Muhuoziyinshuajishu
01 · Historical Records
Dongyuan Village is located in the southwest of Ruian City, Zhejiang Province. According to the local 'Wang Clan Genealogy of Taiyuan Commandery' (Taiyuan jun Wang shi zong pu), in the early Yuan dynasty Wang Famao, who lived in seclusion in Anxi County, Fujian Province, began to introduce wooden movable-type printing technology into the compiling of clan (lineage) genealogies; the craft of 'ziji' (the technique of compiling genealogies using wooden movable-type printing) thus came into being and has been transmitted uninterrupted through the generations. In the Zhengde reign of the Ming dynasty, some descendants of Wang Famao moved from Fujian to Pingyang, Zhejiang. In the first year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing dynasty (1736), Wang Yingzhong, the fifth-generation grandson of Wang Famao, led his descendants from Pingyang to Dongyuan, and the 'ziji' craft took root in Dongyuan and has been transmitted to the present. The production process of the Dongyuan wooden movable-type printing technique comprises twenty operations—character carving, type sorting, typesetting, proofreading, printing, circle marking, branch ruling, character filling, volume division, temporary binding, sheet cutting, and thread binding—fully recreating the working scene of ancient movable-type printing, and serving as the best material proof that wooden movable-type printing originated in our country.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Dongyuan wooden movable-type printing technique has a history of more than eight hundred years, and is the only such wooden movable-type printing craft known to have been preserved in China to the present and still in use, worthy of being called a 'living fossil' of world printing technology.
Archival Process Records
The production process of the Dongyuan wooden movable-type printing technique comprises twenty operations—character carving, type sorting, typesetting, proofreading, printing, circle marking, branch ruling, character filling, volume division, temporary binding, sheet cutting, and thread binding—fully recreating the working scene of ancient movable-type printing and serving as the best material proof that wooden movable-type printing originated in China.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The wooden movable type of Dongyuan Village in Ruian belongs solely to the Wang lineage. According to the 'Wang Clan Genealogy of Taiyuan Commandery', in the early Yuan dynasty Wang Famao, living in seclusion in Anxi, Fujian, introduced wooden movable type into genealogy compilation; in the Zhengde reign of the Ming his descendants moved to Pingyang, and in the first year of the Qianlong reign the fifth-generation grandson Wang Yingzhong moved again to Dongyuan, after which the 'ziji' craft was not broken. The process has twenty operations, from character carving, type sorting, typesetting, and proofreading to circle marking, branch ruling, character filling, volume division, sheet cutting, and thread binding. Wang Chaohui learned the craft from his great-uncle Wang Puru and his cousin Wang Chuankun, and now serves as technical advisor at the Dongyuan exhibition hall.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
With the rapid development of mechanized printing, there are very few inheritors of the engraving and printing techniques of the Dongyuan wooden movable-type printing technique, which is on the verge of extinction and urgently needs protection. Wang Chaohui (per the official inheritor archive): male, Han ethnicity, born December 1955, a native of Ruian City, Zhejiang Province. Wooden movable-type printing technician. According to the Wang clan genealogy, during the Song dynasty the Wang ancestors lived in the Hangzhou area and already mastered the wooden block movable-type printing technique. In the Wanli reign of the Ming dynasty the Wang descendants moved to Ruian. The most prosperous period of the Wang printing shop was during the Qianlong reign of the Qing dynasty, when it employed more than ten craftsmen and had six workshops, mainly printing books, genealogies, certificates, and letter paper. In 1964 Wang Chaohui entered school; in 1973 he graduated from junior high school. He studied genealogy compiling under his master Wang Puru (great-uncle) and his cousin Wang Chuankun. After completing his apprenticeship he formally engaged in 'ziji'—the wooden movable-type printing craft. He serves as technical advisor to the Ruian City Dongyuan Wooden Movable-Type Printing Technique Exhibition Hall, demonstrating on site, taking apprentices, and transmitting the wooden movable-type printing culture. A representative inheritor of the third batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage items, for the wooden movable-type printing technique. Lin Chuyin (per the official inheritor archive): male, Han ethnicity, born April 1934, a native of Ruian City, Zhejiang Province. Wooden movable-type printing technician. After retirement he took up his old trade again, bringing his three sons to compile genealogies. He actively publicizes excellent national culture and founded a wooden movable-type printing exhibition hall, displaying more than one hundred genealogies he had preserved. A representative inheritor of the third batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage items, for the wooden movable-type printing technique.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Wang Chaohui 03-1399
- Lin Chuyin 03-1400
- Wang Chuanqiao
- Wang Zhiren
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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