Liu Haokui taught students the art of pen making
Japanese tourists visit and exchange at The Royal Pen Workshop in Beijing
The Royal Pen Workshop Brush Training Class walked into the Banner of Taibu Temple in Inner Mongolia
Zhoukou Daily Zhou Dao client reporter Yuan Meili intern Zhang Ziyu
The role of the brush as a writing instrument in the history of Chinese culture, politics and economic and social development is incomparable to other artifacts. For thousands of years, all kinds of living appliances have been constantly updated and eliminated in the development, only the brush, no matter the difficult years or the prosperity of the country, it has been a noble and simple, full of cultural mission posture, guiding mankind to progress and civilization.
What makes zhoukou people proud is that there is an ancient village in Sundian Town, Xiangcheng, Zhoukou, that is, Ruyang Liu Village, the birthplace of The Ruyang Liu Brush, the intangible cultural heritage of Henan Province, where every household produces brushes, and the brush making skills are included in the provincial "Intangible Cultural Heritage" directory. According to the "Xiangcheng County Chronicle", Ruyang Liu Brush has a history of more than 2,000 years, and the famous pen-making process inheritors have been 67 generations, so Ruyang Liu Village is known as "the town of brushes" and "the town of magic pens".
Liu Haokui, the nearly 60-year-old inheritor of Ruyang Liu Brush, has only one dream in his life - today, when informatization is developed, he will carry the banner of inheriting brush culture and Chinese character culture.
Farmers in eastern Henan who are obsessed with brush culture
Liu Haokui is one of the 66th generation of Ruyang Liu Brush, he has two white sideburns, dark skin, a Henan dialect, talking about the bumpy experience, he simply brought it over, talking about the promotion of brush culture, his eyes are firm and persistent.
Liu Haokui was born in Ruyang Liu Village, Sundian Town, Xiangcheng City, and learned to make brushes with his father from an early age. "Our family has been doing this for generations, the old father has been making brushes in addition to farming all his life, and from an early age he has taught us to make pens like being human beings, to be patient and pay attention to every process." Listening to Liu Haokui's introduction, we came to the Zhoukou Yubifang Brush Museum.
On the wall of the Zhoukou Yubifang Brush Museum, the pictures and texts introducing the brush culture are like a piece of sealed memory, but also like a bottle of treasured old wine, thick and long.
According to legend, the Ruyang Liu Brush originated from the hand of Liu Yan, the royal family of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Due to the chaos of the war, Liu Yan took refuge in Liu Village in Ruyang to recuperate, and after returning to the palace, Liu Xiu, the Emperor of Han Guangwu, made him the "King of Imperial Pens" and managed the affairs of court pen making, and the place where he made pens was called "Royal Pen Workshop". Liu Yan did not adapt to court life, and with Liu Xiu's consent, returned to Liu Village in Ruyang to make pens and cultivate fields, take his children and grandchildren to study brush making techniques, and educate his children and grandchildren to cultivate themselves with skills and not to compete with the world. His story has been passed down from generation to generation in Liu Village, Ruyang.
"There are many people who make brushes in Liu Village, Ruyang, and in order to strictly control them, I registered the 'Royal Pen Workshop' brand." During the conversation, Liu Haokui said, "Pen making is a skill, calligraphy is an art, I don't want to be just a businessman who sells brushes, what I want to do in my life is to carry forward the brush culture." Liu Haokui said that there are often calligraphy enthusiasts who look for him to repair brushes, generally he does not charge money, some pens need to replace accessories, he will properly collect some.
Since 2011, Liu Haokui has begun to cooperate with some units to implement the public welfare activity of "calligraphy education into the classroom". "Once a year, now it has reached the ninth session, we will go to primary and secondary schools every year, collect students' excellent works for awards, exhibitions, awards to outstanding people, let children contact the art of calligraphy from an early age, and let our calligraphy art be passed on." Liu Haokui said.
The bumpy road to promoting brush culture
In Liu Haokui's view, the brush culture of Ruyang Liu and Yubifang must not only be publicized in Zhoukou, but also go out of Zhoukou and out of Henan!
At the end of 2015, despite his family's worries, he came to Beijing for an inspection and wanted to set up a brush culture park in Beijing to promote brush culture.
Liu Haokui, who had just arrived in Beijing, was not familiar with the place of life in Beijing, so he had no choice but to go to the residence of Xiangcheng's fellow villagers in Huilongguan Town, Changping District, Beijing. With the help of his fellow villagers, Liu Haokui began to prepare for the construction of the Beijing Royal Pen Workshop Brush Culture Park. The Royal Pen Workshop Brush Culture Center in Beijing's Changping District opened in 2016. At the beginning of the opening of the museum, Liu Haokui said that he must carry forward the brush culture of the Royal Pen Workshop in Beijing. Unexpectedly, the difficulties encountered next hit him hard.
Due to various reasons, the Beijing Royal Pen Workshop Brush Culture Park, which has just been renovated for less than a year, is facing relocation, which can sadly spoil Liu Haokui. Originally, he wanted to slowly embark on the road of development through the strength of friends and relatives, but now, what should he do?
A new round of site selection inspections began.
The small amount of money in his hands and the unfamiliarity of the region have caused him to hit a wall everywhere. "Others don't understand, think I'm a foreigner who is a liar, and if you want to make a profit, you run away." Being accepted is a process. Undeterred, relying on the help of family and friends, he once again hung the plaque of the Royal Pen Workshop Brush Culture Park in Hongqi Villa, Changping District, in June 2017. This time, he regained his confidence and began to think about how to promote the brush culture of the Royal Pen Workshop to the local people. Soon, the site of the Royal Pen Workshop Brush Culture Park was acquired by a large group, and he faced a second relocation...
