Ancient town of woodblock printing in SE China’s Fujian turns a new page

Sibao town in Liancheng county of southeast China’s Fujian province, renowned for its history of woodblock printing, is hailed as a living fossil of the country’s ancient printing technology, with 50 well-preserved traditional printing workshops and numerous items of cultural heritage, such as ancient woodblocks, books, and tools.

Photo shows Sibao town in southeast China’s Fujian province, which is known for woodblock printing. (Photo/Luo Daorong)

Woodblock printing, with a long history of over 1,400 years in China, is a complicated relief printing technique in which text, images or patterns are carved into the surface of a block of wood, typically with a knife or chisel. After preparing the block for printing, its surface is inked and then pressed onto a substance like paper or fabric.

In 2001, ancient printing workshops in the town were listed as key historical and cultural sites protected at the national level. Moreover, the Sibao woodblock printing technique was later inscribed into China’s list of national intangible cultural heritage items in 2008.

Photo shows sculptures on woodblock printing in Sibao town, southeast China’s Fujian province. (Photo/Luo Daorong)

In recent years, museums, exhibition halls, workshops, and education bases on woodblock printing have been built to display the long history of the ancient craftwork in Sibao, which has injected fresh impetus into the ancient town. Besides, the handicraft has jumped on the bandwagon of the creative and cultural industry, drawing inspiration from traditional Chinese culture in order to tell China’s stories well in a new era, according to Ma Li, an inheritor of cultural heritage.

“In its heyday, books printed in Sibao were sold across the country and southeast Asian countries through the ancient Maritime Silk Road, helping spread Chinese culture,” said Ma. 

Ma Li engraves a pattern on a woodblock in Sibao town, southeast China’s Fujian province. (Photo/Luo Daorong)

Ma Li refines an engraved woodblock in Sibao town, southeast China’s Fujian province. (Photo/Luo Daorong)

Ma Li brushes a layer of ink onto a woodblock in Sibao town, southeast China’s Fujian province. (Photo/Luo Daorong)

Ma Li rubs a sheet of paper onto a woodblock in Sibao town, southeast China’s Fujian province. (Photo/Luo Daorong)

Ma Li shows a work printed with woodblock printing in Sibao town, southeast China’s Fujian province. (Photo/Luo Daorong)