Intangible Cultural Heritage in Youth | Exploring the Mysteries of "Paper Longevity for Thousands of Years" in the Microscopic World | Jade Buckles | Youth
Xinhua News Agency, Hefei, June 9, walked into the laboratory of the Handmade Paper Research Institute of the University of Science and Technology of China, and the cabinets on three walls were filled with handmade paper samples collected from Anhui, Fujian, Zhejiang, Xizang, Sichuan and other places. Irregular fiber patterns are displayed on the computer, with fiber images resembling the DNA of handmade paper, revealing the "genetic code" of each handmade paper material and process.
Jingxian Xuan paper, Yunnan Dongba paper, Shandong mulberry paper, Qianshan Liansi paper, Fujian jade buckle paper... These papers made by hand copying are collectively referred to as handmade paper. The special materials and techniques of each handmade paper contain the mystery of "paper longevity for thousands of years".
Professor Tang Shukun, who is 63 years old this year, spends an average of 4 months every year walking in villages that produce various handmade papers, searching for inheritors of intangible cultural heritage made from various handmade papers, collecting paper samples and bringing them back to the laboratory as research samples. Since 2008, he has led his team to conduct on-site visits to over 300 villages and over 500 paper mills.
The Handmade Paper Research Institute is conducting fiber testing and observation of handmade paper. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhou Chang
"All the handmade paper and raw materials here are collected by us from villages and inheritors of intangible cultural heritage," said Tang Shukun.
After bringing these samples back to the laboratory, researchers from the Handmade Paper Research Institute will use microscopic instruments and various testing tools to observe the fiber structure and composition of different types of handmade paper, and test their durability, ink wetting, acid resistance, tensile strength, and other characteristics.
Four years ago, Qin Qing came to China University of Science and Technology to study graduate school and began to be exposed to handmade paper. "Every type of handmade paper is different, whether it is its raw material composition or special craftsmanship, it reflects the local culture, economy, folk customs and other different backgrounds, with very obvious locality and diversity." Qin Qing felt that every time he collected and analyzed paper patterns, it was like a process of exploration and decryption.
In May of this year, the 12th Handmade Paper Making Art Inheritance and Development Training Program of the University of Science and Technology of China, organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, successfully concluded its training program for the inheritors of China's intangible cultural heritage. Since 2016, the Handmade Paper Research Institute has trained 243 inheritors and practitioners of the national handmade paper-making intangible cultural heritage project in this training program.
Through a 30 day residency in a training class, these inheritors of intangible cultural heritage who have grown up through the experience of their ancestors no longer rely solely on touch and sight to judge the quality of their products, but learn to view their handmade paper from a scientific perspective.
The Handmade Paper Research Institute collected papermaking raw materials from Dongzhai, Guizhou. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhou Chang
A student from Ninghua, Fujian is the inheritor of jade paper. He was once discouraged by repeated setbacks and wanted to give up this skill. After participating in residential training in 2021, he regained his belief in inheriting the classic technique of jade paper and his confidence in revitalizing ancient papermaking. He went back to build the old paper mill in his hometown, which had already been dilapidated, and also established a jade paper making craft inheritance institute. In March of this year, the Handmade Paper Research Institute of the University of Science and Technology of China received the high-end jade buckle paper that he presided over the restoration.
The production process of the once famous black gold paper was once lost. The research team of the Handmade Paper Research Institute of the University of Science and Technology of China collaborated with a handmade paper workshop called Yiguzhai in Fuyang, Zhejiang. Through data collection and analysis, they traced the raw materials and searched for the last generation of village craftsmen who made black gold paper. After more than 7 years of literature excavation and dozens of experiments, the original appearance of black gold paper is becoming clearer.
The teachers and students of the research institute hope to use modern technology to present excellent traditional culture in a more scientific, interesting, and aesthetically pleasing form, thereby attracting more young people to understand, love, and participate, and better protecting and inheriting excellent traditional culture such as handmade paper.
Poster: Tang Ketao and Zhen Luoyi
Support: School of Journalism and Communication, Anhui Normal University
