Wooden movable-type printing of China | Global Knowledge Systems

Overview

One of the world’s oldest printing techniques, wooden movable-type printing is maintained in Rui’an County, Zhejiang Province, where it is used in compiling and printing clan genealogies. Men are trained to draw and engrave Chinese characters, which are then set into a type-page and printed. This requires abundant historical knowledge and mastery of ancient Chinese grammar. Women then undertake the work of paper cutting and binding, until the printed genealogies are finished. The movable characters can be used time and again after the type-page is dismantled. Throughout the year, craftspeople carry sets of wooden characters and printing equipment to ancestral halls in local communities. There, they compile and print the clan genealogy by hand. A ceremony marks the completion of the genealogy, and the printers place it into a locked box to be preserved. The techniques of wooden...

This record is imported from the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage public dataset as discovery metadata. ARED has not independently verified community authority, access protocols or local naming beyond the source record.

Community and Authority

Communities: China
Languages: Not specified in UNESCO dataset
Cultural territories: China
Countries: China

How the System Works

Language, Story and Memory Material Culture, Design and Technology Ways of Knowing and Knowledge Transmission

Sources and Evidence

Imported from UNESCO DataHub dataset ich001. Field-level provenance is retained in the record metadata.

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage ListsDataset

Open original source record

Field-Level Provenance

title: UNESCO DataHub field title_en
preferredTitle: UNESCO DataHub field title_fr
summary: UNESCO DataHub field description_en
type: UNESCO DataHub fields type_of_element_en and type_acronym
countries: UNESCO DataHub field countries, ISO codes resolved with ISO-3166 regional metadata
categories: ARED category inference from UNESCO concepts_primary_names, concepts_secondary_names and title
relationships: UNESCO concepts_primary_names, concepts_secondary_names, type fields and World Heritage links
sourceUrl: UNESCO DataHub field http_url_en
rights: UNESCO DataHub dataset metadata license and license_url

Original Source Metadata

uuidaaae05af-d37f-4552-8b7b-3f951410d559

ich_public_ref322

inscription_year2010

title_enWooden movable-type printing of China

title_frL’imprimerie chinoise à caractères mobiles en bois

type_of_element_enUrgent Safeguarding List

type_acronymUSL

countriesCN

http_url_enhttps://ich.unesco.org/en/USL/00322

concepts_primary_namesEngraving, Printing methods, Technical skills, Typesetting

concepts_secondary_namesApprenticeship, Binding, Buddhism, Calligraphy, Craft workers, Family, Gender division of labour, Genealogy, Inks, Memorization, Oral tradition, Paper, Poetry, Wood carving

main_image_urlhttps://ich.unesco.org/img/photo/thumb/03182-LRG.jpg

main_image_caption_enNot supplied

main_image_copyrightCulture Ministry of China, 2009

main_image_authorWu Xiaohuai

videos

images[object Object], [object Object], [object Object]

Why This Record Is Credible

This public record is connected to 1 source and has been labelled Source Supported. ARED separates evidence sources from cultural authority so users can see both provenance and review limits.

Cultural Access

Use this as public discovery metadata only. It does not replace community authority or local access protocols.

Relationships

Engraving Printing methods Technical skills Typesetting Apprenticeship Binding Buddhism Calligraphy Craft workers Family Gender division of labour Genealogy UNESCO urgent safeguarding list

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