GUARDIANS OF AN ANCIENT CRAFT
Father passes woodblock printing skills to his daughter, and together they work to popularize its unique character
Chen Yishi, 73, of Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, has devoted most of his life to woodblock printing, an ancient art that has embodied the charm of Chinese characters for hundreds of years.
In 2006, the traditional craft was listed among China’s first items of national intangible cultural heritage, and Chen has been honored as a representative inheritor. In 2009, Chinese woodblock printing was included in UNESCO’s Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
The ancient craft, now largely replaced by modern printing techniques, is no longer widely used to communicate. It mainly appears as a traditional art form. It has a particular beauty that draws the admiration of many around the world. Great patience, diligence and skill are required to carve a single block of wood. To complete a book, craftsmen must carve dozens of blocks.
Known as the “living fossil” of printing, woodblock printing originated in China during the Tang
Dynasty (618-907). Inheritors of the craft follow the ancient ways, using traditional tools to carve characters and patterns on a wooden block. Next, ink is applied to the carved face and blank pages of paper, silk or other material are pressed down on the ink, picking up the impression. Those pages are then bound into a book.
Together with movable type for printing, carved woodblocks occupy a place of honor in China as one of the “Four Great Inventions” of the past. The blocks continue to play an important role today in communicating the story of human history.
Not just any kind of wood can be used for woodblock printing. Chen always uses the wood of wild pear trees. He immerses the blocks in water for one or two summers, then allows them to dry in shade. In this process, resins and sugars are soaked out of the wood.
Afterward, the blocks are easier to carve. They’re impervious to insects and good for preservation.
Once the wood is dry, a section is coated with a layer of thin paste. Then a page of manuscript written in Chinese characters is stuck to the
block, backside up. When it’s dry, a craftsman gently rubs the paper until the characters can be seen easily.
The characters become even more visible if a layer of oil is brushed onto the paper. The craftsman then follows those characters, using a series of knives to carve them out of the wood one by one.
After the blocks are carved, the craftsman uses a brush to apply ink to the blocks, and then covers the carved images with blank pages— traditional rice paper or other material — before wiping gently from left to right with another brush.The characters gradually appear, and the room is filled with the fragrance of the Chinese ink.
Carving characters on wooden blocks is anything but routine. A craftsmen must practice calligraphy for years while also mastering the skills of woodcarving.
“There are more than 100 skills at play when carving a character on the blocks,” Chen said. “A craftsman may only be able to carve a dozen characters in a day.”
It’s no exaggeration. Chen once spent 20 years carving a copy of a book that was written during the Qing Dynasty(1644-1911).
The passion for woodblock printing has run in Chen’s family for more than 100 years. His grandfather was a famous Qing woodblock craftsman. Chen himself has been practicing the craft since he was 13 years old.
On his deathbed, Chen’s father told him that the family should pass the woodblock printing skills from generation to generation. Chen made a promise to his father and kept it, even though he had to jokingly “trap” his daughter into it.
Chen Meiqi, the daughter, said she had no intention when she was small of pursuing the woodblock printing craft.
“I grew up with all the materials and tools of woodblock printing around me,” she said. “You just ignore them when you see them too frequently.”
Things began to change when she felt sick and went to her father’s house one year to recover. The father forbade housework and insisted she simply rest. After doing that for more than a monthshe was bored and suggested to her father that maybe she could learn how to carve woodblocks to kill time.
“My father gathered all the materials and tools needed for woodblock printing immediately,” Chen Meiqi said. “You need to spend a lot of time to get all the materials and tools prepared. At that moment I felt that I was trapped.
“My father encouraged me and taught me with great patience as I learned how to carve the blocks. Then he became strict after he saw I had a genuine interest.”
She said her father had 20 students before 2005, but ultimately only one of them continued with the study. Then, after it was included in UNESCO’s Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009, the government began to invest more in its protection. But more preferential policies and investments should be given to attract young people and better protect the old craft, she said.
The Chens and the city of Yangzhou are making efforts to attract more people’s attention through publicity. They have made light covers, fans and other daily items using woodblock printing and sold them at low prices.
“The public will have access to it through these things,” said Chen Meiqi. “The products look very fancy and elegant. Members of the public will get to appreciate woodblock printing, and then they’ll protect it.”