Imperial dynasties have come and gone, wars and revolutions have passed, and the economy has morphed from capitalist to communist and back again. But

The scissor-maker that has cut through Chinese history

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2022-01-23 14:30:06

Imperial dynasties have come and gone, wars and revolutions have passed, and the economy has morphed from capitalist to communist and back again.

But through it all, Zhang Xiaoquan's workshops and factories have been quietly making one humble, household utensil - scissors.

In the dying years of the Ming Dynasty, a craftsman by the name of Zhang Jiasi found a way to make scissors that were both beautiful and durable.

But the new trick, adapting an ancient sword-making technique, was to mix molten steel into the cutting edges of the blades - using a high temperature and a lot of careful hammering - to give the scissors a much harder, sharper bite.

Seventeenth century Chinese housewives suddenly had a powerful new weapon in their kitchen armoury - bad news indeed for 17th century Chinese chickens.

A few decades later Zhang Jiasi's son, Zhang Xiaoquan, inherited the business and moved it to the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, and in 1663, his namesake company was born.