Huabaozhai Prints Ancient Books

Huabaozhai is a private paper-making and printing business located in Fuyang, a county-level city in Hangzhou. It was started by Jiang Fangnian, a rural entrepreneur, in 1983. Fascinated with the art and science of paper making, Jiang Fangnian started up his private workshop with a few thousands as his initial investment and. He built a shed, a lime pool and paper-drying stands. The ambitious man was not an ordinary paper maker. He wanted to make paper for ancient book printing, and he wanted to invent a way to make paper out of bamboo, which is abundant in Fuyang. He improved 16 procedures and carried out numerous tests and experiments.

Jiang Fangnian made the paper and got it tested by experts. Experts wowed at the new creation and its superb quality.

1984 might mean a lot of things to other people, but for Jiang Fangnian, the year marked the turning point for his fledgling business. That year, Li Yimang, the director of a taskforce charged to reprint ancient classics in the ancient way under the leadership of the State Council, had difficulty sourcing the paper to be used for this ambitious project.

The printer came to Fuyang to buy paper. In history, Fuyang was known among scholars across the country as a place where finest paper was made. With a twist of luck, the buyer ran into Jiang Fangnian. Jiang said he had paper. A few days later Jiang Fangnian arrived in Beijing with some samples of his paper. The samples were approved. Seizing the opportunity, Jiang Fangnian asked Li Yimang to inscribe the name of his business (a tradition in China: poetic or aphoristic inscriptions by emperors and prominent scholars and court officials were regarded as honors and endorsements. They are a Chinese version of celebrity autographs in the west and they can be presented publicly year-round. Don’t be surprised if a Chinese friend informs you proudly that he has an inscription by a VIP or if you run into a lot of inscriptions during your next visit to China).

Jiang Fangnian’s success in paper making turned himself into a big supplier of ancient book paper to printers across the country as a cultural renaissance gained momentum and the demand for the paper became increasingly greater.

This success enabled the ambitious wizard to dream a new dream. He wanted to find a way to use his paper to print ancient books. An ingenious innovator and engineer, he wanted to combine ancient lithography with computerized color-separation offset printing. Many people thought it was a mission impossible. But he did it. In 1988, Fuyang Ancient Book Printing House was up and running.

Jiang Fangnian was more than a dreamer and doer. He was a brilliant marketing master. He took his books to Beijing and other important cities to let people see what he had achieved with his paper making and his printing. He wished to impress the cultural authorities and experts with the books he printed and he wanted himself to be known as a solution to problems in ancient book reprinting and as a go-to guy in ancient book reprinting business. He got an order of reprinting 500 sets of “Building Standards” first printed in 1103. The second big order he got was to print 1,000 copies of “A Complete Collection of Types of Chinese Facial Makeup in Operas” for 1990 Asia Games in Beijing.

More orders flocked in. While developing his printing business, Jiang solved a series of problems with business regulators and acquired important certificates and approvals.

In 1995, Jiang Fangnian named his flourishing business Huabaozhai. In 1996, he founded China Ancient Paper-Making and Printing Culture Village. The village is an attraction for big names. The visitor’s book at Huabaozhai is a list of scholars, artists, high-ranking government officials and other social celebrities.

Liu Feng, former president of CPPCC Zhejiang Branch and now president of Cultural Dialogue, has provided Huabaozhai with much needed help and support over years. Jiang Fangnian passed away in 2003 when his business was flourishing and he had a long to-do list. Liu Feng attended his funeral and read the condolence message by Li Ruihuan, then president of national CPPCC.

The 29-year-old Jiang Fang, the son of Jiang Fangnian, took the business over. With the support of leaders of the central government and Liu Feng, Huabaozhai has expanded. In 2004, a 330-m2 Huabaozhai salon opened at the CPPCC auditorium in Beijing. It is now a venue for CPPCC members, social celebrities and artists to meet.

Huabaozhai has developed its technology. Today, it can reprint handwritings and inscriptions by ancient and modern scholars. Many books reprinted by Huabaozhai are cultural treasures.

In 2002 Huabaozhai was jointly chosen by Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Finance to be a key printer to photocopy ancient books in a national project called “Recreating Fine Editions of Chinese Classics”. The project plans to replicate ancient books with modern technology. Altogether there are 1,300 ancient titles in five sections to be reproduced. This project, in terms of quantity, is equal to the Four Complete Collections of Chinese Classics put together in the Qing Dynasty.

Huabaozhai printed 120 titles in the Collection of the Tang and Song, including such important histories as The History of Latter Han (a 120-volumn history on the Eastern Han Dynasty 25-220) and History Retold as a Mirror for Rulers (a 294-volume history of about 1,400 years compiled over a period of 19 years during the Northern Song Dynasty 960-1127). These newly reprinted books are highly appreciated by the Ministry of Culture.