Shuhuazhan Making Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
Dingxing calligraphy and painting felt grew out of the old local methods of making folk felt. Felt-making has a long history among the people of China, and spread goods such as tent felt and bed felt were once common throughout north and south; the felt-makers of the Dingxing area struck out along a road of their own, turning felt from a means of keeping warm to a material for calligraphy and painting: the surface had to be flat and even, able to hold ink without robbing the brush of it, and sturdy enough to withstand the repeated rise and fall of the brush without shedding. The He family ancestors made calligraphy and painting felt by these methods early on, and by the Qing dynasty He Shun set down the craft formulas and production essentials one by one, transmitting them by oral instruction and personal example from generation to generation; four generations have now passed.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Dingxing calligraphy and painting felt craft is a felt-making technique transmitted in the area of Dingxing County, Baoding City, Hebei Province, which uses wool as its raw material to produce felt that holds ink and drains water and is suited to calligraphy and painting. Dingxing County lies in the heart of the central Hebei plain, with level terrain, broad fertile fields and luxuriant vegetation, and its farming and livestock raising are well developed. The raising of flocks supplied the raw material for making calligraphy and painting felt; its superior geographical position, convenient transport and strong cultural atmosphere made it easy for the product to be sold and spread. The Dingxing calligraphy and painting felt craft uses several kinds of wool as raw material and tools including the bow, bamboo screen, rattan, stove, bellows, iron cauldron, earthenware pails and jars, porcelain cups and the wooden boards of the felt-washing gate. The wool is processed through steps such as picking out the wool, beating, scalding with boiling water, forming, rolling, washing, rubbing the edges and squaring the corners, and once the wool has been interlocked to greater density it is simply dried in the air to give the finished product; the whole process is carried out purely by hand. Its colours are mainly white, black and grey. The products include first-grade wool calligraphy and painting felt, extra-grade wool calligraphy and painting felt and printed-grid tracing felt (with printed characters and strokes), amounting to over a thousand varieties in many specifications and thicknesses that can be cut to any size, which well meets artists' needs for both wall-mounted and table-top work. Dingxing calligraphy and painting felt has been on sale for more than 30 years at Rongbaozhai in Beijing, Duoyunxuan in Shanghai and the Yangliuqing painting shop in Tianjin. The Dingxing calligraphy and painting felt craft is closely related to the folk felt-making techniques transmitted in China for a thousand years; it continues the Chinese traditional techniques of making tent felt and bed felt and is a typical representative of the craft of making felt specifically for calligraphy and painting. The He family ancestors of Dingxing County were already making calligraphy and painting felt from several kinds of wool in earlier times. The Dingxing calligraphy and painting felt craft arose alongside the art of calligraphy and painting, has witnessed and helped to advance the development of that art in China, and is an important vehicle for the study of the culture of the scholar's studio.
Documented process steps
The Dingxing calligraphy and painting felt craft uses several kinds of wool as raw material and tools including the bow, bamboo screen, rattan, stove, bellows, iron cauldron, earthenware pails and jars, porcelain cups and the wooden boards of the felt-washing gate. The wool is processed through steps such as picking out the wool, beating, scalding with boiling water, forming, rolling, washing, rubbing the edges and squaring the corners, and once the wool has been interlocked to greater density it is simply dried in the air to give the finished product; the whole process is carried out purely by hand.
Sorting and opening the fleece
The fleece is sorted of dirt and straw then beaten with a bow until the tangled fibres open into loose wool; the stroke must be even, for too little leaves a sheddy felt and too much damages the fibre and its resilience.
Hot-water fulling and moulding on a bamboo screen
The wool is laid on a bamboo screen and scalded repeatedly with boiling water so the fibres entangle, then rolled, washed, edged and squared; once the interlocked density is enough it is simply dried in the shade, entirely by hand.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The surface nap of the felt is evenly distributed and suitably spaced, flat yet full of elasticity and toughness, and it has the property of absorbing water and preserving ink. In addition, the few small workshops scattered through the villages around Dingxing County also transmit this craft.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
By the Qing dynasty the He family felt-maker He Shun further perfected the calligraphy and painting felt craft, passing the related craft formulas and production essentials from generation to generation by oral instruction and personal example; four generations have been transmitted to date. At present, besides relying on family transmission, social training has also become one of the main ways in which the craft is passed on. Today the project's inheritors strive to advance the transmission and development of the craft and create employment through production practice, so that this cultural heritage continues to play a positive role in increasing local people's incomes and promoting social harmony.
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)
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