While each nation developed its own papermaking methods, working with locally available materials, and adapting to their respective environments, there was continued exchange between the three countries, either voluntary or involuntary, throughout history. Important phases of the cultural exchange can be summarized as follows: - China to Korea: Papermaking along with Buddhism was introduced around the fourth century to Goguryeo (one of the early Three Kingdoms of Korea, along with Baekje and Silla). - Korea to China: Goryeoji (Korean paper) was regularly sent to China as tribute during the Goryeo period (936–1392). - China to Korea: Chinese xuanzhi paper was exported to satisfy the demand from literati elites of the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910). - Korea to Japan: Papermaking was introduced to Japan in 610 by a Goguryeo monk, Damjing \[referred to as Doncho, in Japanese\]; papermakers, along with books and Buddhist scriptures, were taken to Japan during the Imjin and Jeongyu Wars (1592–1599); paper and copied sutras were introduced to Japan via the cultural missions (tongsinsa) sent by Joseon from 1392 to 1811. - Japan to Korea: Traditional Korean papermaking was forcibly replaced by Japanese methods during the colonial period (1910–1945). As the above summary shows, the tripartite exchanges involved various political and cultural factors, the details of which are retained in old documents and relics remaining today. In the twenty-first century, these materials constitute important resources for the studies that are being conducted in all three The Transmission of Hanji Culture to Japan park chi-sun translated by Kim Bo-hyung - hand papermaking Map of the Three Kingdoms of Korea in the seventh century. All photos courtesy of the author unless otherwise noted. Avatamsaka Sutra written in ink on mulberry paper from Silla. National Treasure No. 196. Collection of Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul. countries, helping us to gradually discover the routes of cultural exchange between the three regions. There is no clear historic record documenting when paper was introduced first to Korea from China. However, The Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms (Samguk Yusa) records that Fu Jian, a king of Former Qin, sent a Buddhist monk named Shundao to Goguryeo with scriptures in the second year of King Sosurim's rule (372). And the Chronicles of Japan (Nihon Shoki) suggests that Buddhism was introduced to Baekje in 384, the year when King Chimnyu was crowned by Marananta, a monk from Eastern Qin. This chronicle further states that Wang In of Baekje took the Analects of Confucius (Lunyu) and The Thousand Character Classic (Qianziwen) to Japan. Such sources enable us to deduce that the Chinese invention of papermaking came to Goguryeo by land in about the fourth century and to Baekje by sea between the fourth and fifth centuries, and then on to Silla via Baekje. A Korean Buddhist scripture from the late seventh century survives to this day which indicates that the technique of papermaking was well established in Korea by the sixth or early seventh century. By the eighth century, Korean artisans were producing high-quality mulberry paper marked by a smoother, glossier surface and higher density due to a surface treatment process called dochim, which is similar to manual calendering. Tangible evidence of this practice is found in an extant piece of paper dating from the Silla period (754–755), the Avatamsaka Sutra \[Flower Garland Sutra\] which has been designated by the Korean government as National Treasure No. 196. Notably in the context of this discussion, the sutra is accompanied by a postscript that documents how the paper was made. It reveals that the mulberry plants were sprayed with fragrant water. It also lists names of officials and artisans who were involved in the papermaking project. This scripture was made from 100% mulberry fiber, just as other scriptures of the period were. These scriptures commonly show a smooth dochim treated surface, which prevents bleeding of the ink. One fact that can be confirmed from this relic is that soon after papermaking was introduced from China, Korean artisans discovered their own papermaking material by turning from hemp (with which Chinese paper was made) to mulberry for its ease in cultivation and processing. Accordingly, unique Korean paper formation techniques were developed and maintained until the Joseon dynasty. In China, however, papermakers gradually substituted longfibered materials such as hemp with short-fibered materials such as bamboo and birch bark, resulting in the deterioration of their paper in terms of strength and durability. The faltering quality