Zhifang Village of Zhifang Village

Zhifang Village is located 5 kilometers north of Qufu. According to the record of the Tudi Temple Stele in the 41st year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1613), the original name of the village was "Xin'anli". It is said that during the Northern Song Dynasty, when wars continued, the Wang family took refuge and settled here, naming it "Annan Village" (Annan Village). Later, the Zheng family and Qiao family moved into the village from Hongdong County, Shanxi Province, and changed its name to "Xin'anli (Xin'anli)". Because Zheng and Qiao received the true biography of Cai Lun, the founder of papermaking, they were able to produce fire paper. Under his leadership, the number of papermaking workshops in the village gradually increased, and people in the village took this as their occupation, so it was renamed Zhifang Village. According to "Quelizhi": "The paper mill is ten miles north of the city, and people live in the papermaking industry. Kong Xizhu, the fifty-sixth generation grandson of Confucius, lives here as a paper mill household." The papermaking industry in Zhifang Village flourished in the mid-Qing Dynasty, with its unique characteristics. The manufacturing technology of mulberry paper is famous throughout the country. Mulberry paper is an excellent product for mounting various types of containers such as wine, oil, vinegar, sauce, etc. Its raw materials are taken from Yunnan and Guizhou, and transportation is extremely inconvenient. Its production requires 36 processes including cooking, smashing, washing, fishing and drying. The mulberry paper produced in this village has long fibers, strong tensile strength and is not easy to break. Its uses include antisepsis in food storage tools, antisepsis in wine containers, and pasting calligraphy and painting, etc. Food utensils made of mulberry paper will not deteriorate or leak during storage, and will maintain quality and anti-corrosion. Various strips and wooden wine containers made of mulberry paper, pig blood, and lime paste can store various high and low alcohol wines for many years without deterioration or taste, and their service life is more than ten years.