Celebrated artisans
Hangji town in particular stood out as a woodblock-printing hub. Chen's grandfather opened Hangji's biggest woodblock-printing business during the reign of Emperor Guangxu.
Later, Chen's father took over the enterprise and produced many collector-grade classical books. He became a celebrated woodblock carver in the region as the industry boomed.
"The workshop had more than 30 skilled craftspeople, who were proficient at various tasks, such as typesetting, block carving, printing and binding," Chen recalls.
