The brush is the oldest (1) Four Treasures membet, with evidence (2) dating to illustrations on ancient bones in Zhou Dynasty i. The oldest brush so far dates to
Han Dynasty. Brushes are generally made from animal hair. Brush handles are commonly (3) constructed from bamboo, but special brushes may have handles of jade, carved bone or ivory, or other precious materials. Ancient brushes and some of the more valuable ones (4) available on the market may be made with the hair of different
types of animals. Brushes (5) are classed as soft, mixed or hard. Hair is (6) laboriously sorted by softness, hardness, thickness, and length, then bundled for specific uses.
(1)Four Treasures的意思是“文房四宝”。
(2)dating to的意思是“追溯到”。illustrations的意思是“图画．插画”。
(3)constructed的意思是“制造，制作”。
(4)available的意思是“可得到的，有供应的”。
(5)be classed的意思是“被分为”。
(6)laboriously的意思是“认真地，勤奋地”。