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in the sweltering heat of summer, jingxian county's "cao se lian qing" intangible cultural heritage site is bustling with visitors. students who come for educational tours sit in a circle, listening to cao yisong, an inheritor of intangible cultural heritage, narrate the century-old tale of the xuan paper curtain's legacy. similarly, the handmade houshan scissors also capture the attention of tourists. these scissors, born out of the development of xuan paper craftsmanship, continue to exist and evolve through its transmission. cao yisong is a veteran from dingjiaqiao town in jingxian county. after being demobilized, he initially wanted to seek opportunities in the big cities but then noticed that fewer people were making xuan paper curtains in his village. determined not to let this traditional craft disappear, he resolutely decided to forgo the chance to develop his career in the big cities and devoted himself wholeheartedly to inheriting and developing the skill of xuan paper curtain making. he has been committed to this craft for fifteen years. "this method of making xuan paper curtains was developed by my great-grandfather, cao jiangshan, when he was young. it has been passed down to me as the seventh generation. my family has been continuously producing xuan paper curtains for over 150 years, and the craft of making them has successively been recognized as an intangible cultural heritage of xuancheng city and a representative project of anhui province's intangible cultural heritage," explained cao yisong. in jingxian county, there are many like cao yisong who dedicate themselves to the inheritance and development of intangible cultural heritage crafts. yu songtao is one of them. similar to cao yisong, the houshan scissors made by yu songtao also came into existence and have been preserved due to the development of xuan paper craftsmanship. papercutting, an indispensable part of xuan paper craftsmanship, requires the use of houshan scissors. these scissors are thin and wide with a sharp and flexible steel blade that allows for precise cuts, seamlessly gliding through a stack of a hundred sheets of xuan paper at once. by the late 1980s, the production of houshan scissors had reached its peak, with an annual output of 2 million pairs, earning it the accolade "the number one scissor in the world." in 2014, the craft of making "houshan scissors" was included in the list of anhui province's intangible cultural heritage, and yu songtao became a representative inheritor. with his dedication and innovation, "houshan scissors" have been revitalized. whether it is cao yisong or yu songtao, they have always upheld the spirit of craftsmanship in inheriting intangible cultural heritage and solidifying the cultural industry. in recent years, jingxian county has persisted in using culture to enhance its industries and leveraging industries to carry forward culture, emphasizing cultural heritage, technological innovation, and industrial integration. by deeply implementing the "seven major actions" for strengthening the county's cultural prowess, the development of the cultural industry has become a new driving force and engine for economic growth.
source: xuancheng daily
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