In Gujiaxi Village, Daicun Town, there was a special papermaking process handed down by ancestors; however, in recent years, this process has gradually been “cold.†How to leave the process of losing the next generation to the next generation, in recent days, Gujiaxi villagers have an idea to declare intangible cultural heritage for the papermaking process.
90% used to make paper for a living
Daijia Town Gujiaxi Village is surrounded by lush bamboo forests. Backed by mountains, the village has a papermaking process that was passed down by bamboo ancestors. According to Gu's family history records, this process has been several hundred years old. In September of this year, after this newspaper reported on the traditional papermaking process of Gujiaxi Village (see the newspaper's last Paper Mill on September 4, 2nd Edition), not only did the outside world understand Gujiaxi's indigenous papermaking process, The Gujiaxi villagers also began to pay attention to this traditional craft.
According to the records of Gu's genealogy in the village, in ancient times, the Yuanshu paper produced by Gujiaxi village was famous in the capital Luoyang.
The process of earth-based paper making is very complicated. From green bamboo to the final paper, many processes are required. It is a very bitter activity and the technical content is also very high. “The papermaking technology is passed down from generation to generation, and it must be learned at a young age to learn it.†Gu Huaguang, a 75-year-old villager, said that in the early years, villagers in Gujiaxi village used papermaking as their mainstay in order to maintain their livelihoods. Economic sources. Before the 1960s, 90% of people in the village made paper for a living.
This craft is exiting the "stage"
With the development of economy, the traditional arts and crafts of the older generation of villagers have gradually faded out of sight of the villagers. Nowadays, the young people of Gujiaxi Village are unfamiliar with the mention of Tufa Paper.
“After the 1970s, due to the old production tools and the lack of technical updating, the use of paper made from earth-based papermaking has not been able to cater to the needs of the market." Gu Yunming said that relying on papermaking can no longer sustain the livelihood of the villagers. Young people in the village are also more willing to go out to work and earn a living.
At the same time, wastewater from traditional papermaking processes is difficult to deal with, which will have an impact on the ecological environment, and it will also cause the papermaking industry to further shrink in Gujiaxi Village. At present, only a few households in Gujiaxi Village are still making paper. The people who understand this craft are all over the age of 60.
Want to declare intangible cultural heritage
Gu Yunming, the director of Gujiaxi Village, has been pondering these days: In recent years, the number of people who understand the papermaking process in the village has become less and less. How can the soilless papermaking process be passed down? Gu Yunming and the village officials discussed together and everyone agreed that no matter how good life is, the ancestral craftsmanship cannot be lost.
For centuries, the soil-based papermaking process was about to be lost. This made the villagers in Gujiaxi village very anxious. Gu Yunming said that all the old people in the village told him to save the papermaking process.
Not long ago, Gu Yunming summoned the predecessors of the village and exercised the whole process of Tufa Paper again and recorded the whole process with video. They also want to declare intangible cultural heritage for this traditional craft in Gujiaxi Village.