Papermaker cover

Papermaker

Rating 3.8
Word count
80K words
Chapters
29
ISBN
9787520531191

Tags

Summary

Drawing on decades of fieldwork, this series brings readers the voices of craftsmen and women in the form of oral histories. These are true accounts of the enterprise and dedication of numerous artisans rescued from obscurity across different periods in Jilin Province—blacksmiths, carpenters, leatherworkers, noodle makers, confectioners, and more—and are of considerable historical significance. The series offers a fairly comprehensive record of people's economic and even spiritual lives in the realms of food, medicine, commerce, handicrafts, manufacturing, and processing. These are the indispensable "shop names," and their founding, growth, development, and even their closure or failure are all microcosms of history. Every "point" here is a record of the pioneering achievements of a family's forebears, beginning with a "case study" and growing into the story of a craft, presenting a vivid and substantial cultural force.

Editor's review

The Papermaker is one of Cao Baoming's achievements in rescuing the memories of Northeast China's craftspeople through oral history. After years of deep fieldwork across Jilin, the author faithfully records the artisans' own accounts of their entrepreneurial journeys, craft details, and family fortunes, allowing the papermaking trade to emerge from a blurred historical backdrop as a tangible, individual life history. The book's value lies not in grand narrative but in starting from the "case studies" of specific craftspeople to present the transmission of skills and spirit of dedication within everyday economic life—food, commerce, handicrafts, and more—in prose that is plain yet warm. Its records of the rise and fall of trades and shop names are also a microcosm of local social change, carrying significance as both folklore chronicle and life history. It suits readers interested in traditional handicrafts, Northeast regional culture, and oral history methods, to be savored slowly in quiet reading, and also serves as reference material for local cultural research and intangible cultural heritage protection.

Who it's for

A good fit for

  • General readers interested in traditional crafts and artisan culture
  • Scholars and students engaged in folklore, local history, and oral history research
  • Professionals concerned with Northeast regional culture and intangible cultural heritage preservation
  • Readers who appreciate plain, documentary-style writing and are willing to read life histories slowly

Not a good fit for

  • Craft practitioners seeking systematic technical tutorials or step-by-step guides
  • Readers who prefer strong plotting and fast-paced reading
  • Researchers requiring macro-level theoretical frameworks or data analysis

Reading tips

  1. Read it case by case, one artisan at a time; pause briefly after each to absorb the oral tone and details.
  2. Read alongside a map or local gazetteer, cross-referencing place names across Jilin and industry background for deeper understanding.
  3. Take notes on craft processes and jargon that interest you as you read, for later reference or fieldwork use.
  4. If using it for research, compare the oral accounts with documentary sources and remain mindful of the subjectivity of oral history.

About the publisher

China Culture and History Press China · Founded in 1980

China Culture and History Press has long devoted itself to modern and contemporary literature and culture-and-history reading matter, with publishing directions centered on classic works, social novels, prose and miscellaneous writings, and Eastern philosophy, alongside culture-and-history periodicals such as Zongheng. Among the more than 1,500 titles in the collection, representative books include Zhang Henshui's Ti Xiao Yin Yuan, Lu Xun's Complete Classic Works (10 volumes) and Wild Grass, and Lao She's Four Generations Under One Roof series and the boxed set of Lao She's Classic Works (10 volumes), while its author resources are concentrated on figures such as Zhang Henshui, Lu Xun, Lao She and Sima Qian. Its publishing character lies in solid editorial work on culture-and-history source texts and in issuing famous authors' works in sets, balancing the readability of individual texts with the systematic presentation of complete collections for focused reading and collecting. Beyond these directions, public information on the press's contemporary original publishing is limited, so it is not elaborated here.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 作者简介
  3. 序 心怀东北大地的文化人——曹保明全集序
  4. 前言 纸的民间典籍
  5. 第一章 纸匠
  6. 一、“关东蔡伦”
  7. 二、张纸匠
  8. 三、纳西纸匠
  9. 四、芒团纸匠
  10. 第二章 纸作坊生产过程
  11. 一、纸作坊主要人员
  12. 二、生产过程
  13. 第三章 纸作坊规俗
  14. 一、纸作坊老规矩
  15. 二、纸作坊歌谣
  16. 三、纸作坊常用术语
  17. 第四章 纸作坊故事
  18. 一、祖师爷的故事
  19. 二、宣纸的传说
  20. 三、富阳毛纸的故事
  21. 第五章 纸匠传奇
  22. 一、么站探寻“花蝴蝶”
  23. 二、关东路上遇真情
  24. 三、水中取财站住脚
  25. 四、王家纸作坊结仇家
  26. 五、淘金梦碎家落魄
  27. 六、报仇雪恨落草寇
  28. 七、传奇故事世代传
  29. 后记 眼前总有一张老纸

FAQ

Is this book an academic monograph or an oral record?
It is presented as oral history: the main body consists of entrepreneurial stories and accounts of dedication that the author heard from craftspeople and organized, with the character of field-survey records. It is not a strictly theoretical monograph; the writing tends toward plain documentary.
Can I understand it without a handicraft background?
Yes. The book begins with the individual cases of specific craftspeople in plain language and does not rely on specialized knowledge; readers need only an interest in traditional crafts and local life to follow the oral accounts and understand the trades and the people.
Does this series cover only papermakers?
No. According to the source material, the series also covers blacksmiths, carpenters, leatherworkers, noodle makers, confectioners, and others, touching on food, medicine, commerce, handicrafts, manufacturing, and processing. This volume focuses specifically on papermakers.

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About the author

曹保明 Author

Cao Baoming is an author about whom limited public information is available; what can be confirmed is that seven of his works are listed on this site. Judging from their subjects, he has long focused on traditional handicrafts and the regional culture of Northeast China. Paper Craftsman, Blacksmith, Leatherworker, Noodle Maker and Confectioner each portray artisans in a different trade, documenting their techniques and working lives. Retracing the Northeast Asian Silk Road deals with regional history and geographical exploration, while Nianhua of the Chuang Guandong Migration focuses on folk art. His writing sits between industrial technology, history and art, favouring field-research-style records and accessible narration, offering general readers a readable entry into folk crafts that are fading from everyday life.

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