Sheepskin Mattress from the Ancient City

Sheepskin Mattress from the Ancient City

　　The Sheepskin Mattress from the Ancient City

　　The leather industry in Xuanhua Ancient City has a long history, and among its products, the sheepskin mattress is widely renowned. It developed through more than half a century of ups and downs, enduring hardships, rising and falling several times, before finally carving out its own path to become a famous brand both in China and abroad.

　　The leather industry in Xuanhua began in the early 1820s. In 1917, there were 33 tanneries in Xuanhua employing 1,500 workers, producing up to 200,000 sheepskins annually. Its scale was quite considerable, with relatively strong financial capacity. At that time, the vast majority of the products were exported overseas. The sheepskin mattresses produced in Xuanhua enjoyed a certain reputation internationally, attracting foreign merchants from countries such as Britain, France, and the United States who came to place orders. Merchants dealing in these products at the time included Jardine Matheson, Java Trading Co., Wing Hing & Co., Swift & Co., Hiap Seng & Co., Yee Cheong & Co., and Chanchang Trading Co. Xuanhua’s leather products were also sold in major domestic cities, such as Rui Fu Xiang and Qian Xiang Yi in Beijing, fur shops on Gu Yi Street in Tianjin, and the Shanghai Sincere Company.

　　The leather industry had by then become a major sector, with many divisions and interconnections, known as “East Fu, West Wan, and the Four Great Leaders.” These businesses competed with one another, which objectively promoted the development of the leather industry in Xuanhua.

　　In 1924, the leather industry in Xuanhua reached its peak. The dehaired cashmere sheepskin (sheepskin with needles removed) produced there sold well on the international market. By 1925, the industry employed over 4,000 workers, with 83 tanneries producing 1.66 million sheepskins annually, yielding a total profit of over 150 taels of silver. This boom was primarily due to the unprecedented popularity of dehaired cashmere sheepskin on the international market. Foreign merchants made blind purchases, thinking there were profits to be made, but this ultimately led to serious consequences for the industry. The blind expansion of purchases by foreign buyers and the resulting blind overproduction by the leather trade planted the seeds for future economic decline.

　　In 1926, the industry took a sharp downturn, shifting from prosperity to recession. Only 38 tanneries remained, and products piled up in large quantities. Due to the blind expansion and procurement of raw materials, the price of raw hides soared, raising production costs. Meanwhile, the domestic warlord conflicts, particularly battles between Zhang Zuolin, Wu Peifu, and Feng Yuxiang, disrupted rail transport through Nankou, preventing timely export of goods and limiting domestic sales.

　　In July 1937, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident marked the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War. In August, the Japanese invaded Xuanhua. By September, they began forcibly purchasing most of the sheepskins held by local tanneries, paying only minimal compensation. Tanneries suffered heavy losses, with only 20 remaining to barely sustain operations. At that point, tanneries could only produce limited items like sheepskin coats and lightly processed skins. Exports were completely cut off, the leather trade was fully controlled, private enterprises were unable to operate, and a large number of workers lost their jobs. The surviving tanneries lingered on, barely clinging to life.

　　After liberation, under the correct leadership of the Party and the strong support of the government, the leather industry in Xuanhua was revived. In 1956, with the public-private partnership initiative, the industry regained its development trajectory. The Xuanhua Leather Factory was established (now a state-owned enterprise), which inherited and further developed the unique techniques of making Xuanhua sheepskin mattresses. The product quality not only maintained the distinctive craftsmanship of Xuanhua production but also saw further improvements, ranking among the top nationwide and in Hebei Province. It was repeatedly recognized as a top-brand product. Now, following a coordinated national development strategy, the factory has shared its unique sheepskin mattress production techniques with other regions including Inner Mongolia and other parts of Hebei. Dozens of leather factories have come to Xuanhua to learn these methods.

　　To prevent its loss, here is a brief introduction to the characteristics and production process of the sheepskin mattress and dehaired sheepskin.

　　The sheepskin mattress and sheepskin from Xuanhua are characterized first by the tanning process, which aims to achieve both softness in the leather and maintain a certain firmness. Since sheepskin mattresses are purely used for warmth abroad—unlike other fur products used for clothing—this is inseparable from their unique production method. The hide of a sheep is relatively thick and hard, so during tanning, especially during the fleshing process, an extra brushing step is added to smooth and soften the neck and spine areas. In the assembly of a sheepskin mattress, each one is constructed from specific hides — each mattress must use a single hide measuring five Chinese feet in length and 2.3 Chinese feet in width. One and a half to two large sheepskins are required to make one, while up to four small sheepskins may be needed. No matter how many hides are used, the final mattress must present as one complete piece: with a head at the top, a tail (commonly called the seat) at the bottom, a flat middle, consistent fur color, resembling a whole sheepskin. This is a traditional and unique technique of Xuanhua. Finally, in the finishing stage, a trimming knife is used to smooth out any rough fur (commonly referred to as “mattress shaving”), a skill that other regions were historically unable to master.

　　Before liberation, tanning fur was entirely done by hand. Auxiliary materials used in soaking hides included glutinous rice flour, millet porridge, saltpeter, and salt. Soaking was done in large earthen jars. Each jar could typically soak 80 hides. Here is a reference breakdown (for 80 sheepskins) of the cost of semi-finished materials (tanned mature hides) during the early post-liberation period: 1. Soaking paste and mud: 2 apprentice workers valued at 2 yuan; 2. Laying mud-covered hides: 3 skilled workers valued at 6 yuan; 3. Washing hides: 2 general workers valued at 4 yuan; 4. Removing hides from vat: 2 apprentice workers valued at 2 yuan; 5. Fleshing: 8 technical workers valued at 1

　　6 yuan; 6. Auxiliary millet: 20 jin, estimated value 5 yuan; 7. Glutinous rice flour: 30 jin, estimated value 9 yuan; 8. Saltpeter: 40 jin, estimated value 4 yuan; 9. Salt: 15 jin, estimated value 2 yuan; 10. Fine sandy soil: one cartload, estimated value 0.5 yuan.

　　The total cost of the above tanning materials and labor was 50.5 yuan, averaging 0.63 yuan per hide for 80 hides.