Tiny sheets of paper carry profound history

Thus, a tiny paper of varying red hues was called "Xue Tao Jian", a term given for its delicate quality and understated beauty.

Xue created the colored paper not only to display her personal taste, but also because it was accessible to women and low in cost compared to regular-sized paper. She wrote poems and letters to her intellectual friends such as Bai Juyi, as well as Yuan Zhen, with whom she had a love affair.

Xue Tao Jian paper no longer exists, but the style has been duplicated with more colors. For example, the exhibition shows photos of two Xue Tao Jian-style sheets ordered by Pan Shi'en, a high-ranking Qing Dynasty court official, for family correspondence, one in light red and the other in yellowish brown. They can be viewed in the collection from the Shanghai Library, where there are also blue Xue Tao Jian, once used by Pan.

The Song Dynasty (960-1279) at its cultural peak in Chinese history is also evident in huajian art. Motifs diversified to include fruits, floral blossoms on tree branches, insects, landscapes, and characters inscribed on archaic bronzes, among others. A distinctive relief became popular at the time, which rendered slightly elevated patterns on paper.