Lin Chuyin
01 · Lineage & Regional School
The Lin family practised wood movable-type printing of clan genealogies for generations; beginning with his grandfather Lin Shangde, they ran the Lin Wenli Tang genealogy workshop, whose craftsmanship and meticulous genealogy compilation were renowned far and wide. At the age of fourteen he learned genealogy compilation and wood movable-type printing from his father, Lin Shisheng. At nineteen he took up the inherited task of genealogy compilation, continuing the work of his grandfather and father; he later suspended the business to serve as a substitute teacher. Within the regional tradition and school record of Muhuoziyinshuajishu in Ruian, Zhejiang: Dongyuan Village is located in the southwest of Ruian City, Zhejiang Province. According to the local 'Wang Clan Genealogy of Taiyuan Commandery' (Taiyuan jun Wang shi zong pu), in the early Yuan dynasty Wang Famao, who lived in seclusion in Anxi County, Fujian Province, began to introduce wooden movable-type printing technology into the compiling of clan (lineage) genealogies; the craft of 'ziji' (the technique of compiling genealogies using wooden movable-type printing) thus came into being and has been transmitted uninterrupted through the generations. In the Zhengde reign of the Ming dynasty, some descendants of Wang Famao moved from Fujian to Pingyang, Zhejiang. In the first year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing dynasty (1736), Wang Yingzhong, the fifth-generation grandson of Wang Famao, led his descendants from Pingyang to Dongyuan, and the 'ziji' craft took root in Dongyuan and has been transmitted to the present. The production process of the Dongyuan wooden movable-type printing technique comprises twenty operations—character carving, type sorting, typesetting, proofreading, printing, circle marking, branch ruling, character filling, volume division, temporary binding, sheet cutting, and thread binding—fully recreating the working scene of ancient movable-type printing, and serving as the best material proof that wooden movable-type printing originated in our country.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
Born in April 1934 in Rui'an, Zhejiang Province, he is of Han ethnicity. He is a wood movable-type printing technician. After retiring he returned to his old trade, compiling genealogies together with his three sons. He actively promotes the outstanding culture of the nation and founded a wood movable-type printing exhibition hall, where he displays more than one hundred genealogies that he has preserved. Within the documented technical tradition of Muhuoziyinshuajishu in Ruian, Zhejiang: The Dongyuan wooden movable-type printing technique has a history of more than eight hundred years, and is the only such wooden movable-type printing craft known to have been preserved in China to the present and still in use, worthy of being called a 'living fossil' of world printing technology. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Archival Process Records": The production process of the Dongyuan wooden movable-type printing technique comprises twenty operations—character carving, type sorting, typesetting, proofreading, printing, circle marking, branch ruling, character filling, volume division, temporary binding, sheet cutting, and thread binding—fully recreating the working scene of ancient movable-type printing and serving as the best material proof that wooden movable-type printing originated in China.
Archival Process Records
The production process of the Dongyuan wooden movable-type printing technique comprises twenty operations—character carving, type sorting, typesetting, proofreading, printing, circle marking, branch ruling, character filling, volume division, temporary binding, sheet cutting, and thread binding—fully recreating the working scene of ancient movable-type printing and serving as the best material proof that wooden movable-type printing originated in China.
Core Technique I
The Dongyuan wooden movable-type printing technique has a history of more than eight hundred years, and is the only such wooden movable-type printing craft known to have been preserved in China to the present and still in use, worthy of being called a 'living fossil' of world printing technology.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
He is a national representative bearer of the third-batch national intangible cultural heritage project Wood Movable-Type Printing Technique.
04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier
Historical origin
Dongyuan Village is located in the southwest of Ruian City, Zhejiang Province. According to the local 'Wang Clan Genealogy of Taiyuan Commandery' (Taiyuan jun Wang shi zong pu), in the early Yuan dynasty Wang Famao, who lived in seclusion in Anxi County, Fujian Province, began to introduce wooden movable-type printing technology into the compiling of clan (lineage) genealogies; the craft of 'ziji' (the technique of compiling genealogies using wooden movable-type printing) thus came into being and has been transmitted uninterrupted through the generations. In the Zhengde reign of the Ming dynasty, some descendants of Wang Famao moved from Fujian to Pingyang, Zhejiang.
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.
| Bearer | Declared area | Roster code | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wang Chaohui | Ruian, Zhejiang | 03-1399 | Same declared area |
| Lin Chuyin | Ruian, Zhejiang | 03-1400 | This page |
| Wang Chuanqiao | Ruian, Zhejiang | — | Same declared area |
| Wang Zhiren | Ruian, Zhejiang | — | Same declared area |
06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript. Compiled from official national representative bearer archival records and the associated project dossier, organized by topic and translated into English. 阅读中文版。