of Chinese paper eventually led the Chinese elite to favor Korean paper and to include goryeoji on the list of tributes to be sent from the Goryeo court. On the other hand, Joseon's literati elite favored the shading effects achievable with Chinese xuanzhi paper, effects that were not possible with the dochimtreated goryeoji. The paper trade between Korea and China hence continued. Opinions differ on the introduction of papermaking to Japan, with some believing that it arrived from Korea and others arguing that it came directly from China. The only official record we have is the Chronicles of Japan which tells of Damjing, an eminent Goguryeo monk, who brought the methods of making ink sticks and paper to Japan in 610. However, according to the legend of Kawakami Gozen of Otake Shrine in Echizen village (Fukui prefecture), the papermaking method was brought to Japan by a lady who crossed the sea from the Korean Peninsula. A festival to commemorate her arrival has been held annually in Echizen for some 1,500 years, which would put the start-date of papermaking in Japan back at least one hundred years. In any case, by the seventh century, the tumultuous political situation in the Korean Peninsula led to the transfer of rich summer 2007 - Demonstration of the traditional dochim process. The main shrine building at Otake Shrine in Echizen where the deity is housed during the Kawakami Gozen festival. 2004. Photo by and courtesy of Tatiana Ginsberg. cultural heritage from the peninsula to Japan by Baekje aristocrats who migrated after Silla defeated Baekje in 660. In 676, the Unified Silla period began and many valuable cultural items, including paper, were transferred to Japan through continued cultural exchange between Unified Silla and Japan. This is evident in the inclusion of Silla artifacts in the Shosoin Imperial Repository in Nara, Japan. Among the objects is the Silla Village Register, presumably published in 659, which provides valuable information about the kingdom's village structure and land system. Other Silla items include wrapping paper (recycled from older documents) and the Avatamsaka Sutra which has recently been attributed to Silla. What helps us to identify the country of origin for eighth-century paper is that we know that at that time the Chinese mainly used hemp; the Japanese used mulberry, hemp and gampi; while the Koreans used mulberry exclusively. Even after several centuries since the arrival of papermaking in Japan, there was still great demand for the copied scriptures, paper, and papermakers from Joseon. As discussed earlier, the Chinese preferred the long-fibered goryeoji to their short-fibered bamboo paper, but why would Japanese consumers seek out goryeoji when the Japanese papermakers used the same long-fibered mulberry as Korean papermakers? The answer might be found in the difference in the knowledge base and quality of the paper made by the two countries. Indeed, there is a historic record to back this view. During the Imjin and Jeongyu Wars in the late sixteenth century, two Korean papermakers, Gyeongchun and Dogyeong, were kidnapped and led to Kumamoto prefecture in Japan in 1598 by Kato Kiyomasa when he withdrew his forces from Joseon. Gyeongchun was sent to Yamaga village and Dogyeong to the remote mountain village of Murada to teach papermaking. Today an annual celebration takes place in Yamaga, where the artisan's thirteenth-generation descendants live, to commemorate the lives and achievements of the two papermakers. Also, papermakers making senkashi paper in Ehime prefecture on Shikoku, still preserve the yin-yang ji technique developed by Joseon artisans in which two sheets of paper are couched together to make one piece of paper. Joseon papermakers were not without their difficulties. Unlike Japanese artisans who made pulp by mixing mulberry with other materials, Korean papermakers clung to mulberry. It was only in the fifteenth century, when the Joseon Dynasty was actively engaged in the publication of books, that Korean artisans addressed the shortage of mulberry and started seeking other materials. According to The Annals of King Sejong (Sejong Sillok), in 1430 the Joseon court dispatched a group of people to Daemado (Tsushima Islands) to acquire Japanese mulberry (waedak, in Korean), and in 1434 the court ordered the import of Japanese mulberry seeds (rather than roots) for planting in an area with a similar natural environment to that of the islands. The plan to farm Japanese mulberry in Korea did not succeed, but the incident stands out as a memorable example of cultural exchange between Korea and Japan in their mutual history of papermaking. The tradition of papermaking in Korea was put to a crucial test in the