[Explanation] Starting from the beginning of the spring every year, in a farmyard in Bomi County, Linzhi City, Tibet, you can always see the long and busy figure and a row of neatly arranged paper holders.
Wangjiu was once a staff member of the cultural department of Bomi County and was engaged in the rescue and protection of the intangible cultural heritage of the county. For many years, in order to excavate and protect the local traditional Tibetan paper craftsmanship, he walked through villages and walked all the villages in the county. After retiring, Wangjiu turned his home into a small Tibetan paper-making workshop.
[Same period] Tibetan papermaking skills and folk artists in Bomi County, Nyingchi City, Tibet
Bomi ’s Yigong and Guxiang areas have a long history of making Tibetan paper, so I think it is very meaningful to dig out and rescue Tibetan paper, so after I retire, I will ( On the basis of rescue and collecting data when I was in the post, I went to (do) actual operations and experiments.
【Explanation】 According to the introduction, the main raw material for making Tibetan paper is "Sorrel", which has certain toxicity. The Tibetan paper made of it has the characteristics of not being afraid of insect bites, not easy to rot, discoloration, and tough texture. In this regard, Wang Jiu told reporters that the raw materials for making Tibetan paper in Bomi area are mainly long petals, and the slender fibers, high gloss and strong tensile strength are all unique.
[Same period] Tibetan papermaking skills and folk artists in Bomi County, Nyingchi City, Tibet
The raw material of our Bomi Tibetan paper is mainly long-petal red incense. The best season for peeling the long-petal red incense is the tree dehydration season, which is equal to the end of March to the end of June. Tear it thinly like a thread, and after drying, dry it and store it.
[Commentary] Wangjiu ’s work on Tibetan paper production began in 2015. The current family workshop-style production is relatively small, but this “halfway” folk artist has first discovered the exploration, excavation and rescue of Bomi Tibetan paper art As a result, Tibetan paper from his hands has gradually been used in the fields of archival restoration, calligraphy, and painting.
It is reported that the Tibetan people have a long history of papermaking skills, which has a history of more than 1300 years. It was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage protection lists in 2006. Tibetan paper research experts claim that the traditional Tibetan paper-making process has the same roots as China's "Four Great Inventions".
[Same period] Xiquan Sangbu, a professor at Tibet University and an expert in Tibetan paper research
The traditional papermaking process of Tibetan paper is the same as our "Four Great Inventions" in China. In the study of the entire process of papermaking, we found that there are two papermaking technologies, one is casting method and the other is fishing method. Well, these two methods, our Tibet just inherited this pouring method, pouring pulp into this paper frame, and then making only one piece of paper per paper frame.
[Explanation] It is reported that the Tibetan paper in the early years was generally used for making scriptures, archives, writing documents and classic ancient books, and printing banknotes. Today, in the restoration of ancient books and historical archives, Tibetan paper is still the material of choice.
Reporter Gonsanram reports from Lhasa, Tibet
Editor in charge: [Chen Haifeng]