Xiaotun Ancient Papermaking

Guizhou
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Xiaotun is 25 kilometers northwest of Zhenren County and is famous throughout the country for its ancient papermaking. The ancient papermaking technique is mainly concentrated in Longjing Village, Xiaotun Township. Xiaotun ancient papermaking began during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. With Longjing as the center, it spread across six neighboring natural villages, with family workshops as production units. At its peak, there were more than 1,100 workshops, more than 3,000 employees, and an annual production capacity of nearly 100 million sheets. Xiaotun ancient papermaking is strictly produced in accordance with the process described in the book "The Exploitation of the Works of Nature", and the production process and the names of production utensils have always used the ancient names. With the bark of the mulberry tree as the main raw material, it is steamed with lime and sold in units of knives and bundles (80 sheets for one knife, 70 knives for one bundle) after 72 processes. It is divided into five varieties according to the changes in the ingredients: golden paper, black paper, writing paper, wallpaper, and bundling paper, with four specifications of 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, and 1.8 feet square. The papermaking process is passed down from master to apprentice and from father to son. At present, the main inheritors of Xiaotun ancient papermaking are the Liu family of Longjing. Liu Shiyang, who was named "the inheritor of the national intangible cultural heritage of parchment paper making skills", is the 10th generation inheritor. He is known as the preserver of the living fossil of ancient Chinese papermaking. Longjing Village is now the cultural heritage site with the largest scale and best benefits of ancient papermaking in the country. There are more than 650 papermaking workshops, more than 4,500 direct and indirect employees, and an annual income of 6 million yuan. Liu Shiyang's original "golden paper" has become a landmark product of Xiaotun ancient papermaking due to its unique raw materials and ingredients, special feel and appearance, and elegant effects used for binding, decoration and craft materials. Xiaotun, Zhenfeng County, via S309 and X654, drive about 40 minutes, no tickets.

Intangible culture related to the heritage

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