Lu brush pens are exhibited at a museum in Shandong Province. (Photo/China News Service)

The craft of making a Lu writing brush dates back as early as the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 AD). The calligraphy brush, produced in Yinping Town of east China's Shandong Province, is called Lu brush since Shandong Province is dubbed Lu for short.

"Although the brush is small, its production process is very sophisticated," said Liu Chang, an inheritor of the Lu calligraphy brushcraft in Yinping Town. It needs to go through 108 processes, including selecting materials, degreasing, measuring the length, etc, he added.

It takes about one hour to refine the brush tip. After removing the extra animal hair, the brush needs to be shaped round and pointed so that it is both flexible and powerful in writing.

To promote the craft, a museum for the Lu brush opened in 2017 and an industrial park was established in 2020.

So far, 2,500 people have been trained in painting and calligraphy writing with Luwriting brush, and the industrial park attracts 60,000 visitors a year.

Workers make Lu writing brush at an industrial park in Shandong Province. (Photo/China News Service)