Factory Director Wu · Xuan Brush Inheritor

Full transcript

《Xuan Brush Factory: Interview with the Inheritor》

Editorial note: Q = interviewer; A = interviewee (inheritor at the Xuan Brush Factory). In editing, I've tried to keep the original wording and cut repetition and meaningless filler. Obvious transcription errors have been restored from context.

Q: What comes after brush trimming?

A: Brush trimming. After brush trimming comes engraving. In between, there's another process that runs parallel—box making. It's parallel to the water-basin process because they're two independent systems. Then after brush trimming comes engraving. Once engraving is done, then inspection and packaging. There's also a process—some count it in, some don't—the box-making workshop. Boxes, outer packaging. Mainly those areas.

Q: Among these, which has the most skill?

A: The most skill is concentrated in the water-basin workers. Our whole process has 128 steps, and the water-basin workers account for 70 of them. Small steps. 128 steps total, 70 steps. This process is fairly complex, and our production cycle is long. This year, making brush heads—because of differences in the water-basin process—each batch takes about a month to produce. We do it every day. Normally Sundays off.

Q: Then let's start with the most important master. Your date of birth?

A: October 25, 1962.

Q: Are you from Jing County?

A: From Jing County, Huangcun, what used to be called Lao'anwu Township.

Q: How long have you been doing this?

A: 44 years. I entered the factory in 1982, at 20, 21.

Q: How did you get into this line at the time?

A: Getting into the brush factory was an accident. At the time, our factory wanted to expand production and add a workshop. This workshop mainly supported the original brush-shaft workshop. Brush shafts were made of bamboo and wood, and both ends were fitted with ox-horn tubes. Ox horn mainly used the tip, the solid front part; the long section behind it was hollow. That hollow section was a byproduct of brush making. We generally sold it to a chemical plant in Bengbu called Jiaoli, as raw material. But the added value wasn't high. Later, after research, we found Fujian used a lot of that hollow section to make ox-horn combs, with much higher added value. So we brought in ox horn—part for brushes, part for combs. We added an ox-horn comb factory. When I entered the company, there were 20 positions; 7 were reserved internally, leaving 13. What to do with those 13? They openly recruited across the whole township, through a written exam. Back then there were few enterprises. To get into one, you had to go through all kinds of connections, and you still might not get in. My father signed me up; I hadn't even thought about it. Later I took the exam. At the time I wasn't confident. Why? Most of that batch were fresh graduates. I had been out of school for two years. I came out of Maolin Middle School. I passed. Actually, quite a few signed up—more than 170 took the exam, and in the end 13 were admitted. I got in with seventh place. At first I didn't believe it. When they told me, I thought they were joking. After I got in, I felt it was a turning point in my life. So after I entered, I worked seriously every moment. I apprenticed for a month. Our master was from Wuhu, because the brush factory's predecessor was the Wuhu Brush Glue Factory, under Zhongshan Bridge. When I first came in, I learned to make ox-horn combs. Then at the end of the year—after I'd been in a month, after apprenticing, it was right around Spring Festival. After Master Guo Zhenjie went back, when work started the next year, he recommended me as team leader. A month later I was team leader. The next year I became workshop head, and the year after that deputy director. I entered in '82, so by '83. Back then, those who entered the factory—I was a high school graduate, and there weren't many high school graduates. So I had to use that opportunity, and I just worked hard. In '87, I was transferred to the factory office, the Xuan Brush Factory office, also serving as a supply and marketing clerk. I did a lot of things, and also worked at the Xuan Brush Craft Research Institute for a while. Mostly concurrent posts—one person doing several jobs. I worked until 1997. In '98 the company had already become a joint-stock company. I was assistant to the general manager. In October 1999, because my chairman was then vice chairman of the county CPPCC, and the CPPCC called him to a full-time post, they had to consider a successor. At the time, from the county government, public institutions, townships, and the management departments, they considered comprehensively. The factory director recommended me. But because I was assistant to the general manager, and there were several deputy general managers, they weighed it from all sides. So in '99 I became general manager. In 2003 the enterprise was restructured. I led five others in a public auction and bought it. Public auction, six people—I led two others. When we bought it, my shares were 41.5%. With those others, you could say I had controlling interest. Actually not controlling—according to the joint-stock requirement, controlling should be 51%. But there were only a few of them. How much did you buy it for at the time? The two parts together were over a million, I think. Because one was the factory auction, and the second was that the enterprise had a batch of celebrity calligraphy and paintings; the political consultative conference took them and re-auctioned them—celebrity calligraphy and paintings. They were auctioned separately. That one was auctioned on August 16, 2003; the other on January 15. By 2014, three shareholders had withdrawn, one after another, because they worked in the county town, originally in the store, and they withdrew. By the time they withdrew in '14, they got much more than they'd put in, right? It was like this: the money they'd invested had already been paid back in dividends. Later I bought them out at one to ten times—4 times premium. They were happy, willing. By 2019 the last remaining shareholder was also paid. March 1, 2019—I remember it clearly. Originally, when I helped compile the factory gazetteer, a lot of materials were in my hands. Before that pile was finished, the government packed up all the materials in one go, dozens of boxes, and hauled them to the government. Later they didn't manage it; they let people mess with it, and in the end nobody knows where it went. Can't find it. So in 2019 the last shareholder withdrew, because he was doing it at home too, also making this. Then it became completely yours. Right, it became a sole proprietorship, just one family, sole ownership. It's been quick—seven years, 2019. Anyway, it's felt pretty smooth.

