Pizhi Making Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
Taking the bamboo paper produced in Xiangzhigou as an example, the technique is said to have begun in the Hongwu era of the Ming dynasty, giving it a history of more than six hundred years to the present day. The white cotton paper produced in Xiaotun, Zhenfeng County, originated in the Xianfeng era of the Qing dynasty; until the end of the last century, more than a thousand households throughout the township were still engaged in scooping paper production.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Papermaking is one of the four great inventions of ancient China; bamboo paper, made from bamboo, and bark paper, made from paper mulberry bark, are two important varieties of traditional handmade paper. Guizhou is a region inhabited by ethnic minorities, and many areas of the province still preserve the ancient techniques of making traditional bamboo paper and bark paper. Among them, the techniques of Xiangzhigou in Guiyang (Buyi ethnic group), Xiaotun in Zhenfeng County, and Shiqiao in Danzhai County (Miao ethnic group) are the most outstanding. The complete set of operations comprises 72 process steps — cutting bamboo, splitting bamboo, retting bamboo, steaming and boiling, grinding bamboo slivers, pulping, scooping paper, pressing, and drying — identical in every respect to the papermaking method recorded in Song Yingxing's Tiangong Kaiwu. The finished product is soft yet tough, bears hidden bamboo-fiber markings, and gives off a faint fragrance. The paper produced there uses paper mulberry bark as its raw material; the complete operation likewise passes through 72 process steps, and the finished paper is soft and tough, even, and moistly supple. The white bark paper produced in Shiqiao, Danzhai County, likewise uses paper mulberry bark and fir roots as raw materials, and colored paper is also produced, in six varieties including cloud-dragon crepe, raised-and-indented (embossed), pressed-flat, flower-and-grass, and hemp paper. Its production process generally involves more than ten stages. In manufacture the cotton-like pulp is diluted with water, a slippery mucilage (hua yao) is added and stirred evenly, and the sheet is formed by scooping, pressing, sun-drying, and peeling before being packaged as the finished product; the paper is soft and tough, glossy and smooth, and highly water-resistant. All the handmade papers described above place strict demands on raw materials, water quality, and workmanship. The transmission of the technique relies entirely on oral instruction and personal example, and alongside the craft itself it has given rise to rich paper-industry customs, including the annual worship of Cai Lun, the grand master of papermaking. In light of these facts, the related bamboo-paper and bark-paper making techniques have become important evidence of cultural diversity and ethnic identity.
Archival Record of Process Steps
The complete set of operations comprises 72 process steps — cutting bamboo, splitting bamboo, retting bamboo, steaming and boiling, grinding bamboo slivers, pulping, scooping paper, pressing, and drying — identical in every respect to the papermaking method recorded in Song Yingxing's Tiangong Kaiwu.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The bark paper making technique of Shiqiao, Danzhai County (Miao ethnic group), together with Xiangzhigou in Guiyang (Buyi ethnic group) and Xiaotun in Zhenfeng County, is known as one of the three most outstanding bark paper production areas in Guizhou. The villages of the Shiqiao area lie against mountains and beside waters; papermaking mostly uses paper mulberry bark as material, and the process steps include cutting bamboo, splitting bamboo, retting bamboo, steaming and boiling, grinding bamboo slivers, and pulping, while the scooping of paper is still done by hand with bamboo screens. The Danzhai County Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center is the protection unit for this project.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Pizhi Making Craftsmanship · Pizhi Making Craftsmanship · Pizhi Making Craftsmanship · Pizhi Making Craftsmanship.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
However, under the powerful impact of the modern paper industry, the transmission of these complex and difficult-to-learn ancient papermaking methods has become a problem, and rescue and protection are required. Wang Xingwu (as recorded in the official archive of the associated inheritor): Male, Miao ethnic group, born in October 1966, from Danzhai County, Guizhou Province. Representative inheritor of the bark paper making technique, a national-level intangible cultural heritage project of the third batch. Eighteenth-generation inheritor of the bark paper making technique. He grew up in a family of ancient papermakers, learning from his father at the age of fifteen and mastering the bark paper making technique and its entire process. In the course of practicing bark paper making, through constant exploration, he developed varieties including colored bark paper, flower-inlaid paper (106 designs), calligraphy and painting paper (gui paper), and paper specially made for the restoration of ancient books and cultural relics (yingchun paper). In 2008 he began scale production through the taking on of apprentices; in the same year he established the Danzhai County Qianshan Shiqiao Ancient Papermaking Professional Cooperative, leading its members to jointly produce handmade paper products in ten major series. He has been invited many times to demonstrate the bark paper making technique in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, as well as in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Pan Yuhua (as recorded in the official archive of the associated inheritor): Male, Miao ethnic group, born in July 1975, from Danzhai County, Guizhou Province. Representative inheritor of the bark paper making technique, a national-level intangible cultural heritage project of the fifth batch. Bark paper making technician. From childhood he learned the ancient papermaking technique from his father; before the age of twenty he could independently carry out all the process steps of ancient papermaking. Building on the ancient method, he strengthened research and development, successively developing colored special handmade paper, colored fresh-flower paper, crepe paper, cloud-dragon paper, pressed-flat paper, hemp-silk paper, silk paper, and xuan paper, which sell widely at home and abroad. He has also spurred the villagers as a whole to take up bark paper making and achieve prosperity together. In 2013 he founded an experiential study base for ancient papermaking. The base receives more than eight thousand visitors a year and has also enabled over a hundred villagers of Shiqiao Village to find employment at their own doorsteps.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Luo Shouquan 01-0179
- Liu Shiyang 01-0180
- Wang Xingwu 03-1330
- Wan Aizhu 04-1855
- Zhang Shifeng 05-2764
- Pan Yuhua 05-2765
- Hu Zongliang
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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