Zhijian Processing Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
The paper-ornament processing techniques of the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties—sizing and powdering—and the waxed paper, powder-wax paper, gold-dust paper, and cold-gold paper of the Tang dynasty were exquisite and meticulous, laying the foundation for the development of paper-ornament processing craft through the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. In the mid-Qing period, Xuan paper from Jing County, Anhui, gradually replaced Xuande paper, and the processing craft of paper ornaments reached its zenith at that time. From the late Qing to the Republican era, the paper-ornament industry and its processing techniques gradually declined toward extinction.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The refined paper-ornament processing technique is an extension and development of traditional papermaking craft; it mainly reworks paper so that its texture becomes finer, its appearance more exquisite, and its cultural content richer. China's paper-ornament processing craft has a long history: as early as the Eastern Han dynasty there already appeared the techniques of calendering, moth-proofing, and dyeing. Historically, the Chengxin Hall paper of the Southern Tang and the Xuande paper craft of the Ming dynasty were famous for a time and exerted important influence on the innovation and development of later paper-ornament processing. When New China was founded, the paper-ornament processing techniques handed down from history were already at the edge of extinction. Yet how to protect and transmit the restored paper-ornament craft remains a major difficulty.
Mixing colour and laying out the sheet
The decisive manual stage: the colour ratio is set and the pattern is drawn by hand, so the craft needs real draughting skill on top of papermaking.
Hand-painted gold powder wax sheets
One of the lost treasures revived here: hand-drawn patterns sealed with powdered wax, each sheet's diffusion of colour differing slightly.
Improving the imitation-gold sizing
The inheritor Liu Jing devised a new sizing for imitation-gold sheets so that the gilt no longer oxidises and blackens in damp conditions.
Gold-and-silver stamped sheets and cinnabar sheets
Stamped sheets depend on the die and the colour ratio while cinnabar sheets depend on even coverage; both rest on sizing and powdering techniques attested as early as the Eastern Han.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The paper-ornament processing around the Chaohu area relies on the Duoyingxuan Painting and Calligraphy Supplies Co., Ltd. to form a factory-workshop style studio for refined paper ornaments. Its reworking objects are mostly skin-fiber papers such as Jing County Xuan paper, and the work is assigned by type: gold-painted powder-wax paper emphasizes hand drawing, gold-and-silver printed paper and cinnabar paper emphasize proportioning and brushing, and sheep-brain paper requires repeated glue adjustment and airing. The division of labor within the workshop is fine, with each person mastering only one specialty, differing from the all-round approach of the family-workshop era. The paper-ornament industry of this area and the calligraphy-and-painting market support each other. After the Reform and Opening-up, the Chaohu Duoyingxuan Stationery Factory devoted itself to studying this ancient craft and restored famous products lost for a century—such as hand-painted gold-powder wax paper, gold-and-silver printed paper, cinnabar paper, and sheep-brain paper. Liu Jing, a national-level representative inheritor, began studying paper-ornament processing in 1995; grounding himself in a university fine-arts background, he focused on color proportioning and hand drawing of paper patterns, and innovated the formula for gold-dust paper, overcoming the traditional imitation-gold's weakness of easily oxidizing and turning black in damp conditions. Several disciples have already been able to master the paper-ornament processing craft fairly comprehensively.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
After the Reform and Opening-up, the Chaohu Duoyingxuan Stationery Factory in Anhui Province devoted itself to researching this ancient craft and restored some famous products lost for over a century, such as hand-painted gold-powder wax paper, gold-and-silver printed paper, cinnabar paper, and sheep-brain paper. Protecting and developing China's traditional refined paper-ornament craft has considerable practical significance for enriching the people's material and cultural life, flourishing the cultural market, and promoting the development of the calligraphy-and-painting art market. Liu Jing (per the official archive of the associated inheritor): male, Han ethnicity, born December 1972, from Hefei City, Anhui Province. Representative inheritor of the paper-ornament processing craft, a national-level intangible cultural heritage project, in the fifth batch. Senior arts and crafts artist. Began studying paper-ornament processing in 1995. A solid university fine-arts foundation laid a good groundwork for the color proportioning of paper ornaments and the hand drawing of their patterns. Innovated the gold-dust paper formula, overcoming the traditional imitation-gold's weakness of easily oxidizing and turning black in damp conditions, so that the ancient traditional craft could be continued and developed. Several disciples have already been able to master the paper-ornament processing craft fairly comprehensively. Received the title of Advanced Individual in Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Work awarded by the Ministry of Culture.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Liu Jing 05-2826
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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