Wen Gang Writing Brush Workshop

Wen Gang Writing Brush Workshop

The Wen Gang Writing Brush Workshop is a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Jiangxi Province.

Wen Gang Town in Jinxian County, Jiangxi Province, has long been known as the “Capital of Writing Brushes in China.” The local craft of writing brush making boasts a history of over 1,600 years. Over time, the Wen Gang writing brush industry has developed into a highly mature and widely influential industrial cluster. Currently, the town is home to more than 2,600 writing brush manufacturers and workshops, offering a wide range of product series and specifications. The industry has also expanded to include various types of brushes such as oil painting brushes and makeup brushes. Around 22,000 people are engaged in brush making and related cultural product industries, with products being exported both domestically and internationally. In 2018, the town produced 780 million writing brushes, generating an output value of 2.315 billion yuan.

In recent years, while preserving the traditional culture of writing brush craftsmanship, Wen Gang brushes have continuously incorporated modern elements to meet market demands. This has driven deeper integration of brush making with culture, tourism, and e-commerce, promoting high-quality development of the industry. Efforts are being made to establish “Wen Gang Writing Brushes” as a distinctive cultural emblem.

The Wen Gang Writing Brush Workshop is part of Wen Gang Town, renowned as the “Hometown of Brushes in the South of the Yangtze” and the “Capital of Writing Brushes in China.” It is located in the southwestern part of Jinxian County, Jiangxi Province, on the eastern bank of the lower reaches of the Fu River. Traditional architecture in Wen Gang mostly features a consistent three-bay layout with blue brick gable walls shaped like the character “山,” hipped roofs, and gray-tiled wooden structures. This style has been maintained from the Qing Dynasty up until the period before liberation. Architectural styles changed somewhat around the time of the reform and opening-up era.

In the past, Wen Gang’s brush trade primarily relied on the Fu River for transportation. Brushes were shipped along the river into Poyang Lake, then up the Yangtze River westward to Huangshi, Wuhan, Jingzhou, and Chongqing, or downstream eastward to Anqing, Wuhu, Nanjing, Suzhou, and Shanghai.

Zhoufang Village has over 40 buildings dating from the Qing Dynasty to the early Republican period, covering an area of more than 6,000 square meters. The Zhou Huchen Writing Brush Workshop is located in the center of the village, flanked by two Ming Dynasty stone-paved roads that run along either side of an inner alleyway. The entire architectural complex covers an area of 2,069 square meters.

(Zhoufang Village: Runan Family · Taiji Diagram, Ruzhou Descendants · Benefiting from Fenghao, Radiant Light in Jade Hall, Qishan Towering Green · Prestigious Rukan Family, Unnamed Buildings in the Northeast and Southwest. Qiantang Village: Jiashi Preserving Fragrance, Bountiful Spirits · Mansion of the Dafu, Xulu, Virtue and Leisure Passed Down Through Generations)

In March 2018, it was designated as part of the sixth batch of provincial-level cultural heritage sites in Jiangxi Province.

Zhoufang Village: Zhoufang Village is under the jurisdiction of Wen Gang Town, Jinxian County, Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province. It was formerly part of Pinghu Commune (which included Zhoufang Brigade, Shangwu Brigade, and Xinping Brigade) and Qiantu Commune in Linchuan Region, Jiangxi Province, and later came under the administration of Qiantu Commune and Qiantu Town in Jinxian County, until it became part of Wen Gang Town as it is today.

Zhoufang Village is located in the middle and lower reaches of the Gan-Fu Plain. A branch of the Fu River, the Donggan Canal, flows past the southern edge of the village and splits off into another branch called the Diangan Canal here. The “Zhoufang Sluice Gate,” which has seven bays, was built to regulate water levels in the Dong and Diangan canals, as well as for irrigation and power generation. The village also has drainage canals to the east and west. Zhoufang Village enjoys abundant water systems, surrounded by shimmering blue waters on all sides… More detailed information about Zhoufang Village++

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of Provincial-Level Cultural Heritage Sites in Jiangxi Province