early twentieth century when the Japanese imperialists annexed Joseon by force, imposing the transmission of technology, this time, from Japan to Korea. During the annexation, the Japanese colonialists banned everything related to Korean culture, even the Korean language. Traditional Korean papermaking was also discouraged on the pretext of low productivity, and ultimately Korean papermaking was replaced by the Japanese production method. As part of this policy, the colonial authority set up a school and taught the ssangbal (Japanese-style) method. The Korean webal formation method is the indigenous formation technique of Korea. It is also known as heullim tteugi, which refers to the way the vat mixture flows across the screen. - hand papermaking Shin Hyun-se, hanji artisan in Euiryung city of Kyungsangnam-do, is forming paper using the Korean webal technique. Photo by and courtesy of Kim Bo-hyung, FIDES International, Seoul. left: Traditional Korean webal papermaking screen and mould. u – o– 􀁭􀂺 􀁧􀂺 u o 􀁭 􀁧 u – o– 􀁭􀂺 􀁧􀂺 u o 􀁭 􀁧 In the webal process, the papermaker holds two front corners of the mould, which is suspended by only a single string, and starts with a fast dip towards him. He then quickly tilts the mould to discharge the water off the opposite end. From here, he starts a multiple set of dynamic side-to-side movements until a desired thickness is formed across the screen. As the vat mixture flows freely across the screen, fiber is spread in every direction. This formation technique typically yields sheets ever so slightly thicker at the papermaker's end of the screen than at the opposite end. Therefore, to create a paper of even thickness, the papermaker rotates the screen end to end every other time before couching. The number of dips depends on each papermaker's experience and intuition as well as the proportion of fiber and formation aid to water in the vat. In the Japanese ssangbal method, the pulp flows more slowly than in the webal method, thereby making it easier for the maker to adjust the thickness of the paper during the formation process. There is definable grain direction lengthwise. Compared with the webal method, this Japanese method is sometimes called bangadum or banheullimtteugi (literally "half-trapping" or "half-flowing" respectively). Paper made in the webal method surpasses paper made in the bangadum method in terms of strength, directionality of the fibers, and surface gloss. However, the webal method is slower in terms of productivity, as it requires an additional stage of "combining sheets" in the couching stage. Market conditions and the declining number of skilled webal papermakers were the main reasons why this great cultural heritage, which thrived for well over a millennium, failed to survive the colonial period. The colonial authorities also played an important role in terminating the tradition through the imposition of regulations designed to control Korean mulberry farms and manufacturers of hanji (Korean paper). Since the annihilation of traditional papermaking during the colonial period, Korean papermakers have made "Korean paper" using the Japanese method. Fortunately, in the twenty-first century, traditional Korean papermaking is enjoying something of a revival thanks to a handful of artisans. Today, mulberry paper is being produced, not just in Korea and Japan, but in other Asian countries as well, including China. What is notable concerning the situation is that a considerable portion of the raw materials demanded by both Korean and Japanese mulberry papermakers is imported from other Asian countries. This may be a phenomenon of the late twentieth century, but it is also surely an extension of the long tradition of cultural exchange taking place across the Asian continent. We should welcome the exchange, but at the same time we should devote more effort to finding ways to maintain the traditional papermaking method of each region, and encourage and support the production of raw materials, processing techniques, and the new generation of talented and dedicated young artisans. The preservation and cultivation of this great cultural heritage require efficient cultural and financial support programs. Many scholars have devoted themselves to expanding our knowledge of traditional papermaking techniques and the raw materials used via meticulous study of old documents and remaining relics. I expect that the latest scientific technology will play an important role in broadening our understanding of the routes of cultural transmission and exchange that were first established through the paper culture. summer 2007 - Shin Hyun-se is forming sheets using the Japanese ssangbal technique. Japanese-style ssangbal mould and screen.