Q: Do you yourself make brushes and do writing much? You personally make them?

A: I do a bit of everything. I started with brush shafts, then later research, new material applications, new product design, market promotion—including the new things I make, bringing them to market. Whatever the market needs, I develop it. That way I put my thinking and ideas into making the brush—why this thing, how to make this brush, what kind of user it suits, how it performs. I have all of that for every product.

Q: So you've used some new materials on top of the old tradition? What new materials?

A: For example, in design, material formulas—some materials that maybe weren't used before. Because materials, for example some special materials, like cat hair, bear hair—people in the past almost never used these. I experimented repeatedly, and in the end, it's not that using this material makes it good. It's our research into the material. In design there are also new things, lots of new materials. For example, materials not used before. Our brush shafts used to be local bitter bamboo—moso bamboo won't do—our bitter bamboo. Later we got from Fujian what they call fragrant concubine bamboo, spotted bamboo, including that, and also arhat bamboo, purple bamboo—those are traditional. Later, all kinds of materials—as long as they can form a solid, solidify—we can use. That was a shift in my thinking. So now I feel that solid materials—as long as it's not glass, not forbidden, like things the state bans, things not allowed, like ivory, special materials, or things with certain radioactive elements—everything else is fine, as long as you have equipment to process it. That's for brush shafts. This thinking—some people like new materials. With new materials, you see, in ten thousand people, as long as five or ten like this kind of thing, that's actually a big number. From probability, it's even more than that—more than that in ten thousand, because people nowadays are more curious, like something new. When I use something I don't have, I'm curious. Anyway, this kind of thing may have higher added value, and they don't care. Some even try metal. I've tried metal.

Q: Using cat hair, bear hair—what about performance, effect?

A: First, when I make materials, after experimenting with a material, I know what it's for. For example, cat hair is short, and it has a lot of fat, so you have to degrease it. To what degree, how much to retain—that must be tested. But for us that testing is relatively easy. During testing, we can tell from the color change of the coating liquid. It's not a big problem. But after it's made, using cat hair alone—what's the performance? When we made it, we tested it. But it doesn't absorb water well, because it's smooth. So we add other materials as filler, and that changes its performance. Then what is this brush good for? In the end we found, from the perspective of calligraphy, it's good for large and medium regular script. Calligraphers and painters are also willing to try new brushes. When they come, they know how I recommend and introduce the brush. I tell them what it's best for, and let them try. Some people—say in calligraphy, someone who writes regular script may not write cursive or running script. When they often like writing cursive, they may not write seal or clerical. So first, based on my feeling, I see what these things suit best. Of course it's not absolute; there's individual preference. From a comprehensive view, it's still the popular trend that's the main element. Sometimes they haven't used this brush before. In our factory, among brushes used before, its performance exceeds their imagination. They may turn to it—"Don't move, I'll go back and try again. I want to redo something." They make some changes to their own calligraphy path. This happens often.

