Tibetan Jinshuduanzaojiyi
01 · Historical Records
The production of Tibetan knives in Baiyu County has a long history, traceable as far back as the early Tang dynasty in the 7th century CE, giving it more than 1,300 years of history. During the period of King Gesar of Ling in the Song dynasty, the metal handicraft industry of Hepo was centered on the production of weapons, and was known as the Gesar Arsenal.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The products of Tibetan metal forging technique are highly varied, chiefly including Buddha statues, various religious implements (such as prayer wheels and Vajrayana vajras), and incense burners, with Tibetan knives being the most famous and most common of all. The faces of Tibetan waist knives are burnished clean and the edges are incomparably sharp; the handles are made of ox horn or hardwood (such as jujube wood) and wrapped with copper or silver wire; the tops are banded with copper sheeting and inlaid with brass or engraved patterns. The scabbards are also finely made, engraved with patterns of dragons and phoenixes, tigers and lions, flowers and birds; some are further set with gems and agate, in a sumptuous and magnificent style. Tibetan knives are both a necessity of daily life for the Tibetan people and a renowned Tibetan handicraft, deeply prized by art collectors and connoisseurs. Tibetan metal forging technique has a long history, a unique style, and exquisite workmanship; its traditional products are closely bound up with the production, daily life, and religious beliefs of the Tibetan people, and bear a pronounced ethnic and regional character. Tibetan knives serve functions of production, daily life, self-defense, and adornment; they are the most representative category among the many Tibetan handicrafts and an important component of Tibetan culture. Baiyu County in the Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province is renowned far and wide for its metal handicrafts and enjoys the reputation of a home of handicrafts; the Tibetan knives produced there are known as Baiyu Tibetan knives and have long been cherished by Tibetan people everywhere. According to statistics, the county now has 407 specialized households engaged in handicraft production, with 634 people employed, of which Hepo Township alone accounts for 192 specialized households and 264 workers. The metal handicrafts of Hepo Township in Baiyu County fall mainly into five categories, with Tibetan knives predominating. Tibetan knives mainly include men's long waist knives, medium-length waist knives, and hanging knives, as well as women's hanging knives, daggers, and Gesar knives. Since the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, during the construction of the Gatuo Monastery in Garzê, Han and Tibetan folk craft cultures exchanged with one another, and the metal handicraft technique of Hepo Township developed considerably, shifting from the production of traditional weapons to the manufacture of everyday goods. Besides Tibetan knives, the region also produces horse gear (saddles, stirrups, etc.), Buddhist implements (butter lamps, water-offering bowls and vases, etc.), everyday utensils (silver bowls, etc.), and ornaments (fire-striking chains, earrings, hair flowers, belts, necklaces, etc.). Tibetan knives of Lhatse County in the Tibet Autonomous Region are produced mainly in Xue Village in Lhatse, known as Lhatse snow knives, and have a history of more than 1,000 years. Tibetan knives forged in the Lhatse area come in three types: long knives, short knives, and small knives. The longest long knives can reach one meter; short knives are about forty centimeters long; and small knives are only a dozen or so centimeters. The general production process of Tibetan knives consists of smelting, mold casting, hammering out the rough form, carving and inlay, welding and assembly, reinforcement, filing and shaping, fine engraving, and polishing. Lhatse Tibetan knives are forged from steel, with fine workmanship, burnished blade faces, and sharp edges. The handles are made of ox horn or timber, wrapped with silver or copper wire; high-grade handles are capped with copper sheeting at the top, and some are further inlaid with silver ornament. The scabbards are likewise exquisite, often sheathed in silver or copper and engraved with floral and animal patterns; some are even inlaid with jewels or gilded, appearing exceptionally magnificent. The Anchung Tibetan knives of Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai Province are renowned for their exquisite forms and excellent performance; they are made chiefly of metals such as gold, silver, and copper, with ox horn and cattle bone used as decorative materials. Anchung Tibetan knives are divided into men's and women's types. In form, women's knives are mostly crescent-shaped, with delicate and meticulous workmanship and beautiful shapes; the scabbards are engraved with patterns of dragons and phoenixes, flowers, and the dharma wheel among the Eight Auspicious Symbols of Buddhism, and are inlaid with coral, turquoise, agate, and the like. Men's Anchung knives are shaped like ordinary knives, gilded and inlaid with silver, with frost-white and incomparably sharp edges; the Tibetan people call them triple-use knives, meaning that the knife can be used first for cutting beef and mutton, second for fending off wild animals and self-defense, and third as an ornament worn at the waist, adding to one's heroic bearing. Anchung Tibetan knives are renowned not only in the Tibetan regions of Qinghai, Tibet, Sichuan, and Gansu, but are also celebrated throughout the world; tourists from China and abroad alike regard them as rare treasures, collecting and preserving them with care.
Firing the kiln at Yazhi Snow Village
At Yazhi Snow Village each household keeps its own hearth, forging steel blanks of lengths suited to the work.
Forging the blade form
Blanks are forged into long, medium and short knives, from a metre down to a dozen centimetres.
Engraving and setting
Floral and animal motifs are chased on blade and scabbard, sometimes set with gems or gilded.
Joining and reinforcement
Blade, grip and scabbard are joined and banded so the piece stays true under repeated soldering.
Filing and fine carving
Filing fixes the form, carving refines it, and polishing ends at a surface that reflects a face.
Winding the grip and sheathing it in copper
Grips of horn or wood are wound in silver or copper wire and capped with sheet copper and silver.
Teaching the Zilong knife
The Zilong branch of the nine great Tibetan knife schools traces to the ancient imperial smith and has trained apprentices since 1980.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Tibetan knife production in Baiyu County is relatively concentrated, distributed mainly in the two townships of Hepo and Rejia.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Tibetan Jinshuduanzaojiyi · Tibetan Jinshuduanzaojiyi · Tibetan Jinshuduanzaojiyi · Tibetan Jinshu Forging Craftsmanship.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Cidan Wangjia (as recorded in the official archives of the associated inheritor): Male, Tibetan ethnicity, born in November 1946, a native of Lhatse County, Tibet Autonomous Region. Representative inheritor of Tibetan metal forging technique, a national-level intangible cultural heritage item from the third batch. A Tibetan metal forging artisan. The Lhatse Zhilong Tibetan knife is a branch among the nine major schools of Tibetan knives, and its knife-forging craft is counted among the founding lineages of the Gusi Tibetan knife. The Zhilong knives he forges are characterized by strong technical demand, exquisite workmanship, handsome appearance when worn, and an archaic, dignified quality. He began taking on apprentices in 1980 to carry out production and has trained a group of inheritors.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Esegama 03-1378
- Cidanwangjia 03-1379
- Long Duoranjie 03-1380
- Liedan 04-1883
- Laqiong 04-1884
- Gamadaiqing 05-2816
- Genqiudanzhen
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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