Shanlian Town

　　    Shanlian Town is situated in the central part of Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province. It neighbors Lianzhen Town and Shuanglin Town to the east, adjoins Deqing Xinshi Town to the south, connects to Linghu Shicong and Qianjin Town to the west, and borders Morong Township to the north. It has long been known as the “Home of Lake Brushes” and the “Sacred Land of Silkworm Flowers.”

　　    Shanlian Town boasts a long history. According to the Qing Dynasty’s *Huzhou Prefecture Records*, Shanlian Town is located seventy li southeast of the prefectural city and was also called Shanjian (Shanlian). The name originated from the four bridges in the market—Fushan, Qingshan, Yishan, and Baoshan—which linked the town’s streets and were shaped like a bundled cord, hence the name Shanjian. Additionally, historical records from the Jiaxing and Huzhou regions indicate that by the early Qing Dynasty, Shanlian had grown to host between one thousand to several thousand households, bustling with merchants and shops, making it extremely prosperous. This clearly establishes it as one of the key towns in the water towns of southern China.

　　    Shanlian Town is the birthplace of the Hu Brush, the foremost of China’s Four Treasures of the Study, and is renowned as the “Capital of Lake Brushes.” In this ancient town, nearly every household has brush makers, and every home produces Hu Brushes, whose craftsmanship is exquisite and renowned across the nation. The production of each Hu Brush involves twelve meticulous steps: selecting the hair, rough sorting, washing and soaking, bundling the tips, assembling the brush, horn inlaying, tip selection, and carving the characters. Each step further comprises multiple sub-processes, bringing the entire crafting procedure to over 120 steps in total—hence the saying “the art of brush-making reigns supreme under heaven.” The Hu Brushes produced in Shanlian come in five main types: sheep hair, weasel hair, rabbit hair, mixed hair (a blend of sheep and rabbit hair or sheep and weasel hair), and chicken hair. Each type is made with different materials—including sheep wool, weasel tail hair, wild rabbit hair, mixed hair (sheep or rabbit with weasel), and chicken down—and all exhibit the distinctive qualities of being sharp (fine pointed tips), even (neatly trimmed), round (plump and smooth), and strong (vigorous and resilient).