China’s Bookmarks

by

Laine Farley

Bookmarks from other countries are fascinating to me not only because they are different from those found in this country, but also because it seems that some countries favor certain types of bookmarks. I’m working on demonstrating that thesis and may write about it in a future column. Bookmarks from China are among the largest of my categories from other countries, and are probably the most diverse. I have acquired them in various ways:  from visitors to my library, from friends who travel in China, and because of the large Asian population in California, they are readily available in local gift shops and bookstores. 

The oldest probably is a silk bookmark with a delicately painted traditional scene of mountains and a small figure standing on a dock.  It was made by the Christian and Missionary Alliance, Rennies’ Mill Camp in Hong Kong, possibly in the 1940s. It would seem likely that Chinese silk bookmarks would be common, but this is the only bookmark made completely from silk that I have from China.  Silks are not very durable, and perhaps more costly to produce, explaining their relative rarity.  

A more common material, and one unique to those made in China in my collection, is wheatstraw. This thin material is cut into delicate shapes that are pieced together to form images, sometimes enhanced with painted or printed designs. I have two that depict birds on branches with extremely delicate renderings of the feathers along with flowers and branches. These are mounted on strips of silk attached to paper cards that form a flap, and adorned with rather garish ribbons. Another set of my favorites is fan-shaped with tiny scenes of trees and boats. A bookstore owner found a wheatstraw bookmark inside a book with a painted scene of mountains and trees. It is thicker that the material used to make scenes, but it is still very thin and thus ideal for a marker.  

Leaves are another material used for Chinese bookmarks. I have a gingko leaf and a bamboo leaf, both with pen and ink drawings, which are laminated onto cards with photographs on the reverse. They both contain writing but unfortunately, the English translation simply says “writing and painting on the leaves” and “synopsis of Gao Zaixin’s writing and painting on the leaf.”  

It would seem likely to find bamboo as a bookmark material, but I have none. I do have a few bookmarks made of sandalwood, including one with a tiny panda mounted on a very thin piece with intricate abstract designs cut out of the wood. Balsa wood, however, is commonly used, especially for souvenirs. These often come in sets, encased in small boxes decorated in brightly colored satin-like material with floral or geometric designs. One set in my collection features “Chinese immortals” made of cut paper designs mounted on balsa that has been pierced, stamped with a design and scalloped on the ends. The soft, thin balsa wood is easily cut and shaped. These were made by the Longyan Arts and Crafts Works in Yuhuan County, Zhejiang Province, a gift from a friend who was traveling in China, along with another set that features scenes of the Great Wall. The latter are made from intricately cut and pierced paper with painted scenes. A variation on this type is a set of pierced balsa wood bookmarks with painted designs of butterflies, mounted in a little book with accordion pages. The outer cover has a fabric similar to that used for the boxes. The craftsmanship on these souvenirs is crude but charming nonetheless.    

As these examples indicate, pierced designs are a favorite technique whether in wood or paper. Another set features delicate paper cuts of fish mounted on cards with background decorations. Not only are the shapes intricate, but the details of scales, fins and tails are carefully rendered.

Chinese libraries seem fond of issuing bookmarks to commemorate events, their collections, or simply as promotional devices. An especially nice set came from the Shanghai Library featuring a set of eight New Year pictures from their collection with titles such as “The best garden in Shanghai,” “Everlasting riches and honor with exotic cockfighting,” and “Five promised sons.” The paper bookmarks feature brightly colored satin tassels and are mounted in a foldout card. Each bookmark has an English translation such as this one for “Celebrating wedding at the newly weds [sic] bedroom.” (Note: the image linked here is from “Gems of New Year Prints - An Exhibition from the Shanghai Library Collection” at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Library in 1999-2000, and is the same as the bookmark image):

“According to the old custom, wedding ceremony includes celebration at the newly weds’ house.  In the bedroom, children hide in the chamber pot, jump and roll on the bed. Peanuts, dates and chestnuts, which are homonyms of ‘having children soon’, are put into the chamber pot, as good wishes for the newly weds.”

