When did the Dai people start making paper by hand?

Handmade paper in Yunnan has a long history. Handmade paper of Yi, Bai, Naxi, Dai and Han nationalities has a long history, which has made immeasurable contributions to the inheritance and spread of this nation's history and culture.

On May 20th, 2006, the handicraft paper-making skills of Dai and Naxi were approved by the State Council to be included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.

According to historical records, the history of paper introduced into Yunnan can be traced back to the Three Kingdoms period at the latest, but the manual papermaking in Yunnan was recorded late, and there were many historical records about Yunnan papermaking after the Ming Dynasty in the Yuan Dynasty. In the Qing Dynasty, manual papermaking was developed in ethnic minority areas, and craftsmen from Sichuan and Huguang brought papermaking technology. Therefore, in the Qing Dynasty, Yunnan recorded the most about papermaking, and the papermaking industry was also the most developed. Handmade paper became a tribute paper for the court and even exported to Vietnam and other places. Before these clear records, Yunnan's paper industry should have a certain scale and mastered high technology.

The Naxi people lived in Lijiang and Shangri-La in northwest Yunnan, and later kept pictures and characters, which were mastered by Dongba, a priest in history, so they were called "Dongba characters" to write Dongba scriptures. Dongba Sutra is called "Senji Luji" in Naxi language, which means "words carved on wood or stone", so when Dongba Sutra appeared, paper had not been introduced into Naxi area. According to records, there was a paper industry in Lijiang around the Yuan Dynasty, but there was no record of Dongba paper. Dongba Sutra generally has no time to write and copy, and the earliest recorded scripture appeared in 1668 (the seventh year of Qing Emperor Kangxi). The paper used to write Dongba Sutra is called Dongba paper, also called white paper.

Dongba paper has a unique production process, and was later preserved in Bai Di Village, Sanba Naxi Township, Shangri-La County, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Bai Di (Baishuitai) is the birthplace of Dongba culture of Naxi nationality, and Dongba paper is the most important paper for Dongba to write scriptures, which has a long-standing reputation among all ethnic groups in northwest Yunnan.

The raw material of Dongba paper is taken from the local unique plant material "Adada" and identified as Lijiang Daphne. Paper-making process consists of raw material collection, sun drying, soaking, cooking, water washing, retting, paper pouring, stickers, paper drying and other processes. The main tools are paper curtain, wooden frame, paper drying board, wooden mortar and so on. The movable paper curtain of Dongba paper is quite special, and the paper drying process is obviously influenced by the inverted paper method, with traces of papermaking method, which is the result of the compatibility of China papermaking method and India-Pakistan subcontinent papermaking method.

Dongba paper in Bai Di is white and thick, which is not easy to be eaten by insects and can be preserved for a long time. According to the investigation in the 1940s, there are more than 5,000 volumes of Dongba classics written with it. Bai Di Dongba Paper has made outstanding contributions to promoting Dongba culture. From the perspective of process history, the study of hand-made paper in China is also a rare example.

Historically, women did not participate in the papermaking process, mainly because Dongba paper was generally used for sacred purposes, and women were generally considered unclean. Therefore, even if women knew the technology, they were not allowed to participate in papermaking, but they could collect raw materials, peel, cook and make a fire, prepare firewood and wash materials without papermaking technology. In reality, the rule that women do not participate in papermaking no longer exists.

Handmade paper of Naxi nationality is the product of multi-cultural intersection, which combines some papermaking methods in the Central Plains. Dongba has a huge volume, and there are still 654.38+100000 volumes of paper, which are stored in libraries and research institutions in many countries around the world. The inheritance of Dongba culture was once interrupted, coupled with the influx of foreign paper and the establishment of state-owned paper mills, which undoubtedly impacted the manual papermaking with high cost, strong labor force and long cycle, and the demand for Dongba paper became less and less. In addition, the Naxi people's paper-making skills have a tradition of inheriting their father's business, which has always been produced in family workshops and kept secret. Under the oppression of modern commercial society, it may die out at any time and needs urgent rescue and protection.

Since 1980s, with the revival and deepening of Dongba culture research, Naxi scholars have noticed the importance of Dongba culture inheritance to Naxi people and the role of Dongba paper in it, and supported the restoration of Dongba paper-making technology.