This is a tasteful push, so the panda can actually ...
Papermaking improved by Cai Lun in the Eastern Han Dynasty is one of the four great inventions in ancient China. The materials used are bark, hemp, cloth and fish nets, etc., which are made through the processes of frustration, pounding, frying and baking.
The picture shows a traditional, hand-made, two-curtain "super three feet" rice paper in the true sense. Photo by Han Suyuan
In a village dedicated to Cai Lun in Shaanxi, he made a "scented" rice paper.
The picture shows the workers are drying the "Xuan paper" with "taste". Zhang Yuanshe
The round giant panda has always been everyone's heart and soul, and it has a bloody face, and has won countless fans all over the world.
In fact, pandas not only have face value, but also "connotation".
The picture shows the feces of a giant panda. Zhang Yuanshe
In this village, the pandas “produced” are made into “xuan paper”, which not only does not smell, but also smells faint of bamboo.
The picture shows Liu Xiaodong introducing "Panda Paper". Zhang Yuanshe
Liu Xiaodong, the inventor of "Panda Paper", said: "The giant panda is a national treasure, and ancient papermaking is one of the four great inventions in ancient China. The combination of the two has turned feces into treasure."
The picture shows the ancient papermaking in Qiliang Village. Zhang Yuanshe
71-year-old Liu Xiaodong is from Qiliang Village, Zhouzhi County, Shaanxi Province. This village at the foot of the northern foot of the Qinling Mountains has been a papermaking town since the Han Dynasty and has a history of thousands of years.
According to legend, because everyone in the village is engaged in papermaking and no one is farming, the village name is changed to "Abandoned Grain Village", and the name is changed to "Qiliang Village" according to homophony.
The picture shows Liu Xiaodong and staff sorting panda droppings. Zhang Yuanshe
After retiring, Liu Xiaodong became the director of the local Qiliang Caihou Paper Museum, and has been devoted to the protection and inheritance of ancient papermaking for many years.
An accidental opportunity in 2016 caused him to wonder that the panda's feces contain a lot of bamboo fibers. Can the panda's feces be used to make paper?
The picture shows the staff cooking the panda's excrement. Zhang Yuanshe
So Liu Xiaodong went to the Qinling Giant Panda Breeding Base, brought the panda feces, and started the research and development of "Panda Paper". Two years later, a real "panda paper" was produced.
The picture shows the staff showing "Panda Paper" fishing paper. Zhang Yuanshe
The production of "Panda Paper" uses ancient techniques, and the production process is quite cumbersome. It is divided into manure sorting, elutriation, quicklime stirring, soaking, cooking, secondary elutriation, beating, mixing with paper pulp, fishing paper, drying step.
The picture shows the staff drying the "panda paper". Zhang Yuanshe
Because it is made by ancient manual methods, the production cycle of "Panda Paper" is as long as one month. In addition, the panda's feces can only be used in autumn and winter, because the pandas eat old bamboo in these two seasons, and the fiber of the feces is relatively thick. The "panda paper" produced in this way is flexible and delicate, and has the characteristics of bamboo paper and the advantages of pu paper.
The picture shows the "panda paper" pulp. Zhang Yuanshe
Although "rolling" can eat and pull, but after all, the number is scarce. Limited by the “supply” of raw materials, the output of “Panda Paper” in Qiliang Village has been low. The annual output of the “Panda Paper” in the 50cm bucket square is less than 10,000 sheets, so its price is much higher than ordinary rice paper, but it is still Can't stop the panda fan's love for it.
The picture shows a screenshot of Liu Xiaodong's WeChat dialogue.
Some people even "harassed" Liu Xiaodong frequently in order to buy "panda paper", almost "begging".
In 2017, Taiwanese artist Zheng Zhihua was on Weibo @ 起 良 蔡侯 纸 Museum, buying Caihou paper. Many fans also posted on the Weibo @this museum, shouting "Zheng Zhihua called you to buy paper".
Then Liu Xiaodong mailed Cai Houzhi to Zheng Zhihua with "Panda Paper".
Many netizens praised Zheng Zhihua's calligraphy while leaving messages: the taste must be good!
Now, with the rise of "Panda Paper" fame, Liu Xiaodong has received many calls from Beijing, Jiangsu, Shanghai and other places to buy "Panda Paper". Many netizens also asked about the purchase method and made fun on Weibo, and many cultural companies also had a strong interest in "Panda Paper".
This gave Liu Xiaodong great confidence in the spread and inheritance of ancient papermaking. Liu Xiaodong believes that "panda paper" is both innovation and inheritance. All this is to pass on the ancient papermaking skills of Qiliang Village, so that more and more people will contact and understand the ancient papermaking.
In the next step, they will also develop various paper derivatives such as limited edition gifts and souvenirs to make this ancient skill "rejuvenate".
According to Wang Zhi, deputy director of the Xi'an Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center, the inheritance of traditional skills also requires continuous trial and innovation, but it must be based on inheritance. "Panda Paper" follows the traditional papermaking skills, makes new attempts in the selection of raw materials, and allows more people to pay attention to and understand the traditional papermaking skills. The core is to inherit the ancient papermaking skills.
Author: Zhang Yuan