The Site of the Hualin Papermaking Workshop

The Site of the Hualin Papermaking Workshop

The Site of the Hualin Papermaking Workshop is a Major National Historical and Cultural Site.

Era: Song, Yuan, Ming

The Site of the Hualin Papermaking Workshop is located in Zhuling Natural Village, Dongxi Administrative Village, Hualin Scenic Area Management Committee, Gao’an City. In May 2013, it was designated and announced by the State Council as part of the seventh batch of Major National Historical and Cultural Sites.

Archaeological excavations have revealed a large number of relics associated with the papermaking techniques of the Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties. These relics are clearly dated and functionally interconnected, almost completely reconstructing the entire process of raw material preparation for making bamboo paper as recorded in the "Tiangong Kaiwu" (Exploitation of the Works of Nature) by Song Yingxing of the Ming Dynasty. The overall layout of the papermaking workshop site, the morphological evolution of the papermaking-type water-powered trip hammers, and the technological processes of the Ming Dynasty papermaking workshops have been clarified. Additionally, remains of a paper pulp-making workshop from the Yuan Dynasty were newly discovered, further confirming that the Hualin Papermaking Workshop was established during the Song Dynasty. This provides detailed insights into the scale and trade routes of ancient papermaking in Hualin. A total of 16 water-powered trip hammers from the Song to the Ming Dynasties, over 20 pits for soaking bamboo and hemp, more than 10 workshops, and other papermaking-related relics such as steaming, mixing, washing, pounding platforms, and lime-burning pits have been discovered. Several hundred pieces of porcelain from the Song to the Ming Dynasties, including celadon, blue-and-white, black-glazed, and white-glazed ceramics, have also been unearthed. A large number of cultural relics have been excavated, such as copper coins from the Song Dynasty, bronze mirrors, bronze basins, and stone inkstones from the Yuan Dynasty, and candlesticks from the Ming Dynasty. To further reveal and evaluate its value, Gao’an City held an expert symposium on the Site of the Ancient Hualin Papermaking Workshop. Experts at the meeting unanimously agreed that this papermaking workshop site is the earliest and most complete of its kind discovered in China to date. It represents a new discovery and field in Chinese archaeology and holds significant importance for studying the development of papermaking in China, as well as high scientific research value for the study of papermaking in China and around the world.

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of Municipal-Level Historical and Cultural Sites in Gao’an City

· Seventh Batch of Major National Historical and Cultural Sites