Production techniques of Jiami water mill in Lhasa

The name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: the production techniques of Jiami water mill in Lhasa

Applicant: Tibet Autonomous Region

Item No.: 397

Project No.: VIII - 47

Time of publication: 2006 (the first batch)

Category: traditional art

Region: Tibet Autonomous Region

Type: new item

Applicant: Tibet Autonomous Region

Protection unit: Tibet gajilin Tourism Development Co., Ltd

Brief introduction to the production techniques of Lhasa Jiami water mill:

Applicant: Tibet Autonomous Region

In the agricultural and pastoral areas of Tibet, people cleverly built water mills to process Zanba, flour and livestock feed by taking advantage of the water gap between the mountains. Among them, "Jiami Quguo" is the most famous. "Jiami Quguo" means Jiami water mill. It is located in niangregou in the northern suburb of Lhasa City, 6 kilometers away from the center of Lhasa city. Niangregou is rich in water resources, which makes it the largest water mill group in Lhasa suburb. Nearly 20 water mills have been built near two kilometers of water, which is unique in the whole Tibetan area. Niangregou has been an important place for processing Zanba in Lhasa since ancient times.

The jiamishui mill was built in the 17th century. When the fifth Dalai Lama closed the cave of kasongzan in papang, the owner of the mill offered him Zanba. These Zanba are delicately processed, pure white and delicious, which are highly praised by the fifth Dalai Lama. By the time of the seventh Dalai Lama, niangrejiami water mill became a fixed-point mill to offer Zanba to the Dalai Lama and was officially named. In recognition of the contribution of the Jiami water mill in offering Jiami Zanba to the Dalai Lamas, the original Tibetan local government granted two Dharma sticks 2 meters in length and 20 cm in width, exempting the mill from taxes and Wula duties. It also stipulated that if the Jiami water mill collapsed or damaged, it should be repaired by other water mills, and the Jiami water mill should be given the privilege of giving priority to the use of water resources.

Jiami water mill shows the outstanding ability of Tibetan people in machinery manufacturing and grain processing. It makes full use of natural spring water to produce Zanba in an energy-saving and pollution-free way. However, due to the low efficiency and low output of water mill, Jiami water mill has been impacted by electric grinding tools, and its development prospect is not optimistic, so it needs to be protected.