The Existence And Changes Of "Ancestral Industry":Research On Tissue Industry Of Paper Mountain In Wenzhou(1949-1961)

"Paper Mountain" is a mountainous area in the west of Wenzhou which is rich in handmade paper resources.Local people have been making paper for livelihood from generation to generation.Since the 1930 s,with the expansion of the domestic market for sanitary paper,paper farmers in Paper Mountain have turned to "four and six screen paper" which can be used for sanitary purposes,and later this type of paper was called "toilet paper" according to its purpose.Until 1949,Wenzhou toilet papers have enjoyed a high reputation in marketplace like Shanghai,Nanjing and other regions."Toilet Paper Industry" has become a pillar industry in Paper Mountain.It can be said that this industry is the outcome of traditional paper industry constantly adapting to the needs and changes of the era since modern times.It provides a vivid case for us to observe the survival and evolution of rural handicraft industry in contemporary times.At the same time,it also shows the local economic and social changes to a certain extent.Based on this,this paper takes toilet paper industry of Paper Mountain in Wenzhou from 1949 to 1961 as the research object,and investigates its development and change history in this period.After 1949,under the reform of the new regime,the production and marketing mode of Wenzhou Toilet Paper Industry experienced a profound change.In terms of production,home manufacturing was transformed into collective production;In terms of purchasing and supply,it evolved from merchant operations to public-private joint purchase and distribution,and then to exclusive management of supply and marketing cooperatives.After the transformation,the supply of raw materials,production of paper and the purchase and sale of finished products of the sanitary paper industry have been included in the planning system and subjected to different degrees of intervention and management by the government.Therefore,the economic ecology of the Paper Mountain has undergone significant changes.Lacking the regulation and incentive of the market mechanism,the production,supply and marketing of toilet papers turned to relying on the adjustment,guidance and support of the government,which made the development of the industry in the future show the characteristics of fragility and instability,and in the political movements that launched in the mid and late 1950 s,the industry repeatedly fell into the dilemma of reduction and even contraction in production.The rise and fall of Wenzhou Paper Mountain reflects the contemporary survival situation of traditional handicraft industrial zones which are formed based on the advantages of raw materials to a certain extent.