What It Is

A specialist calligraphy supply shop — brushes (筆), ink (墨), paper (紙), inkstones (硯) — distinguished from every comparable shop in Taipei by three specific attributes: it produces its own inksticks on the premises; it holds an inventory described as "tens of thousands" (數以萬計) of inkstones; and its brushes are used by winners of Taiwan's national Chinese language arts competitions (國語文競賽冠軍筆). The owner operates under the name 耕硯齋 (Geng Yan Zhai — "Cultivating the Inkstone Study").

In-house inkstick production has effectively ceased in Taiwan. Almost every other calligraphy supplier — including the chain 蕙風堂 on the same road — sells inksticks sourced from mainland Chinese manufacturers. Geng Yan Zhai produces its own 油煙墨 (oil-smoke ink, from lamp-black soot) and 松煙墨 (pine-smoke ink, from pine resin soot), as well as aged ink (老墨). Buying a Taiwan-made inkstick from a living practitioner is not possible elsewhere in the city.

Location

District: Da'an (大安區)
Address: No. 10, Lane 104, Sec. 1, Heping East Road (台北市大安區和平東路一段104巷10號) — in an alley off Heping East Road; no prominent street-level signage from outside the lane.
Nearest MRT: Guting Station (古亭站, Green/Orange Line interchange) — approximately 10 minutes on foot.
Phone: (02) 2364-9080

Opening Hours

11:00–22:00. The 22:00 closing time is highly unusual for a traditional brush and ink shop; most such shops in Taipei close by 18:00–19:00. Closing day not confirmed — call (02) 2364-9080 before visiting.

Price Range

  • Self-manufactured inksticks (oil-smoke or pine-smoke): NTD 500–1,500+ for modest quality; collector-grade aged ink considerably higher
  • Calligraphy brushes (goat hair 羊毫, entry grade): NTD 150–600
  • Specialist brushes (wolf hair 狼毫, combination blends): NTD 500–3,000+
  • Inkstones (entry-level to collector grade): NTD 500–50,000+
  • Rice paper / cotton paper per sheet: NTD 30–400

Practical souvenir budget: NTD 500–3,000 covers a self-manufactured inkstick plus a quality brush or small inkstone.

Specific Items Worth Buying

Self-manufactured inkstick (油煙墨 or 松煙墨) — NTD 500–1,500. The only Taiwan-produced inkstick of this type available for purchase in Taipei. Small sticks are compact and lightweight to carry. Oil-smoke ink produces a bluer-black tone; pine-smoke ink is warmer and browner — both are preferred by serious calligraphers over synthetic alternatives.
Competition-grade calligraphy brush — NTD 300–800. Even a modestly priced goat-hair brush from Geng Yan Zhai is a substantially higher-quality article than anything from an art supply chain. Staff can advise on brush type for different scripts (kai 楷, xing 行, cao 草) or ink wash painting.
Small practice inkstone with visible grain — NTD 500–1,500. An inkstone with natural stone patterning functions as a desk object and is displayable as a scholar's item by someone who will never grind ink.

Why It Is Unusual

The shop occupies an alley address invisible without prior knowledge. No English-language travel guide, travel.taipei, VisitTaipei, Atlas Obscura, or Tripadvisor listing was found. It is known within Taiwan's serious calligrapher and art supply communities — confirmed by active Ruten, Yahoo Auctions, Shopee, and Facebook commerce — but that community produces almost no English-language content. A well-read visitor who had found the nearby 蕙風堂 chain on Heping East Road would not automatically encounter this shop 100 meters away in a lane.

Verified currently trading: active Ruten product listings (July 2025); simultaneous active presence on Yahoo Auctions, Shopee, and Facebook. Call ahead to confirm current hours; single-owner specialist shop with potential for irregular closures.