Red Star 红星 红星 [Hong Xing] or in English “Red Star” is China’s premium brand from China Hong Xing Xuan Paper Group and uses only the finest grade materials and strict quality control process. This is reflected in the price and quality of their products.

Weasel Hair “Wolf” brushes use hair from the Chinese “Yellow mouse wolf” 黄鼠狼 – a type of weasel.  Premium Dong Lang Hao “Winter Wolf” brushes use the extra thick hairs produced in the winter in the cold and snowy  North East China. The best weasel hair is fine and glistening, smooth and elastic and suitable for both large and small brushes.

Weasel hair is not as quite stiff as rabbit hair but stiffer than wool and combination brushes, so it is preferred for detail work and regular script calligraphy (楷书 Kaishu). Weasel hair has lower absorption rate than wool and the hair is strong & flexible. Therefore, it performs very well on painting dry and ‘bone’ effects and for example for painting tree trunks with dry ink such as su ink.  Wolf brushes are easier to control than Wool brushes and so are also recommended for beginners.

Wood
Wool Wool brushes are made from soft absorbent Goat hair and can hold a lot of ink. Premium wool brushes are made from aged hair which has lost fat and become even more absorbent.  A good soft wool brush with a fat head holds a lot of ink, it is easy to use, durable and convenient for painting and calligraphy. It performs very well for painting flowers, leaves, water, animals, etc

Wool brush requires good control of wrist and strength. Therefore, it is more difficult than weasel hair brush for beginners to control.

Advanced Level, Beginners, Medium Level

1 – 1.5 cm diameter calligraphy, Chinese Painting, 楷书 KaiShu Regular Script calligraphy, 草书 CaoShu "grass" Cursive Script calligraphy