How to protect a Chinese Brush
Taking care a brush is protecting the tip of a brush.
保養毛筆就是保護筆鋒
Open a new brush開筆
The new brush head has been applied glue to stick all hairs together. Some brush heads can be opened by gently squeezing by your fingers until the whole brush head becomes soft, then rinse the brush head by water for couple minutes to remove loose hairs and glue.
But some brushes need soaking: Soak the brush into low-temperature warm water for several minutes. Please do not soak too long time, because the glue at the root part of the brush head is important and should be kept.
不要把筆毛燙壞。體溫水泡開就好，泡久了把根部的膠泡壞反而影響使用
Old saying: a Xuan Brush dose not need to be soaked and a Hu Brush needs. However, in the current market, this rule is outdated. For example, most ShuagYang brushes, the No.1 Brand, can be opened by fingers, but the fine script one still needs to be soaked.
開筆並不是“宣筆要捏，湖筆要泡”，即使在一個品牌裏，有的品種能捏開，有的品種要泡開。
Most finger-open brushes are good for soaking method, but some do not. So when getting a new brush, try finger-open method at the first.
拿到一支筆，如果沒有說明，先輕輕捏捏試試，不行再泡--有的捏開的筆泡幾個小時也泡不開
To remove loose hairs, rinse the brush by running water again to clean all glue as the picture shown. It is important to (1) follow the direction of the hairs, (2) by the small stream of water. Then it is ready to use.
摘出散毛, 如圖用小水流順著筆毛的走勢沖
Prepare your brush
The life span for a brush very depends on the proper usage. How to dip ink and color is a big issue.
入墨毛筆壽命影響巨大
Whatever a new or used brush, fully dipping in water before dipping in ink is critical for hairs. Never dip a dry brush to ink or colors even if they contain water. Wetting the brush before grinding ink and preparing paper is a good idea. Or wet the brush twenty minutes before dipping ink.
幹筆入墨毀筆，一定要先充分沾水，最好留出20分鐘使得筆毛進入狀態
After wetting the brush, "dry" the wet brush by a piece towel or used rice paper ( the best way is dragging the brush on the paper to get off extra water). This is for the better ink result.
入墨前。將濕毛筆在廢宣紙或廚用紙上拖“幹”以保證墨色.
Clean the brush
Forgetting and inadequate cleaning after usage are enough to ruin the tip and inside of the brush head.
Two ways to clean: (1)Rinse the brush by the small stream of water following the direction of the hairs, as the picture. Or (2) Rinse in a water container then change water, and repeat until water is clean.
如圖用小水流順著筆毛的走勢沖净
Taking care a brush is protecting the tip of a brush.
保養毛筆就是保護筆鋒
Open a new brush開筆
The new brush head has been applied glue to stick all hairs together. Some brush heads can be opened by gently squeezing by your fingers until the whole brush head becomes soft, then rinse the brush head by water for couple minutes to remove loose hairs and glue.
But some brushes need soaking: Soak the brush into low-temperature warm water for several minutes. Please do not soak too long time, because the glue at the root part of the brush head is important and should be kept.
不要把筆毛燙壞。體溫水泡開就好，泡久了把根部的膠泡壞反而影響使用
Old saying: a Xuan Brush dose not need to be soaked and a Hu Brush needs. However, in the current market, this rule is outdated. For example, most ShuagYang brushes, the No.1 Brand, can be opened by fingers, but the fine script one still needs to be soaked.
開筆並不是“宣筆要捏，湖筆要泡”，即使在一個品牌裏，有的品種能捏開，有的品種要泡開。
Most finger-open brushes are good for soaking method, but some do not. So when getting a new brush, try finger-open method at the first.
拿到一支筆，如果沒有說明，先輕輕捏捏試試，不行再泡--有的捏開的筆泡幾個小時也泡不開
To remove loose hairs, rinse the brush by running water again to clean all glue as the picture shown. It is important to (1) follow the direction of the hairs, (2) by the small stream of water. Then it is ready to use.
摘出散毛, 如圖用小水流順著筆毛的走勢沖
Prepare your brush
The life span for a brush very depends on the proper usage. How to dip ink and color is a big issue.
入墨毛筆壽命影響巨大
Whatever a new or used brush, fully dipping in water before dipping in ink is critical for hairs. Never dip a dry brush to ink or colors even if they contain water. Wetting the brush before grinding ink and preparing paper is a good idea. Or wet the brush twenty minutes before dipping ink.
幹筆入墨毀筆，一定要先充分沾水，最好留出20分鐘使得筆毛進入狀態
After wetting the brush, "dry" the wet brush by a piece towel or used rice paper ( the best way is dragging the brush on the paper to get off extra water). This is for the better ink result.
入墨前。將濕毛筆在廢宣紙或廚用紙上拖“幹”以保證墨色.
Clean the brush
Forgetting and inadequate cleaning after usage are enough to ruin the tip and inside of the brush head.
Two ways to clean: (1)Rinse the brush by the small stream of water following the direction of the hairs, as the picture. Or (2) Rinse in a water container then change water, and repeat until water is clean.
如圖用小水流順著筆毛的走勢沖净
Dry the brush
The plastic cap is to protect unused glued brush head. Never use the cap again, and it is just for the new brush. Keep this in mind: dryness is the key. Hanging brush to dry is the best. Laying down the brush to dry is OK but not perfect due to the gravity. For same reason, do not use a pen pot to dry.
懸掛晾幹最好，不要放在筆筒裏晾幹，塑料筆帽是保護新筆用的，對開過的筆只有損壞之功效。
Store the brush
Storing brushes in a box, in a roll up organizer or hang them is better for brush tips. If the brush head is squeezed or compressed, game over.
存放不當，會導致筆頭變形。裝盒或懸掛貯存較穩妥。
The plastic cap is to protect unused glued brush head. Never use the cap again, and it is just for the new brush. Keep this in mind: dryness is the key. Hanging brush to dry is the best. Laying down the brush to dry is OK but not perfect due to the gravity. For same reason, do not use a pen pot to dry.
懸掛晾幹最好，不要放在筆筒裏晾幹，塑料筆帽是保護新筆用的，對開過的筆只有損壞之功效。
Store the brush
Storing brushes in a box, in a roll up organizer or hang them is better for brush tips. If the brush head is squeezed or compressed, game over.
存放不當，會導致筆頭變形。裝盒或懸掛貯存較穩妥。