Use of “Special Wild Goose Skin Cicada Wing Rice Paper” & “Two-Layer Xuan Paper with Qingtan Bark”

 

A Special Shout-Out to a Truly Remarkable Rice Paper!

Today, I’m trying something a bit different — giving a big thumbs-up to a specialised handmade rice paper I’ve been using for supporting and repairing fragile prints. 

This isn’t just any rice paper — it’s tissue-thin, so delicate it could be mistaken for tracing paper. Yet, despite its fragile appearance, it’s archival quality, built to last a millennium without yellowing, becoming brittle, or foxing. Truly incredible. 

And here’s the best part: it’s remarkably strong! Its tensile strength is outstanding, making it perfect as a support sheet for delicate prints and for restoring ancient books. 

The name? “Special Wild Goose Skin Cicada Wing Rice Paper.” It’s custom-made for the Palace Museum in Beijing and is widely used for restoring centuries-old Chinese calligraphy and traditional paintings. 

If you’re interested in trying it out, I don’t sell this paper or profit from it — but I’m happy to share the contact info of the friendly manager of the family-run enterprise making it in China, Fangming Wu. He and I have been working together for years to find the most suitable papers for my needs. He’s kindly approved me sharing his email: lengyuyeguo@163.com. 

In addition to this ultra-thin semi-ripe rice paper (described above), Fangming Wu also produces the same fine paper as raw rice paper. The key difference? Semi-ripe paper is partially sized with a small amount of alum solution, which makes it less absorbent than raw paper but more absorbent than fully ripe paper—making it a versatile choice for most applications.

He also makes a much heavier rice paper called Double Xuan (双宣) or two-layer Xuan paper with Qingtan bark (Blue Sandalwood bark), which I use as backing support for prints. With this heavier paper I laminate two sheets together, and then lay the print on top. It’s perfect for creating wide margins when a print has been trimmed close the image (see the etching by Richard van Orley II in my post from two days ago). Before using this heavier paper, however, I carefully remove any particles trapped in the handmade surface with tweezers before gluing. 

Regarding the photos and videos, the first video shows the drying process of making this specialised paper. The second video is more of a general video of the paper manufacturing on a very hot day—as you will see. The first couple of photos document how I’ve used the tissue-thin paper as a support sheet for the print I listed yesterday. The last photos show how I used the heavy paper for the support and presentation of the print I listed the day before.

Use of “Special Wild Goose Skin Cicada Wing Rice Paper” as a support sheet

Use of “Two-Layer Xuan Paper with Qingtan Bark” as a support sheet