Pic story: inheritor of Xuan brush making technique

She Ji (R) checks the finished Xuan brushes with his father She Zhengjun in Jingxian County, east China's Anhui Province, Dec. 20, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu)

Xuan brush is a highly acclaimed type of ink brush contributing to unique writing style. The technique of making the Xuan brush was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2008.

In 2013, She Ji, a 26-year-old young man, quit his job in Shanghai and returned his home in Jingxian County of Anhui Province to learn the technique of making Xuan brush from his father She Zhengjun, a national-level inheritor of the technique.

For over a decade, She Ji has helped his father to start a workshop named "Guardians of Crafts" and an online store to popularize the Xuan brush. Through his efforts, the design and making of Xuan brush was constantly innovated with new brush pen products brought to market. Speaking of the future, She Ji stressed the necessity for drawing customers of young generations to better inherit the Xuan brush.

She Ji makes Xuan brushes in Jingxian County, east China's Anhui Province, Dec. 20, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu)

She Ji makes a Xuan brush in Jingxian County, east China's Anhui Province, Dec. 20, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu)

She Ji checks Xuan brushes outside the "Guardians of Crafts" workshop in Jingxian County, east China's Anhui Province, Dec. 21, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu)

She Ji makes a Xuan brush in Jingxian County, east China's Anhui Province, Dec. 21, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu)

She Ji checks a finished Xuan brush in Jingxian County, east China's Anhui Province, Dec. 20, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu)

She Ji makes Xuan brushes in Jingxian County, east China's Anhui Province, Dec. 20, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu)

She Ji checks the finished Xuan brushes in Jingxian County, east China's Anhui Province, Dec. 20, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu)

She Ji (L) makes Xuan brushes under the instruction of his father She Zhengjun in Jingxian County, east China's Anhui Province, Dec. 21, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu)