The Millennia-Old Living Fossil of the Naxi

Cultural Story

Dongba paper was born from the wisdom of Naxi ancestors seeking a durable medium to record their pictographic script. Its core lies in using local alpine Daphne bark, whose slight toxicity makes the paper naturally mothproof and aging-resistant, lasting millennia. The technique blends Central Plains and plateau papermaking methods, forming a unique movable mould sheet-forming process specifically for writing Dongba scriptures, serving as the core carrier of Dongba culture.

Exclusive Experiences | Our Arranged Five-Stage Papermaking Journey

1. Why is toxic bark the treasure for papermaking? In the workshop, the artisan first shows you special Daphne bark. You’ll touch and peel it, understanding how its fibers and slight toxicity are precisely the secret to the paper’s millennia-long preservation.
2. How strenuous is beating bark into pulp? This step requires personal experience. You take a wooden mallet to softened, boiled bark in a stone mortar. Through repeated pounding, you feel coarse fibers gradually separate under force, becoming fine pulp fit for papermaking.
3. How can I get an even pulp layer on the screen? This is the most skill-demanding moment. Before a vat of pulp, you hold a special wooden screen, learning to use subtle, even wrist movements to let a thin layer of fibers settle evenly on it, determining the future paper’s thickness and texture.
4. How does paper “shine” under sunlight and stone polishing? You carefully transfer the wet sheet from your screen to a board to dry. When semi-dry, we hand you a smooth stone. Under sunlight, through continuous pressing and rubbing, you feel and witness the surface gradually become compact, smooth, and gain a warm luster.
5. What mark can I leave on my own paper? When this paper you deeply participated in is fully dry, a Dongba culture inheritor joins you. He’ll teach you to hold a hard bamboo pen, dip ink, and learn to write an ancient Dongba pictograph representing you on this unique sheet.