Xuan paper (''xuanzhi'' ), or Shuen paper or rice paper, is a kind of
paper originating in ancient
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
used for writing and painting. Xuan paper is renowned for being soft and fine textured, suitable for conveying the artistic expression of both
Chinese calligraphy and
painting.
Origin
Xuan paper was first mentioned in ancient Chinese books ''Notes of Past Famous Paintings'' and ''
New Book of Tang
The ''New Book of Tang'', generally translated as the "New History of the Tang" or "New Tang History", is a work of official history covering the Tang dynasty in ten volumes and 225 chapters. The work was compiled by a team of scholars of the So ...
''. It was originally produced in the
Tang dynasty in
Jing County, which was under the jurisdiction of
Xuan Prefecture (Xuanzhou), hence the name Xuan paper. During the Tang dynasty, the paper was often a mixture of
hemp
Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial or medicinal use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest growing plants o ...
(the first fiber used for paper in China) and mulberry fiber.
[ originally appeared as "Analysis of modern Chinese paper and treatment of a Chinese woodblock print" in ''The Paper Conservator'', 1997, pp. 48-62] By the
Song dynasty, the paper producing industries in Huizhou and Chizhou were gradually transferred to Jing County.
Classification
Due to different producing methods, Xuan paper can be classified into ''Shengxuan'', ''Shuxuan'', and ''Banshuxuan''. Shengxuan (literally "Raw Xuan"), which is not specially processed, excels in its ability to absorb water, causing the ink on it to blur. Shuxuan (literally "Ripe Xuan"), however, has
potassium alum worked into it during production, which results in a stiffer texture, a reduced ability to absorb water, and less resistance to shear stress (meaning that it can be torn much more easily). This feature makes Shuxuan more suitable for
Gongbi
''Gongbi'' () is a careful realist technique in Chinese painting, the opposite of the interpretive and freely expressive '' xieyi'' (寫意 'sketching thoughts') style.
The name is from the Chinese ''gong jin'' meaning 'tidy' (meticulous brush c ...
rather than Xieyi. Banshuxuan (literally "Half-ripe Xuan") has intermediate absorbability, between Shengxuan and Shuxuan.
Features
Xuan paper features great tensile strength, smooth surface, pure and clean texture and clean stroke, great resistance to crease, corrosion, moth and mold.
The majority of ancient Chinese books and paintings by famous painters that survived until today are well preserved on Xuan paper. Xuan paper won the Golden Award at the Panama International Exposition in 1915. Xuan paper was used to make scrolls.
Material and production
The material Xuan paper uses is closely related to the geography of Jing County. The bark of ''
Pteroceltis tatarinowii
''Pteroceltis tatarinowii'' a species of tree endemic to China and the only extant member of the genus ''Pteroceltis''. Common names include blue sandalwood, wingceltis or qing tan (). Trees grow to tall and are used for timber, the bark fiber ...
'', a common species of
elm in the area, was used as the main material to produce Xuan paper.
, along with several other materials, was subsequently added to the recipe in the Song and Yuan Dynasties.
Bamboo and
mulberry
''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of diverse species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 identif ...
also began to be used to produce xuan paper around that time.
The production of Xuan paper can be loosely described as an 18-step process, and a detailed account would involve over a hundred. Some paper makers have invented steps which have been kept secret from others. The process includes steaming and bleaching the bark of ''Pteroceltis tatarinowii'' as well as the addition of a variety of juices.
See also
*
Rice paper
References
Anhui Xuan paper on chinaculture.org retrieved on 2009-02-08.
*
retrieved on 2009-02-08.
{{Paper
Chinese calligraphy
Chinese inventions
Chinese painting
Hemp
Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
Papermaking in China