Chips off the old block

At times this craft has been close to extinction, but its stalwart defenders are unwilling to let it die

Jiang Xun calls them "the reflection of our civilization", an observation that would be on the money even if he were talking about the mobile devices of today that have become so much a part of our lives.

As it happens, Jiang is talking of the products of a much earlier medium of communication, etched woodblock printing. In sharp relief to the digital printing of today, in which speed of production is vaunted, the craftsmen of this early craft took great pride in the painstaking, time-consuming detail that went into turning out their exquisite wares.