China News Service, Hefei, March 7th: Title: Huizhou merchant sisters sell Huizhou ink online with innovative design inheriting the fragrance of ink for thousands of years
Author Chu Weiwei
Walking into Shangzhuang Village, Jixi County, Xuancheng City, Anhui Province, the air is filled with the fragrance of ink.
At Shangzhuang Lao Hu Kaiwen Ink Factory, sisters Hu Cuixia and Hu Yinghua go online to the live broadcast room on time at 9:30 every morning.
Pine smoke ink, color ink, cinnabar ink...the sisters' live broadcast stage is filled with all kinds of Hui ink.
In front of the camera, her elder sister Hu Cuixia is steady and gentle, while her younger sister Hu Yinghua is fashionable and sassy. They are familiar with the production and categories of Hui ink.
Hui ink gets its name from the fact that it was produced in ancient Huizhou Prefecture.
Shangzhuang Shangzhuang Village is the hometown of Hu Tianzhu, one of the four masters of Hui ink in the Qing Dynasty. "Hu Kaiwen" is the name of the Hui Ink Shop founded by Hu Tianzhu. The village has a long history of ink making.
In 2006, Huizhou ink production techniques were included in the first batch of China's national intangible cultural heritage list.
At the end of January, Hu Yinghua was introducing Huizhou Ink through a live webcast.
Photo by China News Service reporter Chu Weiwei
The sisters’ father, Hu Jiaming, was the director of an ink factory and the municipal intangible inheritor of Hui ink production skills.
Over the past 40 years, he has devoted himself to the study of ink making and assisted in the construction of the Hu Kaiwen Memorial Hall to inherit the quality and reputation of the time-honored brand.
“In 2009, my father was old and called us back to Shangzhuang,” Hu Yinghua said.
"In the past, our fathers used the oldest sales method. They filled a satchel with samples and used one pair of legs to sell them all over the country. The goods were sold on consignment, and they were sold and then collected. If they could not be sold, the recycled ink would be damaged due to preservation. All bad things were scrapped." The two sisters recalled seeing their parents getting up early and working in the dark all year round to find sales for the ink, and they were worried about whether they could take on this responsibility.
The sisters have lived in the ink factory since they were young, and they help in the factory during holidays.
When I was in college, my classmates exclaimed when they came to play: "Your home smells so good!" This inspired their sense of pride.
"It feels like it has its own 'fragrance', and the life we take for granted becomes meaningful." Hu Yinghua said that in order to better inherit the ink factory, they did not return to their hometown immediately after graduation, but accumulated experience in Shanghai and Jiangsu. Business, my sister studies management.
At that time, my father's ink factory, which relied on traditional methods, was facing difficulties and was unable to maintain it for a time.
In 2009, Hu Yinghua seized the opportunity of e-commerce and moved the ink factory online, becoming the first time-honored Huizhou ink brand to open an online store in the area, with sales in one month exceeding that of the previous year.
Hu Yinghua said: "Through online sales and publicity, Huimo's popularity is slowly increasing, and other time-honored Huimo brands have developed online."
At the end of January, Hu Cuixia was inspecting the ink products at the ink factory in Shangzhuang Village, Jixi County, Xuancheng City, Anhui Province.
Photo by China News Service reporter Chu Weiwei
At the same time, the sisters innovated product design to adapt to the tastes of young people, launching Huimo with inspirational words and simple patterns.
"In the past, the patterns of landscapes and figures carved by Hui ink were a bit primitive." Hu Cuixia said that the ink factory also produces large ink with collectible value and small square ink that is convenient for grinding ink. The smooth ink back is modified with grooves. "The characteristic is Selling point.”
In 2021, the sisters tried live broadcasting to tell the history and cultural value of Hui ink to increase the audience's sense of participation and desire to purchase.
"There were only a few people in the live broadcast room for the first time, and (the sisters) couldn't speak well." Gradually, the number of people increased as their conversation skills became more fluent. "It attracted many young fans and overseas Chinese, and they became more confident." Hu Cuixia said that through the Internet platform, Pie Kua Mo has spread out of Jixi and even reached Southeast Asia, Europe and the United States.
"In the past, the Huizhou ink industry was dominated by men. Nowadays, women use innovative thinking and keen market insights to bring new vitality to the traditional industry." Hu Cuixia believes that women can bring new perspectives in product design and marketing strategies to help Huizhou ink. Adapt to modern market needs.
In the past, Jixi Huizhou merchants, represented by Hu Xueyan, Wang Tiyu, etc., wrote the legend of Huizhou merchants with their unique business philosophy and perseverance.
Nowadays, more and more new Huizhou businessmen like Hu Cuixia and Hu Yinghua stay in their hometown, connect with the world with their fingertips, and continue to write new stories of Huizhou businessmen... (End)