The secret of the type of Tibetan paper used to keep a thousand-year-old scriptures does not rot

Tibetan paper is fragrant and is made from a special type of thyme and the production technology reaches a meticulous artistic level. The thousand-year secret of rotting of this paper has now been revealed.

Tibetan paper was produced in the middle of the 7th century and is a unique cultural product of Tibet. After Tang Dynasty Princess Van Thanh came to Tibet with a papermaking technique, Han and Tibetan craftsmen were unable to find materials like bamboo, rice and fishing nets like they did in Central Highlands. After many years of tinkering, they produced a unique Tibetan paper. The paper used to store the scriptures in the Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple and Sakya Monastery are mostly Tibetan paper. Until the 1950s, Tibetan paper was still widely used in Tibet. For thousands of years, it has silently recorded the history of Tibet, witnessing to the process of Tibetan civilization.

Tibetan paper was produced in the middle of the 7th century.

In 1901, a Hungarian Jewish adventurer and archeologist came to Andier'xiang town, Minfeng district, Xinjiang (adjacent to Tibet), where he discovered pieces of Tibetan scrap paper written in. at the end of the 8th century. After inspection, he discovered that the paper smelled good and the material was made from a special kind of thyme . This Xinjiang grass does not have, so it was determined to import from Tibet.

Before the paper-making technique was introduced to Tho Phon, Tibetans used bark, stone slabs and sheep bones, as well as wood, bamboo and sheepskin as writing materials. So, when did paper making and Tibetan paper making technology begin in Tho Phon? According to the records of the "Former Tang Dynasty" there is a section that says: The Turks invited workers to grow silkworms, make wine, grind, smash, paper, ink '. It is now considered to be the earliest recorded paper making art introduced into Tibet. Tubo "for silkworm seedlings and for making wine, grinding, beating, paper, ink, and Xu Wei." This is the earliest description of visible paper making in Tibet

Tibetan paper is made from the bark of the bark and fibers of the poisonous sweet trunk (a poisonous grass of the genus Stellera chamaejasme, a powerful poison like wolves), and treated limestone and salty alkaline soil.

Tibetan paper is made from the bark of a tree and the bark of a poisonous sweet tree trunk.

Poisonous is a colorful herb, mainly found on prairies or grasslands. This is a symbolic tree, its appearance signals the degradation of grasslands. Because it is always toxic in plants, so Tibetan paper made from grass for a long time is not afraid of insects biting, not rotting, discoloring, durable texture, not easy to tear, resistant to folds , abrasion resistance, etc. It is for this reason that Tibetan paper is used in large quantities to store scriptures, or government documents or for printing.

Tibetan paper production technology can be considered a rather meticulous art. Each step of the entire manufacturing process needs to be accurate in order to produce beautiful Tibetan paper. The Tibetan paper production process is mainly divided into peeling, pounding, steaming, tanning, washing, dipping, beating, mixing, and rolling. In the process of making paper, workers must accurately grasp each technique, understand the parameters of the amount of each component, correct the time of each step . How to evaluate whether a piece of paper is high grant? Good Tibetan paper standards are: uniform thickness, no pores, no stains and impurities, no slicks, soft and pure white.

Tibetan paper production technology can be considered a rather meticulous art.

For more than 1300 years, Tibetan paper production has accompanied the development of the Tibetan economy and culture, meeting the needs of society. Since its inception, Tibetan paper has had a great and profound impact on the history of Tibetan civilization. Its history is older than everyone knows. Its heritage values ​​are much more brilliant than what people have seen. There is a saying like: "The history of Tibet is recorded on Tibetan paper". Collection of scriptures collected in religious places like the Potala Palace and Jokhang Temple can be preserved after thousands of years of wind and rain. This is because they are made from Tibetan paper.