Zhi Yuan： Temperatures of Handmade Paper 传递手工紙的溫度

Professor Yuan Bao, Academy of Arts & Design at Tsinghua University. Prof. Yuan is an expert in the study of handmade paper as well as the advocate for its renewal. The video was to document a field trip his class took to the origin of xuanzhi 宣紙, the high quality paper made in 泾县，Anhui Province 安徽省.

Paper- making is one of the four ancient Chinese technology achievements. By late Eastern Han Dynasty 東漢, almost 2000 years ago, the invention credited to Cai Lun 蔡伦 has been well established.

Xuanzhi 宣紙 is different from the other papers since its main ingredients are procured from local Qing Tan Pi 青檀皮（ the bark of the tree which is resilient, and with long fibers ), Sha Tien Straw 沙田稻草( with strong shorter fibers ) and the stream waters 溪水. It is said that “ the bark fiber serves as the bone, the straw’s as the muscle, they compliment each other to achieve an overall strong and even body. “

It takes 108 steps to make the final product, with three critical stages:
1. “Capturing floating floc “ 撈紙 （ putting finely woven screen into pool of pulp slurry to get the evenly thickness on screen )
2. Drying the paper 晒紙，in 50C degree 3. Inspection 檢紙

In the video, there is another element added to the process, Zhi Yao 紙药. It is to extract the resins from a particular plant, in this case the 楊桃藤子，to ensue the evenness of the fibers’ spread, enhance the viscosity, and make paper layers separate easier. Each manufacturer has its own secret Zhi Yao.

Xuanzhi is superior to all other papers, and highly prized for calligraphy and ink painting, due to its fine characteristics of ink absorption, stability, endurance and bug-proof. Water marks as well as colors can be added to suit modern market demands as well as personalized the paper. 

Video, courtesy of Ms. Ren Qian, Academy of Arts and Design at Tsinghua University.