However, in a few months, Liu Haokui, who was in Beijing, faced inspection, site selection, decoration for the third time...
At this time, he felt that life was so difficult, and the loneliness of people in other places struck again, and it was difficult to sleep. After that, he found a suitable place in the National Agricultural Science and Technology Park in Xiaotangshan Town, Changping District, Beijing, and moved the Royal Pen Workshop Brush Culture Park from Hongli Mountain Villa to the National Agricultural Science and Technology Park.
In the past 5 years in Beijing, 3 relocations, millions of yuan have been invested, and there is no return. "Give it up!" "Let's go home!" The friend's words echoed in Liu Haokui's ears. Just when the mountains and rivers were revived, the local regional and township governments issued a voice to Liu Haokui and found a new site for beijing's Royal Pen Workshop, which is also a "treasure land" in Liu Haokui's heart.
Jiushan Bichang, Beijing Royal Pen Fang into Beijing for 6 years, Gandang 6 years of cultural envoys, recognized by the local government, Royal Pen Workshop Brush Culture Park in Changping District Xiaotangshan Town, Big Willow Village "settled", the current business has been on the right track.
Along the way, his brush and calligraphy were nowhere to be found, and his children were suddenly attacked by a storm. "This is the case in both relocations, the new place is not found, brushes, calligraphy, paintings, pen making tools, etc. can only temporarily lay a layer of rain cloth on the ground, and then cover a layer of rain cloth." The ground is full of weeds and abandoned building materials, and it often rains in the summer in Beijing, and it is very sad to see you fall. Liu Haokui's eyes flashed with tears.
"Why are you still doing it when it's so difficult?"
"Because it's worth doing." Liu Haokui's answer was very crisp. He said that when he was in Huilongguan Town, Changping District, the Brush Culture Park had just been renovated, and there were many tourists visiting during the trial opening of the museum, during which two elderly people looked at the introduction of the brush and wept.
"Why can I not promote the brush culture, those two old people and I do not know each other, they stare at the brush and cry!" They are what motivates me to keep going. Now, every year, I hold a calligraphy competition in The Big Willow Village, where the Brush Culture Park is located, and fund the award-winning players to give prizes, if nothing else, just like encouraging the villagers to learn calligraphy, I want to make the village a calligraphy culture village, so that everyone can fall in love with the art of calligraphy. "Liu Haokui is very confident.
The dream is to establish the Four Treasures Industrial Park
Homeland is hard to leave! Beijing's Brush Culture Park just had a hint of tranquility, and Liu Haokui returned to Zhoukou with a dusty servant, and he had a heart. "I want to set up a four-treasure industrial park in my hometown, and cultural things must be passed on in my hometown, and it is my life's mission to promote brush skills and calligraphy skills in my hometown." As the saying goes, the people who planted the trees before them are cool, but this tree planter is still so persistent.
"Ruyang Liu, Yubifang, these brands are everyone's, and the excellent culture of the Chinese nation belongs to each of our Chinese." I am only a craftsman of Ruyang Liu Brush, and I am willing to contribute to the promotion of my hometown brush culture and the culture of Chinese characters." Liu Haokui believes that publicizing the Liu brush culture of Ruyang and promoting the art of calligraphy to the public is the most important thing.
Yes, in a city, the elderly, children, everyone understands the art of calligraphy, every year during the Spring Festival to write their own Spring Festival, this is how meaningful it is, the masses form an atmosphere of calligraphy art, the whole city has become a cultural city, everyone can write brush characters, this will be a beautiful landscape in Zhoukou.
"Everything I do, brush production, brush sales, calligraphy training, production skills training, exhibition training, etc., in addition to promoting brush and Chinese character culture, can also drive the development of the entire brush-related industrial chain." If one day Zhoukou can be built into a national production base for primary and secondary school students' pens, and a practice base for the national calligraphy education of primary and secondary school students into the classroom, this will solve the problem of employment of many people! More importantly, the production of brushes does not have too high requirements for workers' physical strength and venue, and the disabled can participate in it, through learning, the disabled have learned a craft, but also can increase their income, and the brush processing can also be completed at home, which is very suitable for their employment, which not only improves the labor skills of the disabled, but also enhances their entrepreneurial employability." Liu Haokui said that in Beijing, Yubifang often carries out practical technical poverty alleviation activities, holding brush technology training classes for Shangyi County in Hebei Province, Dabusi Banner in Inner Mongolia, and Arukorqin Banner in Changping District, and training for 360 disabled people.
Indeed, combining poverty alleviation with the support of aspirations and wisdom, stimulating the endogenous motivation of the disabled, giving them the concept of "self-respect, self-confidence, self-improvement and self-reliance", allowing them to achieve employment and entrepreneurship through learning skills and skills at their fingertips, and creating their own lives with diligent and dexterous hands is of great significance for consolidating the results of poverty alleviation and preventing villagers from returning to poverty.
It's really hard work. Forty years of persistence, Liu Haokui let Ruyang Liu Brush from the countryside to the capital; twenty years of pursuit, Ruyang Liu Brush has entered the field of calligraphy education, but also helped the century project of accurate poverty alleviation. The ancient brush has a great youthful vitality in the new period.
At present, Liu Haokui is also working on the construction of Ruyang Liu (Royal Pen Fang) Literary Four Treasures Cultural Park, we sincerely wish him, dreams come true, and go far.
(All pictures are infographics)