The things you learn from bookmarks!

Another example comes from the Hong Kong Baptist University Library when they renovated their library. They created a wall of portraits for thirty-six writers “whose works have exerted seminal influence in the fields of Chinese literature, history and philosophy” along with a banner featuring their calligraphy and sayings. They issued a series of bookmarks featuring each writer such as Lu Xun, a major 20th century writer, trained as a doctor, who said: “As long as I live I will learn . . . It is true I dissect people, but more often I more mercilessly dissect myself.”

A number of years prior to this exhibit, a friend who travels frequently in China, brought me a set seven of bookmarks commemorating Lu Xun. I don’t know where these were produced and have only her brief translation of the titles. They feature images and calligraphy, and slip into a paper case with gold Chinese characters on the front.  

Closer to home, I came across a wonderful artist of Chinese heritage, who had a studio in Tiburon. James Yeh-Jau Liu was trained in China, taught at San Francisco State University, and set up shop in Tiburon when he retired. He always had a stack of laminated bookmarks featuring his watercolors of traditional motifs, but with his distinctive style that combined calligraphy strokes, almost abstract shapes, and soft colors.  

         

The most unusual bookmark in my Chinese collection has to be one that was “derived from an ancient Oriental tool used to promote oral hygiene” according the museum gift catalog.  It came to me secondhand, a gift to a friend who was at a loss for what to do with it. The “tongue-scraper bookmark” was further touted as “an eclectic and useful treasure” which begs the question of whether it was so regarded in its original life or whether its transformation as a museum object bestowed it with such characteristics. As metal bookmarks go, it is well suited with a very thin shank, a cabochon of aventurine at the top to hold it in place, and a dangling bead to weight it at the other end.  

As this brief survey reveals, bookmarks made in China feature unusual materials, are popular as souvenirs and commemorative items, and convey distinctive images of landscapes and culture in the compact format of a bookmark.  


Bookmark specifications: [Brown and yellow bird]
Dimensions: 1 5/8” x 5”
Material: paper, Silk, wheatstraw
Manufacturer: Unknown
Date: 1996?
Acquired: Ocean Books, Half Moon Bay, CA

Bookmark specifications: Gingko Leaf Bookmark
Dimensions: 3 1/2” x 5”
Material: Leaf on paper
Manufacturer: Unknown
Date: 2002?
Acquired: Tai Yip bookstore near art museum, Hong Kong

Bookmark specifications: [butterflies in book]
Dimensions: 1” x 4”
Material: Balsa wood
Manufacturer: Unknown, Hangzhou, China
Date: 1990s
Acquired: Gift from a friend who got it from one of his students from China

Bookmark specifications: [paper cut fish]
Dimensions: 2” x 6 1/4”
Material: Paper
Manufacturer: China International Book Trading Corp.
Date: 1990s
Acquired: Whales and Friends gift shop, Oakland, CA

Bookmark specifications: [Lu Xun set of 7]
Dimensions: 2” x 6 3/4”
Material: Paper
Manufacturer: Unknown, China
Date: 1990s
Acquired: Gift from a friend who got them in China

Bookmark specifications: [two fishermen]
Dimensions: 1 7/8” x 5”
Material: Paper, laminated
Manufacturer: James Yeh-Jau Liu
Date: 2000
Acquired: Han-Syi Studio, Tiburon, CA

Bookmark specifications: Tongue-scraper bookmark
Dimensions: 3/4” x 10”
Material: Brass, stone
Manufacturer: Unknown, Hong Kong
Date: 1996
Acquired: a friend who received it as a gift


Laine Farley is a digital librarian who misses being around the look, feel and smell of real books.  Her collection of over 3,000 bookmarks began with a serendipitous find while reviewing books donated to the library. Fortunately, her complementary collection of articles and books about bookmarks provides an excuse for her to get back to libraries and try her hand at writing about bookmarks. Farley’s web site is Collecting Bookmarks (Physical, not Virtual) and she can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it