Zhangxiaoquanjiandao Forging Craftsmanship

Ⅷ-38Traditional CraftsmanshipHangzhou, ZhejiangBatch 1 (2006)Newly Added Item

01 · Historical Records

Zhang Xiaoquan scissors were first made in Hangzhou in 1663, the second year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing dynasty, and later became one of the city's renowned “Five Hang” products. Zhang Xiaoquan, the founder of Zhang Xiaoquan scissors, laid down the family motto “fine steel, finely wrought,” which his descendants have put into practice for more than 340 years; it has become the core philosophy of the Zhang Xiaoquan corporate culture. The Zhang Xiaoquan Scissors Factory's operating tenet of “quality first, integrity as the foundation” and its spirit of “putting heart into every task” both derive from this. In 1910 Zhang Xiaoquan scissors won the silver award at the Nanyang Industrial Exposition; in 1915 the second prize at the Panama Pacific International Exposition; in 1926 the silver award at the Philadelphia Sesquicentennial Exposition in the United States; and in 1929 the special prize at the West Lake Exposition. In 1956, Mao Zedong pointed out in his essay “Accelerate the Socialist Transformation of Handicraft Industries”: “We remind you that among the handicraft industries there are many good things; do not do away with them.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Traditional household scissors were the product on which Zhang Xiaoquan built its business. They came in five models — Xinhua, Shanlang, Wuhu, round-head and long-head — and dominated the scissors industry through ten defining qualities: even steel inlay, a clear contrast between steel and iron, fine grinding, sharp blades, secure rivets, smooth opening and closing, elegant designs, novel engraved patterns, long service life and excellent value for money. The traditional Zhang Xiaoquan scissors-making process comprises 72 process steps, two of which are exquisite and distinctive techniques that have been preserved through long practice. The first is the steel-inlay forging technique: fine steel from Longquan and Yunhe in Zhejiang is inlaid into wrought iron and refined through a thousand hammer blows to form the scissor blades, which are then ground with Zhenjiang clay bricks. The second is the hand-engraving technique on the scissor surface: craftsmen engrave patterns of West Lake scenery, birds and animals onto the surface, vividly lifelike and exquisitely perfect. Zhang Xiaoquan scissors were once supplied to the Qing imperial court, and the brand became a Chinese time-honored name (laozihao) after the Qianlong Emperor bestowed a special commendation seal. They have been widely praised at home and enjoyed renown throughout the world. The Wang Mazi and Zhang Xiaoquan knives and scissors must not be done away with, not in ten thousand years. Whatever good things of our nation have been done away with must certainly be restored, and made somewhat better than before. With the development of the times, however, the application of modern stamping and injection-molding processes has dealt a heavy blow to the traditional scissors forging technique, causing a break in the transmission of this ancient handicraft: today no master scissorsmith capable of completing all the process steps from beginning to end remains, and the Zhang Xiaoquan scissors forging technique urgently needs rescue and restoration.

Archival Record of Process Steps

The traditional Zhang Xiaoquan scissors-making process comprises 72 process steps, two of which are exquisite and distinctive techniques that have been preserved through long practice. The first is the steel-inlay forging technique: fine steel from Longquan and Yunhe in Zhejiang is inlaid into wrought iron and refined through a thousand hammer blows to form the scissor blades, which are then ground with Zhenjiang clay bricks. The second is the hand-engraving technique on the scissor surface: craftsmen engrave patterns of West Lake scenery, birds and animals onto the surface, vividly lifelike and exquisitely perfect.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Zhang Xiaoquan scissors are made with Hangzhou as the center; the traditional process comprises 72 process steps, of which two exquisite and distinctive techniques have been preserved through long practice: the steel-inlay forging technique and the grinding technique. Hangzhou Zhang Xiaoquan Group Co., Ltd. is the project's protecting institution. The former site of the Hangzhou scissors workshops lies in the area of Xixing Bridge, and the scissor samples produced there since the Republican era remain the industry's benchmark for comparison.

Other submitting regions for the same item: Scissors Forging Craftsmanship.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

Shi Jinshui (record of the associated inheritor's official archive): Male, Han ethnicity, born 1933; native of Hangzhou, Zhejiang. Representative inheritor of the Zhang Xiaoquan scissors forging technique, a national-level intangible cultural heritage item of the first national-level batch. Shi Jinshui entered Guo Lijin's scissors workshop in 1947 and studied scissors-making under the workshop owner Guo Lijin; three years later he went to work at Qin Bingsheng's scissors workshop; in 1954 he transferred to the Hangzhou scissors production cooperative; and in 1957 he joined the Hangzhou Zhang Xiaoquan Scissors Factory. Long years of production practice made Shi Jinshui thoroughly familiar with the 72 traditional process steps of scissors-making. After retiring, he still often returned to the factory to teach and publicize the scissors forging technique. As a hand-forging fitter, he was especially skilled in forging ordinary household scissors in sizes 1–5, in styles such as round-head and long-head; his products had uniform specifications and excellent quality. In 1959 the size 1–5 household scissors he forged were collected by the Museum of the Chinese Revolution. Between 1983 and 1985, Shi Jinshui served as technical instructor at two branch factories of the Zhang Xiaoquan Scissors Factory, training 25 apprentices. Since 1965 he won first place five consecutive times in the national scissors quality evaluation. Xu Zuxing (record of the associated inheritor's official archive): Representative inheritor of the Zhang Xiaoquan scissors forging technique, a national-level intangible cultural heritage item of the first national-level batch. Xu Zuxing became an apprentice at Ding Deyou's scissors workshop in 1944, learning hand-forged scissors-making from Ding Deyou. In 1947 he worked as a fitter's helper at Yang Arong's scissors workshop, and from 1949 to 1952 as a worker at He Chunyao's scissors workshop, becoming a somewhat well-known skilled hand in the Hangzhou scissors industry of the time. In 1953 the government organized the establishment of five Zhang Xiaoquan scissors production cooperatives; he, Shi Jinshui and a group of other master scissorsmiths were brought together, and the ancient Zhang Xiaoquan forging techniques were carried on. In 1957 the Zhang Xiaoquan production cooperative was reorganized into the Hangzhou Zhang Xiaoquan Scissors Factory, and Xu Zuxing stayed on at the factory, serving successively as worker and manager. In 1959, at the invitation of the Beijing Wang Mazi Scissors Factory, he went to Beijing to teach the scissors forging technique. The size 1–5 household scissors he forged were once presented as state gifts to foreign heads of state. In addition, he developed products such as military scissors and garment scissors. Male, Han ethnicity, born 1931, died 2012; native of Hangzhou, Zhejiang.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗

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