Zhang Xiaoquang, the founder of Zhang Xiaoquan Scissors, set the family motto of “good steel and excellent workmanship”, which has been strictly followed by his later generations for over 340 years and has become the core of Zhang Xiaoquan culture. Throughout the ages, the scissors have been popular with ordinary Chinese people thanks to the exquisite quality. The age-old forging techniques of Zhang Xiaoquan Scissors have been included in the list of the country’s intangible heritage.
The forging techniques of Zhang Xiaoquan Scissors are an age-old handicraft. In the second year of Emperor Kangxi’s reign (1663 AD) of the Qing Dynasty, Zhang Xiaoquan Brand scissors were launched in Hangzhou and later became a famous product. Traditional scissors for household use were what Zhang Xiaoquan started his business with. The scissors led the industry thanks to its ten features: evenly plated steel, clearly demarcated iron and steel, fine grinding, sharp edges, stably fixed pin bolts, easy opening and closing, exquisite style, innovative carvings, durability, good quality and low price.
The making of Zhang Xiaoquan Scissors involved as many as 72 processes, two of which have been handed down. These two excellent and unique techniques are: 1) steel-plated iron forging: high-quality steel should be selected to set in wrought iron before repeated knocking and hammering into cutting edges to be ground with mud bricks produced in Zhenjiang; 2) manual carving technique on the scissors’ surface: lifelike and elaborate patterns of West Lake landscape, birds and beasts etc are carved on the surface.
At one stage, Zhang Xiaoquan Scissors were for imperial use in the Qing-Dynasty court and got a special award from Emperor Qianlong. As such, the brand was ranked “China’s Time-honored Brand”, enjoying good reputation at home and abroad. Zhang Xiaoquan Scissors won a silver medal at the Southern Coast Industrial Exposition in 1910 and a second prize at the 1915 Panama Pacific Imitational Exposition; and the product was granted a silver prize at the 1926 Expo in Philadelphia and a special prize at the 1929 West Lake Expo.
