How to Prepare and Care for Your Chinese Calligraphy Brush: A Beginner’s Guide

This article about brush usage and care was written by Master Tian Yingzhang. Qi Ming has added some illustrations and shares it here to help calligraphy enthusiasts. This guide is especially helpful for those who have bought new brushes but don’t know how to prepare them properly or maintain them. (For more brush knowledge, you can refer to this article “Top 10 Chinese Calligraphy Brushes: The Ultimate Guide to Selection and Care“)

Many friends have been asking me about brush usage and care recently. Here, I’ll share the experience I’ve gained over the years, hoping it helps everyone:

1. Preparing a New Brush

When using a new brush for the first time, gently separate the brush hairs with your fingers, then soak it in water.

Qi Ming’s note: Qi Ming prefers to first put the brush in water for a while, then take it out and gently separate the hairs a bit, then soak it again. Repeat this process until the brush is fully opened.

Gently separate the hairs – don’t use too much force. The brush tip is held together with glue, and using too much force may cause damage.

You can use a bowl or brush washer filled with clean water to soak the brush.

Important: Don’t soak the brush in a tea cup or bottle. If you only have a cup or bottle available, find a clip to secure the brush handle to the edge of the container. Don’t let the brush hairs stand on the bottom of the container.

Whether soaking in water or not, the brush hairs must never be bent. If a new brush’s hairs are bent during the first soaking, that brush is ruined.

Qi Ming’s Warning: This method can easily cause the brush head to fall off – use with caution!

When preparing the brush, be careful not to let it touch the bottom or sides of the container, as this can bend the hairs. Here are two demonstration images of soaking a brush in a bottle.

Qi Ming’s note: Don’t just leave the brush soaking and go do other things. You must soak for a while, then take it out and gently separate the hairs a bit, then soak again, then separate again. Let me say this three times:

Don’t just leave the brush soaking continuously! Never soak for long periods (more than 2 minutes)!

Don’t just leave the brush soaking continuously! Never soak for long periods (more than 2 minutes)!

Don’t just leave the brush soaking continuously! Never soak for long periods (more than 2 minutes)!

This can easily cause the brush head to fall off. If you’re unsure how to do this properly, Qi Ming recommends watching my brush preparation method in this article “How to Prepare a New Brush? Watch This Video to Learn”.

2. Water Temperature Matters

In winter, it’s best to use warm water for soaking, but not hot water. Hot water can easily cause the brush head to fall off.

Qi Ming’s note: If you’re not in a hurry, room temperature water is best. If you must use warm water, I suggest 45°C (113°F) or lower. Water that’s too hot can not only cause the brush head to fall off but also reduce the brush’s elasticity.

3. Drying the Brush

After soaking, gently dry the brush hairs. You can use a soft cloth, tissue paper, or raw rice paper. Always wipe in the direction of the hairs.

Don’t wipe forcefully, and never press the brush hairs against the desk and scrub back and forth to dry them. It’s actually fine if some water remains on a new brush.

4. First Ink Application

After the brush hairs are mostly dry, start applying ink. Make sure to dip all the brush hairs into the ink – not just half or most of them.

Although we only use most of the brush hairs when writing (not all of them), the first time you apply ink, you must fully saturate all hairs. This way, the brush hairs work as one unit, and you can apply proper pressure at the brush tip when writing.

Qi Ming’s note: This is especially important for larger brushes. They need to absorb ink fully, or they’ll become puffy and difficult to write with.

First ink application should be thorough (Image from: Qi Ming Wen Fang)

5. Cleaning After Use

After each use, you must clean the brush hairs thoroughly. While you can’t get them absolutely clean, don’t leave too much leftover ink – the cleaner, the better. Old ink damages brushes.

For detailed brush cleaning instructions, refer to another article on Qi Ming’s calligraphy blog: “How to Wash Brushes? (Water-Saving Method That Doesn’t Dirty the Sink)”

6. Proper Storage

After using and cleaning your brush, you must straighten and align the brush hairs. The brush tip must be straight, not crooked. There should be no “curled” hairs or hairs that “stray from the group.”

You must arrange the brush hairs neatly and orderly, then hang the brush on a brush rack. If you don’t have a brush rack, you can lay it flat or insert it upside down in a brush holder, but hanging on a rack is best.

Qi Ming’s note: Regarding whether to straighten and align the hairs, Master Huang Jian mentions in “Huang Jian’s Basic Calligraphy Course” that you shouldn’t align them. Instead, use tissue paper or a dry towel to absorb the water, then hang the brush. Qi Ming thinks both methods work fine.

Clean brushes are best hung on a brush rack (Image from: Qi Ming Wen Fang)

7. Using Brush Caps

When writing, if you’re taking a short break and worry about the brush hairs drying out from wind, you can temporarily put on the brush cap.

However, for long periods of non-use, after cleaning the brush, let it air dry naturally. Don’t put the cap back on. Brush hairs shouldn’t stay wet all the time, especially with leftover ink – this absolutely damages brushes.

8. Dealing with Damage

Due to alternating wet and dry conditions, brush handles can crack and brush heads sometimes fall off. You can simply reattach them with modern 502 glue or all-purpose adhesive.

9. Reviving Old Brushes

When a brush has been used for a long time and doesn’t feel as good anymore, besides normal wear and tear, sometimes it’s because leftover ink has stuck to the brush hairs.

Regular water washing won’t remove this easily. In this case, you can clean the brush hairs with hair conditioner. In most cases, brushes cleaned with conditioner work well again. Remember, brush hairs are also animal hair.

10. Treating Your Tools with Care

“A craftsman must first sharpen his tools to do good work.” We should treat our brushes well and cherish them. Getting a good brush isn’t easy, so we must protect it.

Sometimes it’s not that the brush isn’t good – it’s that we don’t know how to use it or treat it properly. This applies not just to brushes, but also to paper, ink, and ink stones.

The information above covers how to prepare and care for your Chinese calligraphy brush. It’s for your reference only.