In the Longjing, Banpo, and Renchao areas of Xiaotun Township, Zhenfeng County, a complete and ancient papermaking process using bark and cactus as raw materials is still maintained. Up to 72 papermaking processes are simple and natural, and Song Yingxing The book “Tiangong Kaiwu” is exactly the same as described in the book, and it is hailed as the “living fossil” of ancient papermaking techniques. Among these, one peasant, who used to make papermaking for generations, still continues to inherit this tradition. Ancient ancient papermaking process. He is the villager You Jinhua of Longjing Village, Xiaotun Township, Zhenfeng County.

The processing of Eugene's traditional white tissue paper seems very simple, but it is extremely complicated to operate. There are 72 processes such as peeling, foaming, kneading, playing and mixing. The process is simple and natural, and each process has an important role. They are indispensable. The production mainly relies on tools such as curtains, shelves, and brown brushes, all of which are hand-crafted. The raw material for white cotton paper is mainly composed of hides and skins. During the production process, lime is first used to corrode the hides, making them soft, and the plant fibers are extracted therefrom; and then coal fire is used to cook the skin that has been eroded by the lime. Dissolve the plant fibers, disperse and bleach the raw materials with plant ash, and then, after many processes such as copying, drying and yards, form the finished products of paper. In processing, add water, cactus and other spices. Because the white cotton tissue that has been processed preserves the original traditional craftsmanship, and has the characteristics of good toughness, water absorption, and strong corrosive properties, its shelf life can reach thousands of years. In the local people’s home, we can see that there are hundreds of inheritances. The family tree of the year is still clearly visible.


Eugene Hua processed white cotton paper

Since the production process of white cotton paper was introduced into Xiaotun in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, it has a history of over 300 years so far. During centuries of years, this ancient and natural traditional craftsmanship has created splendor. In the 29th year of the Republic of China, Baimian Paper was invited to participate in the Nanjing Saibao Club and was well received by the participants. It won the prestigious award, which resulted in the widespread circulation of white cotton tissue. The sales volume of the product has suddenly risen and it is sold to Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan and Sichuan. At the same time as across the country, quickly sold to the United States, Vietnam and other countries. As a result of the reform and opening up, Eugene, who had been making paper for a living, inherited the traditional craftsmanship of his father’s generation and constantly improved the production process and strived to improve the quality of the product. Ancient papermaking was then obtained in his hands. Better inheritance. In 2006, the colorful Guizhou Tourism Product Design Contest won the grand prize in the Southwest Division and was successfully selected as the finalist in Guizhou Province.

However, with the continuous development of the economy and society, ancient papermaking has been affected. Certain former production and processing households in the village also stopped the ancient papermaking process. However, only farmers relying mainly on Eugene are continuing this traditional process. In order to make the ancient papermaking process pass on forever, the local party committee and government also successfully declared the ancient papermaking process as the first national intangible cultural heritage in 2006.

Eugene said that with the interest and support of the local party committee and government, it will continue to do a good job of papermaking in ancient France and pass on the traditional process of ancient papermaking forever.