused on turning a “sunset industry” into a “creative culture industry,” he told reporters last week.
“My career can be seen as ‘a life-long warrior-artisan practicing the ink brush craft.’ I have experienced the golden era of ink brush calligraphy in Taiwan and its decline in later years,” he said.
“However, no matter how much society changes, with advances in science and technology, there will always be people who have a passion for calligraphy and writing with ink brushes. So this craft of making ink brushes will never fade away,” he added.
The “golden years” for ink brushes were 1971 to 1981, when schools were required to teach calligraphy, he said.
Students wrote essays and diary entries using ink brushes, and almost every household had ink brushes for writing calligraphy, Chen said.
When schools were in session during that era, 3million to 4 million ink brushes were in use, he said.
Over the years, brushes have been replaced by pens and pencils in schools, and computers and printers in the workplace, making calligraphy solely an art form and pushing the making of ink brushes into a craft industry, he said.
Chen said that his first job at 16 was as an apprentice repairing motorcycles, but one day after lunch, he was told he was being replaced by one of the boss’ relatives.
After packing up and moving back to Tainan, he said he fell into the brush-making industry.
“My cousin at the time was a professional ink brush maker, so he got me an apprentice position, and from then on I was immersed in this craft and never left,” he said.
Chen said he does not have a lot of strength in his hands, making it difficult to learn another trade.
“So I continued on this path, and am always trying to innovate, and also looking for young people to work as an apprentice,” he said.
However, it is difficult to attract new workers, and hard to find people with master-level potential to train, he said.
Only about seven masters work in Taiwan producing ink brushes, including him, and most of the others are in their 70s and 80s, he said.
Chen said he is “leading the production line” in teaching and training younger workers, and they are still making brushes each day, although sales are not as good as in the old days.
“Most items made in the ground floor workshop go directly to the second floor warehouse as stock inventory,” he said.
Nevertheless, he said he does not want young people to be discouraged by low sales figures.
“A hard-working apprentice can learn a hundred ways of making ink brushes, and can make more than NT$50,000 per month, or become ‘street artists’ demonstrating their craft and selling brushes and calligraphy at markets,” he said. “A lifetime career can be forged in this trade.”
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