Calligraphy paper from China through Taobao

Calligraphy paper is not cheap. When I mentioned this to a friend, I was told that I could try buying from Taobao.

Several years ago, I had bought some stuff from Taobao. Compared to Aliexpress, I really didn't like the experience. It was difficult to find the things that you want, and the payment methods weren't very friendly for someone living outside China.

Still, I decided to give it a try, and order some calligraphy paper on 20 November. The products arrived at the consolidation centre in China on 23 November, was shipped out of China on 24 November, and delivered to me on 26 November.

Wow! I was really surprised at the speed of delivery. Yes, shipping wasn't exactly cheap, but it wasn't that expensive too, considering that paper isn't exactly light when you are buying reams of 100 sheets. Still, delivering in a week wasn't what I expected. It was a pleasant surprise. I even got two free calligraphy brushes, but they are a bit small and I am unlikely to be using them.

That was also when I realised that I should have spent more time searching on Taobao. The problem with Taobao, as mentioned, is that it is hard to find stuff that you want. In this case, the product pages made it look like the paper I ordered were made by hand, with "Class A" in the name, but when I checked the paper, I did not see any brush marks on the paper, which meant they were probably machine made. Sigh. After checking Taobao again, it seems that I should have looked for the keyword "手工" (made by hand) in the LONG product names; anything without this keyword meant it is probably machine made, even though it is made in Jingzhou, Anhui (the home of handmade Xuan calligraphy paper).

Anyway, the three types of paper I bought were from a brand called 檀溪:

特净 (extra high sandalwood content)

A级特净 (Class A extra high sandalwood content)

加厚A级特净 (extra thick Class A extra high sandalwood content)

I also did my usual work of adding their samples to my paper catalogue. Below are the samples written using a bear hair calligraphy brush. From left to right, 特净, A级特净, 加厚A级特净.

While they are likely machine made, they still write quite well and are more than enough for practice paper. I mean, they are priced like practice paper (even with shipping costs included) so I guess it was worth it.

Next would be to actually get actual calligraphy paper made by hand through Taobao... (will update here)

 

Update 4 December 2023: I placed a second order of paper from Taobao, this time from the brand known as 汪同和, paying attention to look for the keyword "手工" (made by hand) in the LONG product names.

- Ordered on night of 27 November.

- Package reached consolidation centre in Shanghai on 29 November.

- Package dispatched to airport on 30 November.

- Package left China in the morning of 1 December and reached Japan on 1 December in the afternoon.

- Cleared customs on 3 December night.

- Delivered on 4 December.

汪同和 seems to be an established brand in China. Even the packaging looks nice. Each ream of paper came with its own carrying bag too. I actually don't know what to do with these bags, since I don't think people actually go around walking with 3kg of paper...

 

The blue package is 净皮 paper under its entry 精品书画 line. It weighs 3.16kg for 100 sheets of 四尺 size 单宣 paper.

The orange package is 净皮 paper under its 御用贡品 line, one grade above the entry level. It weighs 3.3kg for 100 sheets of 四尺 size 单宣 paper.

As for how it writes, here samples written using a bear hair calligraphy brush. Left is 净皮 paper from the entry 精品书画 line, and right is 净皮 paper from the 御用贡品 line.

 

Anyway, based on this second experience, I guess it takes around a week to maybe 10 days to get here, from the time of placing an order to the time it is delivered to me. Checking the logistics log, it seems that it takes quite a short time for delivery within China to the logistics consolidation centre in Shanghai and then out of China from there. It did take a while for processing at the airport, so that could well be the bottleneck. If this brand turns out well, I may even stick with it.