Traditional culture is timeless. From May 1st, a series of reports "Millennial Classics to the New Line" will go deep into the factory, approach the craftsmen, reproduce the rice paper, ceramics, silk, wood carving and other Chinese millennium classic industries, how to introduce new quality productivity, so that the traditional culture glows with new vitality.
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During the May Day holiday, in a thread-bound cultural park in Xuanchengjing County, Anhui Province, a number of Song edition books with precious research value were being printed. This is a major project of Song culture approved by the General Administration of Press and Publication of the People's Republic of China - the protection and reconstruction project of ancient books of the Song Edition, and the first batch of 38 kinds will be published within the year. In order to reproduce the peerless charm of the Song edition of the book thousands of years ago, the complete set of "Song Edition Collection" uses special handmade rice paper.
Xuan paper, which began in the Tang Dynasty, originated in Jing County, Xuancheng City, Anhui Province, has a history of more than 1,500 years, because of the characteristics of long-lasting and not brittle, absorbing water and moistening ink, not moth-eating and non-rotting, etc., it is known as the reputation of "paper longevity for thousands of years". "The rice paper, which is as thin as a cicada's wings, has been passed through the hands of generations of literati and ink writers, so that countless ancient rare books, famous books and paintings have been preserved to this day, carrying Chinese culture for thousands of years. The production skills of rice paper have also been inherited in Jing County, Anhui Province.
From a tree to a piece of paper, the gorgeous transformation of rice paper requires the exquisite skills of craftsmen accumulated over time.
"Desperate" are the two key links of rice paper. "Water depth" is "paper fishing", and hot is drying paper. The paper curtain made of bamboo strips is swayed up and down in the pulp water, one is lifted and one is deep, one is shallow, and the two paper workers need to be highly coordinated to ensure that the thickness of each paper is uniform and the quality is excellent.
Reporter: How long have you been doing paper fishing?
Ding Zhilong, a paper worker: It's been almost 40 years, and when I learned the arts, I got up at 3 o'clock every day, at least 12 hours, all of which were manual, at least a few people, and now the machinery has replaced a part, and there are fewer people and less labor.
The rice paper masters have practiced the old skills for many years, and now with the help of the research and development of new equipment, they have played a better role. Propellers are added to the bottom of the paper pool, so that the pulp can be easily broken up and will not sink to the bottom. In the paper drying workshop, the mud wall in the past has also become a steel plate wall, which is not only not easy to crack, but also increases the thermal conductivity of the wall through internal electric heating, making the temperature control more accurate, and the quality of the paper is also higher.
Good rice paper, listen to the sound softly, look pure and translucent, pick up thin and light, stretch but not break, moisten the ink without deformation.
Traditional handicraft techniques combined with new technologies, the thousand-year-old "unique work" has not only been passed down to the present, but also saved time and effort.
From a piece of paper to a book, it takes dozens of processes
The preservation time of rice paper can reach 1,000 years, so it has the reputation of "paper longevity for thousands of years". Today, it has become an important carrier for the continuation of Chinese civilization. In 2008, the original photocopying project of Wenyuan Pavilion's "Siku Quanshu" was launched, which was completed after 6 years, reproducing the exquisite charm of ancient books. Wenyuan Pavilion "Siku Quanshu" a total of more than 30,000 volumes, the amount of work is huge, for the layout, font, binding and other aspects of the requirements are extremely high, which undoubtedly engaged in the production of rice paper and the production of thread binding of the old craftsmen put forward higher requirements.
Han Bo, director of the workshop of Sanxitang Thread Binding Cultural Park, Jing County, Xuancheng City, Anhui Province: Because from paper scheduling to all aspects, rice paper is not in place, it cannot be printed there, and the workers are not in place, so it cannot be bound.
How to use rice paper to better preserve and inherit ancient books, craftsmen in the new era are looking for better methods.
Printing on rice paper is a difficult problem. Xuan paper has the characteristics of ink absorption, so in the printing process, the adjuster and the printing machine need to adjust the picture and color correction many times to restore the color and texture of the original rice paper used in calligraphy and painting as much as possible. In addition, rice paper is soft and breathable, so it cannot go directly into the printing press. After countless experiments, the developers finally found a printing method to mount the paper on the back of the rice paper, which not only printed once, but also greatly improved the degree of reduction.
Chen Guanglan, general manager of Sanxitang Thread Decoration Cultural Park, Jing County, Xuancheng City, Anhui Province: Xuan paper is light, soft and thin, and modern new technology is basically not used.
After printing, the rice paper still needs to go through 38 processes before it can be written, and most of these processes need to be operated manually, such as thread-bound folding.
Zhang Yunfang, inheritor of ancient book binding skills in Jing County, Xuancheng City, Anhui Province: You see that we fold it, it's quite simple, isn't it?
The rice paper is delicate and soft, and the printed pages are folded according to the middle seam, and the way of hand rubbing is not only slow, but also occasionally affects the beauty of the rice paper.
Han Bo, director of the workshop of Sanxitang Wire Installation Cultural Park, Jing County, Xuancheng City, Anhui Province: This paper can't be pinched, no matter how it is done, I found a lot of things on the Internet, and finally found this kind of small grain. When they don't have a finger cover, they can fold 3,000 a day, and when they use a finger cover, they can fold 5,000 to 6,000 a day.
The master's unique craftsmanship, coupled with the new ideas of young people, collided with the spark of the fusion of tradition and the new era. In July 2022, the entire set of the exquisite original large photocopy of Wenyuan Pavilion's "Siku Quanshu" was collected in the Central General Library of the National Version Museum of China, and some of the original copies of the three pavilions of Wenjin Pavilion, Wensu Pavilion and Wenlan Pavilion that still exist in the world were displayed on the same stage for the first time.
Chen Guanglan, General Manager of Sanxitang Thread Decoration Cultural Park, Jing County, Xuancheng City, Anhui Province: We use such a way that the public can touch and feel, and then spread and share it with more people.
Millennial treasures have derived many cultural and creative products
Spanning thousands of years, rice paper has allowed classic ancient books to be better inherited, and has also flown into the homes of ordinary people with a more wonderful attitude. It is no longer just a piece of paper, but a rice paper fan, a rice paper invitation, a rice paper peace charm, a rice paper study, and a hearty rice paper sketch. This business card of traditional Chinese culture attracts people from all over the world. With the wisdom of the ancients, combined with the new quality of productivity, this thousand-year-old treasure is also constantly moving towards the new.
Editor in charge: Liu Bo