Q: Besides you, does anyone else in the family do this?

A: My whole family does it. My wife makes brush shafts by hand. Before, all brush shafts were made by hand. Now they're mechanized, but handmade shafts still produce a better product.

Q: You think handmade is better than machine-made?

A: It tells you something. For example, with bamboo shafts, bamboo's roundness can't be perfectly standard—it's often slightly oval. If it's slightly oval and you machine it, the hole drilled in front will definitely be thin on one side and thick on the other. Then, first, the appearance is bad, and when assembled, when you pick up the brush and look, you feel uncomfortable. When I make it by hand, there's a feature: the blade that digs the hole follows the outer curve, so it keeps the thickness of the opening consistent. Then when we drill in, the brush head goes into the shaft, and because bamboo has some flexibility, it can form a relatively round shape. From the outside, it's very even.

Q: Your children do this too?

A: I have three daughters. All three learned here. At first they didn't do it either. They went out and traveled around a bit, then came back. Now they're all inheritors.

Q: That's real inheritance.

A: My eldest daughter is at the county Party congress today. She's also a provincial arts and crafts master in Anhui—the youngest woman among Anhui's arts and crafts masters. Arts and crafts master—she mainly does this too, and she's part of our inheritance here. She's now at the city level, Xuancheng city-level intangible cultural heritage. At first they didn't want to do it. More than twenty years ago, young people all wanted to go out and see the world. So if you told them to learn a craft in a traditional industry, of course they weren't interested. Now they can do it themselves. They're inheritors, they know the craft, and they still do it by hand. They're on the front line. They do it very well. Yes, they're all doing it. My youngest daughter is also a technical expert. My second and third—those two are twins. They both participated in the national light industry brush skills competition in '24 the year before last and won excellent competitor awards. Because they got nationally recognized vocational skill titles—senior technicians.

Q: Impressive. At first I thought your inheritors really do it by hand themselves—they make them?

A: No, no—yes, yes, they do. Not just writing materials. No, no—do they do it daily? Daily. Every day. They go to work.

Q: Now I think this craft is good.

A: It's not that the craft is good. Which factory is easy to run now? There's no industry people are satisfied with. For example, from your perspective as a teacher, if someone has ambition, you're an ordinary teacher, maybe you want to be a head teacher, or a department head, then you want to be vice principal. Then you think, no, I still want to be in charge—I want to be principal or Party secretary. Then at an ordinary university, you want to move to a key university, or to a supervisory department, a provincial department—always climbing. People all have this, right? So is he satisfied? He's not. But I tell them, this is a pure cause. Because I have such a big compound—this is our family's property now. You need to maintain it, and develop it. Not just maintain—you have to bring in new blood, inject new ideas and drive. What is that new ideological drive? It's not just schooling or past consciousness. You need real driving force. What drives it? It must be your technology, your concepts, your—what you put in are various effective measures. That's normal. Also, how to speed up its development—you may use this as a foundation to expand the project. What's the current feature? I started study tours in '17. I started in '17. My study tours are now probably among the better ones in the industry nationwide. Today, besides the Wang family, besides Hongren Group, the cultural park is probably doing well. It's also quite suitable for study tours. Right, it's small, not big, and what you make is a product you can use right away. Like this morning there was some team. But what's my idea? Through study tours, I can better promote and develop my own industry. First, in my study tours, how do I increase income? I don't mean tickets. I mean explanation fees and experience fees. In that fee, I include a brush. One brush per person. For the experience, don't you make a brush? The brush you make is given to you. Why? To achieve a goal. Because once this brush is made, it's given to you. So you'll definitely be more careful making it. And I require it to be a good piece, not just making something useless. Also, when you take the brush home, some are children. Maybe the parents didn't come. For example, a women's group—when you take this brush home, the parents will ask, "What activities did you do on the study tour?" You'll say, "Oh, we did such and such, and we made a brush." "What kind of brush?" You'll show them. "Where was it made?" "In Jing County, Anhui, at the Xuan Brush Factory." "How's the brush?" After using it, "Hey, this brush—even though I made it in the experience, the quality is good." It deepens the family's impression. Then maybe you chat with aunts, relatives, friends—that's a channel for spreading the word. And it's real. I can say it's better than us going—now people often say CCTV will promote you. I say the problem is, although it's high-end, too few people watch. Almost everyone watches TV—my own TV I don't watch for a year; everyone holds a phone.

