Huang Xiaojian

01 · Lineage & Regional School

In 1978 he entered the waterprint workshop of the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts, where he studied traditional woodblock printing and woodblock waterprint under Xu Yinsen, Zhang Gengyuan, Chen Pinchao and others. Within the regional tradition and school record of Engraved Block Printing Technique in Hangzhoushixihu, Zhejiang: Hangzhou carved-block printing is the technique of writing (or drawing) the text or image to be printed onto thin paper, then pasting it reverse-side-up onto a wooden block surface, and having the block carver engrave it into raised mirror-image characters, thus forming the printing block; when printing, ink is first brushed onto the block surface, then paper is laid over it and brushed evenly with a clean brush, and once lifted the text and image are clearly transferred onto the paper. Hangzhou's block carvers were mostly concentrated in the book shops and ancestral halls of the Xihu District area; though sharing the same locale as Shizhuzhai's water-printing craft, they differed in their use of ink and color. From the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties down to the Republican era, Hangzhou carved-block printing remained highly developed. In 1957, the East China Branch of the Central Academy of Fine Arts established a woodcut water-printing factory, and Hangzhou's carved-block printing technique underwent a qualitative leap, becoming one of the four national woodblock water-printing bases of the time.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Male, of Han ethnicity, born in May 1953 in Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province. He is a national representative bearer of Engraved Block Printing Technique (Hangzhou engraved block printing), a fifth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. He is a Hangzhou engraved block printing technician. When the waterprint workshop was dissolved in 1985, he transferred to the West Lake Art Center of the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts. While running a cultural art business, he nonetheless persisted in transmitting the technique, and to date has carved several thousand printing blocks. He successfully revived the long-lost douban gonghua (assembled-block embossed printing) technique and applied it in his own block-printing creations, where it has become a hallmark of his craft. Because of his refined craftsmanship and adherence to ancient methods, the waterprint letter papers, print catalogues and other works he produces with traditional techniques are admired by calligraphers, painters and collectors throughout the country. Beginning in 2006 he has taught apprentices openly and has set up engraved block printing workshops in museums and universities in order to transmit the technique. Within the documented technical tradition of Engraved Block Printing Technique in Hangzhoushixihu, Zhejiang: Hangzhou carved-block printing is the technique of writing (or drawing) the text or image to be printed onto thin paper, then pasting it reverse-side-up onto the surface of a wooden block, and having the block carver engrave it into raised mirror-image characters, thus forming the printing block. When printing, ink is first brushed onto the block surface, then paper is laid over the block and brushed evenly with a clean brush; once the paper is lifted, the text and image on the block are clearly transferred onto the paper, completing one print. The whole process is roughly divided into three procedures — material selection, carving, and printing — comprising twenty-one techniques: soaking and steaming, taking the plank, planing and coating, smoothing the board, tracing the draft, fist-knife, split-knife, repeated-knife, clearing the ground, shaping, matching the draft, clamping the paper, registering the block, color mixing, dry printing, wet printing, brushing, burnishing, dusting, douban (separate-block), and gonghua (embossing). The printed products have long been renowned for "fine material selection, exquisite carving, and beautiful printing"; the later reproductions by famous water-printing masters were even called "just a notch below the original", and many excellent works survive to this day. Due to the development of modern printing technology and other reasons, the traditional Hangzhou carved-block printing technique now faces a crisis. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Tracing in reverse": The design is traced in reverse onto the block and cut in relief, so the carver works against the direction of the image. "Three programmes": Stocking, carving and printing in turn, with even inking and a clean brush over the laid sheet the finished image lifts clearly. "Alongside the Shizhuzhai watermarks": Hangzhou housed both carved-line and colour-watermark printing in the same streets, the two working by different principles.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2018, Huang Xiaojian was announced in the fifth batch of national representative bearers for Engraved Block Printing Technique, with Hangzhoushixihu, Zhejiang as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Engraved Block Printing Technique in Hangzhoushixihu, Zhejiang: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2011 (batch 3), with Hangzhoushixihu, Zhejiang as its declared area, and Hangzhou Huang Xiaojian Block Printing Art Studio 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. Huang Xiaojian · National Representative Bearer Archive