Chinese Calligraphy Brush Splitting: Prevention Tips and Easy Fixes
Many friends who are learning Chinese calligraphy have encountered brush splitting issues. What exactly causes Chinese calligraphy brush splitting, and how should we handle it when it happens? Today, Qi Ming will share some insights based on personal experience and methods from experienced calligraphers found online. Let’s discuss the causes of brush splitting and how to fix it.
First, let’s look at a picture. A few days ago, a friend who used a Qi Ming custom brush sent me a photo showing brush splitting. This was the only feedback about splitting issues from the first batch of 100 brushes that Qi Ming sold. Here’s the picture:
At that time, my assessment was that this calligrapher was probably writing characters larger than what this brush could handle. Also, he might not have been adjusting the brush tip properly during writing. So Qi Ming first suggested that he write smaller characters.
Of course, splitting can also happen because the brush itself might have manufacturing defects. I think this possibility cannot be ruled out. Although Qi Ming’s custom brushes were made by experienced craftsmen, ensuring that none of the hundred brushes had any problems might be challenging. But since the problem appeared, I shouldn’t avoid discussing it or ignore it. Instead, I should face it directly and actively analyze the causes and solutions.
Understanding Brush Size and Character Size
Friends who have read “Top 10 Chinese Calligraphy Brushes: The Ultimate Guide to Selection and Care” should know that Qi Ming mentioned the principle of “large brushes can write small characters, but small brushes cannot write large characters” when discussing brush use and care.
So when using brushes, you should first understand the brush tip length and the maximum character size it can handle. For guidance on determining what size brush is suitable for what size characters, you can refer to “How to Choose the Right Chinese Calligraphy Brush Size for Your Writing.“
Preventing Brush Splitting
Besides paying attention to using different sized brushes for different sized characters, Qi Ming believes you should also prevent brush splitting from the following aspects:
1. Preparing New Brushes
When you get a new brush, after opening the brush head, you can roll the brush handle in your hands. Use centrifugal force to shake off loose hairs. This prevents hair shedding during writing and also prevents splitting caused by broken or loose hairs.
Next, you need to wash off the glue attached to the brush with warm water. Brushes are sealed with seaweed glue after manufacturing for storage and shipping purposes.
If you’re using a previously cleaned and dried brush, you should completely wet the brush in clear water before formally dipping it in ink for writing.
The purpose of this is to let the scales on the hair shafts fully open, which helps absorb and store ink. When the scales open, the brush hairs can better draw ink evenly. Some inks might be thick or have heavy glue content. If you use a completely dry brush and dip it directly in ink, the ink might form a protective film on the outside of the brush hairs, leaving the inner hairs without ink, creating a hollow effect. This can easily cause brush splitting when writing.
Also, since wet brushes help draw ink in, the same principle applies when cleaning – a brush that was thoroughly wetted before dipping will be easier to clean. The ink at the brush root will come out more easily, making the brush cleaner overall.
2. Using the Right Amount of Ink
When dipping in ink, use an appropriate amount. Too much ink rarely causes splitting, but sometimes too much isn’t good for writing. However, too little ink can easily cause brush splitting. So the amount of ink is also a factor in whether the brush will split. Use a moderate amount of ink.
3. Choosing the Right Ink Consistency
Ink that’s too thick or has heavy glue content can also cause brush splitting. For example, Yidege premium ink or Yuntou Yan ink are relatively thick inks that usually need to be diluted with water when used.
If ink is too thick, the brush hairs cannot gather together smoothly. If you add an appropriate amount of water to dilute the ink, it will greatly improve the gathering ability, giving the brush good tip-forming effects.
Ink that’s too thick may cause brush splitting easily
4. Proper Brush Maintenance During Writing
Not promptly licking the brush and adjusting the tip (for tip adjustment techniques, I recommend reading “Teacher Liang Sanri’s Discussion on Tip Adjustment – Qi Ming’s Notes”) is another reason for brush splitting.
This means when you finish writing one or several strokes, if the brush tip already shows small splits but you continue writing with the brush in this condition without promptly licking the brush back to a pointed state, this can easily cause brush splitting.
Of course, some masters know how to prevent brush splitting by constantly adjusting the tip direction during writing. This relates to individual writing skills and brush techniques.
5. Cleaning Brushes Thoroughly
Not cleaning brushes properly, leading to ink buildup at the brush root, can also cause splitting or poor tip-forming effects. If the brush root isn’t cleaned well, I suggest everyone follow the method shown in the picture below.
Cup your left hand into a small bowl, hold the brush with your right hand and rinse it under water. Sometimes you can even gently press the brush against your palm to squeeze out remaining ink from the brush root. After washing, use tissue to absorb excess water, especially from the root area.
Cup your left hand into a small bowl like this
6. Using Appropriate Brush Pressure
I want to emphasize again: don’t use small brushes to write large characters. Many beginners have this experience – when starting to learn, their hands shake, so pressing the brush deeper feels like better control. But this is very harmful to the brush.
Anyone who studied physics knows that springs can return to their original shape when stretched within appropriate limits, but overstretching beyond the spring’s limit will prevent it from bouncing back. Brush heads work the same way.
If you’re using the brush root to contact the paper, you can imagine that even brushes with good elasticity will have difficulty returning to their original state. So when writing, how much of the brush tip should you use? I recommend reading “What is San Fen Bi? Why Does Understanding San Fen Bi Mean Understanding Brush Movement?” This article explains the brush usage issue clearly and should help everyone’s writing.
Chinese Calligraphy Brush Splitting-Fixing Split Brushes
The above discussed how to prevent brush splitting. Now let’s look at solutions for brushes that are already split.
For brushes that are already split, you can usually crack an egg into a bowl, then put the cleaned split brush into the egg white. Like dipping ink, evenly let the egg white soak into the brush hairs, then lick the brush back and forth until the brush head shows a cone shape like before opening, with the tip returning to a pointed state.
Hang it up and place it in a cool area. After the egg white dries, this can largely repair the splitting situation.
Open it again and dip it fully in ink for writing. If it still splits, it means this brush probably cannot be saved. For such brushes, you can only clean them and use them as small cleaning brushes for razors or keyboards.
Chinese Calligraphy Brush Splitting-Fixing Bent Brush Tips
There’s another situation: if your brush tip has been bent from pressing against a hard surface for a long time, causing bending and resulting splitting, my method is to pour a cup of boiling water, then immerse the entire brush head in the boiling water.
After soaking for two seconds, quickly lift it out, then immerse it in boiling water again. Repeat this several times, and the bent brush head might return to its original shape. This principle is the same as using an iron to smooth wrinkled clothes.
I hope these methods for repairing split or bent brushes are helpful to you. Please feel free to share this article with more friends who love Chinese calligraphy.
