The last Tibetan papermaker on earth
Katrin Büchenbacher
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Ciren Duobujie, 69, is the sole national inheritor of Tibetan papermaking, an intangible cultural heritage of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. /Photo by CGTN's Zhou Jinxi

Ciren Duobujie, 69, is the sole national inheritor of Tibetan papermaking, an intangible cultural heritage of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. /Photo by CGTN's Zhou Jinxi

Complete silence reigns in the workshop when Buqiong, 39, cups paper out of the poisonous broth he had concocted by bringing the root of the toxic Wolfsbane to a boil.

He carefully balances the wooden-framed cloth over the water basin, filled with the ominous liquid, to achieve an even spread. His father, Ciren Duobujie, an almost septuagenarian who already retired, is the sole national inheritor of Tibetan papermaking, an intangible cultural heritage of China's Tibet Autonomous Region. He peeks over the shoulder of his son as if to check his ability.

Nearly extinct

Then, with a brief sigh, Buqiong lifts the frame completely out of the water. There's an almost invisible smile on his face as he carries the wooden frame out to let it dry in the sun. A few hours later, the Wolfsbane liquid on the cloth becomes a sheet of paper so resistant that Buddhist scriptures, sacred books or Thangka, colorful Tibetan religious scroll paintings, permanently engraved onto the paper, can fight off rain or wind.

"My paper cannot be destroyed," Ciren Duobujie tells CGTN Digital, as he washes a piece of paper in a small bowl to prove his claim. The paper is indeed indestructible, but unfortunately, also the last of its kind.

There used to be three famous Tibetan paper artisans in the southwestern Chinese region. However, as modernity made inroads into Tibet in the last 60 years, two of them abandoned the ancient craft. Now, only Ciren Duobujie's two sons, Buqiong and his elder brother, are carrying on the legacy their ancestors began four generations ago.

Passing on the craft

The local government is making efforts to preserve the ancient craft. They have enrolled five local apprentices, to whom Buqiong and his brother pass on their knowledge. For now, those apprentices are trusted with the first and second step of the papermaking process: They climb the mountains to harvest the poisonous Wolfsbane, a plant native to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

When the apprentices get back to the workshop, they start to remove the old and dry parts of the root and chop up the juicy parts into small bits. The work takes hours and hours — as they lean on the workshop's outside wall where it's cool and shady, they chat with each other, occasionally taking a sip from their yak butter tea.

Buqiong steps out from time to time to take a good handful of the diced root to bring it to a boil in a huge kettle. It boils for three hours to become a thick, milky-white broth. Once it cools down, the crucial part of the process can take place. Buqiong cups it over the water basin, lets it dry, and applies color for special paper. Then, he places the precious sheets under a wooden plate on which he sets heavy stones. After a few hours, another apprentice "harvests" those sheets of paper and polishes them for several minutes to achieve a glossy finish.

Attracting visitors

The extremely rare craft has become a small tourist magnet, which helps the remote rural region, Nimu County, to become better known for travelers seeking pristine nature and original culture. In a shop next to the workshop, visitors can admire the numerous awards Ciren Duobujie has won, and buy some souvenirs. Even though the process of papermaking takes at least a day's work, a small notebook costs 50 yuan (about 7 U.S. dollars). As tourism develops, the prices are set to increase since the craft is here to stay.

"Luckily, my children all show interest in papermaking," Buqiong says. "My son spends all of his free time in the workshop."

(CGTN's Zhou Jinxi contributed to this story.)