Shi Xuping

01 · Lineage & Regional School

In 1980 he entered the Beijing Wangmazi Scissors Factory, learning scissors forging under Zhang Gengqin. Within the regional tradition and school record of Scissors Forging Craftsmanship in Beijing: Wang Mazi scissors are made with Beijing as the center; the forging technique comprises 13 furnace-side process steps and 13 cold-working steps off the furnace, with masterly compound forging and many closely guarded tricks, among which the quenching technique with its blended “medicine” is unique in the knife-and-scissors trade. The heavy form of Beijing-made scissors stands on its own against the lighter traditions of the Hangzhou and Suzhou schools of the south. Beijing Lichang Wang Mazi Industry and Trade Co., Ltd. is the project's protecting institution. In 1651, the eighth year of the Shunzhi reign of the Qing dynasty, a scissorsmith surnamed Wang from Shanxi ran a thriving scissors business in Beijing; because he had pockmarks on his face, people called him “Wang Mazi” (Pockmarked Wang), and the name “Wang Mazi Scissors” became famous from then on. Records of Wang Mazi scissors already appear in Dijing Suishi Jisheng (Records of Annual Festivities in the Imperial Capital) of 1758, the twenty-third year of the Qianlong reign, showing that this handicraft product had become a famous brand by that time. In 1816, the twenty-first year of the Jiaqing reign, the Jutai shop at 135 Xuanwai Street in Beijing hung out a sign reading “Three Generations of Wang Mazi.” Thereafter, knife-and-scissors workshops in Beijing trading under the Wang Mazi name continued to grow, reaching 70 by 1936 and 68 in 1956, with 400 people employed. In 1999, Beijing Lichang Wang Mazi Industry and Trade Co., Ltd. was formally established.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Male, of Han ethnicity, he was born in January 1961 in Pingdu, Shandong Province. He is a representative bearer of Scissors Forging Craftsmanship (Wangmazi Scissors Forging Craftsmanship), a third-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. He is a scissors forging technician. Over more than thirty years in the craft he has mastered a whole series of traditional skills, namely steel selection, heat treatment, hammer forging, quenching, forming the shanks and fitting the handles. The scissors he makes have thick, strong pivots, flexible blades that are easy to sharpen along the groove, and are durable in use. He led the establishment of a project exhibition room and a transmission studio, actively collecting and organizing historical documents, film and photographic records, tools and objects related to the project. He teaches forging skills with care and has taken on nearly ten apprentices. Within the documented technical tradition of Scissors Forging Craftsmanship in Beijing: The Wang Mazi scissors forging technique is distinctive, comprising 13 furnace-side process steps and 13 cold-working steps off the furnace; its compound forging is masterly, with many closely guarded tricks, among which the quenching technique with its blended “medicine” is unique in the knife-and-scissors trade. The finished products are imposing and dignified in form, plain and natural, with typically northern characteristics; their structure is unique, their cutting powerful, and one pair can serve many uses. The blades are wrought iron clad with steel — extraordinarily sharp, easy to use and durable, neither chipping nor curling, and easy to make and to repair. The Wang Mazi scissors forging technique is a representative of traditional forging craft and has high technical value. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Archival Record of Process Steps": The Wang Mazi scissors forging technique is distinctive, comprising 13 furnace-side process steps and 13 cold-working steps off the furnace; its compound forging is masterly, with many closely guarded tricks, among which the quenching technique with its blended “medicine” is unique in the knife-and-scissors trade.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2009, Shi Xuping was announced in the third batch of national representative bearers for Scissors Forging Craftsmanship, with Beijing as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Scissors Forging Craftsmanship in Beijing: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2008 (batch 2), with Beijing as its declared area, and Beijing Lichangwangmazigongmao Co., Ltd. as its safeguarding unit. Since the project was inscribed in the national inventory, its declared area and safeguarding unit have carried out documentation, transmission and presentation within the national safeguarding framework. Together, the inventory record and the project archive form the public documentary basis for the bearer’s transmission practice.

04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier

05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage

National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.

06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography

1. Shi Xuping · National Representative Bearer Archive