Q: Where do study tour groups usually come from?

A: All over the country, I'd guess domestically. In the last two years, quite a few from overseas too.

Q: How do overseas groups contact you?

A: Overseas has multiple channels. One is travel agencies. Of course, first there's a cultural exchange department, something interested in Chinese traditional culture. Two aspects. First, recommendations from foreign travel agencies. Second, some relevant Chinese travel agencies recruit customers outside and promote. So you have a lot of contact with travel agencies; they help promote you. Right, because I also promote on Xiaohongshu, and the effect is good.

Q: Some of this should be asked later to the masters—like which specific line, which process. Their skill levels may differ. You said the main one is water basin?

A: Right.

Q: Now it seems mainly water basin and brush trimming?

A: Brush trimming—after the shaft and head are welded, the internal movements.

Q: Then the masters' wages should differ?

A: Piecework. Piecework—more work, more pay.

Q: Does one person handle it from start to finish, or?

A: For brush heads—I make brush heads. After the raw hair is given, he makes the head. That's one. Material selection is done by someone else. Yes, he makes the head. Does that include water basin and trimming? No, trimming is separate. So it's divided. Shaft making and box making aren't here.

Q: For example, for one brush, water basin and trimming—their prices should differ?

A: After they're combined—are you talking about piecework wages? Yes, piecework wages definitely differ. But they're separate and independent. Water basin has more; different varieties have different base prices. Higher grade has a higher base, lower grade lower.

Q: Are your workers mostly local or outside?

A: Mostly local, basically all local. In the '70s and '80s, there were a group of outsiders. We hired some from Jiangsu, dozens came. Later, no more employees—people got older. Also, in the early '80s, when rural land contracting rights were divided, some people had to go back to get their land, so they left. Now basically all local.

Q: After the old ones retire, there are fewer young people. This skill—starting as an apprentice, for water basin, from apprentice to mastering the core, to being able to work independently—how long does it take?

A: That span is long. Back in the '70s and '80s, apprentices—our water-basin workers, those making brush heads—took nearly nine years. Nine years. Why? There's a ten-year thing: apprenticeship was three years. First three years learning. After three years, you start low-level piecework—subsidy plus piecework. Because pure piecework, the income might not be high; the subsidy is to train people. He can't do it fast, right? Can't do it fast. At first, you might not do well and waste material; he hasn't produced much. The second three years, you follow the master, learn—the master teaches you some things, preliminary things. The third three years, you work independently, and you can ask the master. The master teaches you how to make tools. At first you weren't even allowed to touch tools. What tools? The tools for making brushes. Before that you couldn't use tools independently? No, not allowed. For example, how to grind the comb, how to sharpen the knife—he wouldn't allow you to touch it. But you'd use tools. There were rules passed down. After nine years—back then they went by seniority—after nine years, there was an assessment. If you passed, you entered the low-grade group, making low-grade brushes. After nine years you were still in the low-grade group. Low-grade group for 15 years—then you test. If you pass, you enter the middle-grade group. After 20 years, workers test, and if they pass, they enter the high-grade group. Some can't get into the high-grade group. So 15 years, then 20 years.

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