Spring is shining, and new green is beginning to bloom. Walking into the Shanxi Provincial Library Ancient Book Restoration Center, on the two-meter-long case table, the restorers each fell on their cases, holding their breath, they held brushes in their hands, carefully dipped in paste, and filled the thin as cicada-winged restoration paper into the damage of ancient book pages. In the process of the restorer's tapping and binding, the yellowed and simple ancient books are like "reborn".
"It is difficult to read books, it is especially difficult to collect books, and if you hide them for a long time and do not disperse, it is difficult." In the contest between ancient books and time, there is such a group of people who have built a bridge of life inheritance for ancient books with their sincerity and love. They are the craftsmen of the new era, the ancient book restorers.
Comparison of precious ancient books before (left) and after restoration (right). Courtesy of respondents
To repair an ancient book, it is necessary to "prescribe the right medicine", and formulate different repair schemes for different degrees of damage, materials, etc., from a few days to a few months. The repair process is complex and delicate, and dozens of tools are used, such as marking, pasting, paper, slipping, brushing, cutting, stitching, flattening... Every step is sloppy.
Shanxi Provincial Library has a long history of ancient book restoration, as early as the 1960s set up an ancient book restoration room, in 2009, by the former Chinese Ministry of Culture named as a national ancient book restoration center, becoming one of the 12 national restoration centers in the country.
Partial repair tool. People's Daily reporter Wang Fan photographed
"Many people don't understand the meaning of our work, but if these ancient books are not restored, we may lose more than just a book, we may lose a piece of history." 」 With a sense of awe, Xing Yamei, deputy director of the History and Documentation Department of the Shanxi Provincial Library, conveyed her respect for the ancients and traditions with her fingertips.
Xing Yamei has been engaged in the restoration of ancient books for 20 years, and she can't remember exactly how many ancient books she has repaired over the years, but she still keeps in mind the instructions of the master at the beginning of the apprenticeship.
"The restoration of ancient books must be carried out with 100% certainty, and there is no room for 'just in case'."
"This is a non-renewable resource, and there can be no slightest mistake."
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As a veteran ancient book restorer, Xing Yamei also left a promise to future generations, "It is not easy to keep the things of the ancestors until now, and I just want to hand these books from our hands to the next generation as well as possible." ”
Xing Yamei concentrated on completing the restoration work. People's Daily reporter Wang Fan photographed
The magic hand makes up for a thousand years, all in one finger. What impressed Xing Yamei the most was the restoration of Shanxi's local characteristic literature "Diary of Retreating Thoughts". The diary records the history of Shanxi for half a century from the late Qing Dynasty to the early Republic of China, and describes the local political, economic, cultural and other social conditions at that time. In the field of Chinese and foreign historians, scholars have paid more attention to it. At that time, when the Collection of the Diary of Retreat was returned to the museum, it was only a few loose pieces of paper, and it was spliced together from a variety of discarded paper, a total of 43 volumes, each of which was of different sizes. The paper is heavily wrinkled, and the disease situation covers almost all types of damage in ancient books. After two years, Xing Yamei and the team completed the restoration of 43 volumes with a total of more than 10,000 pages. In the end, the restored "Diary of Retreating Thoughts" was successfully published in the original form, so that this masterpiece with local characteristics was better protected and used.
"To restore ancient books, we pay attention to repairing the old as old, with minimal intervention. It's quite complicated to do, and sometimes fixing a simple page can take days. Xing Yamei said that this work focuses on "calming down and calming down", focusing on the unity of body and mind, repairing ancient books, and repairing the impetuous mood. Compared with today's fast-paced life, there are very few people who are willing to work in this industry.
The restorer repairs the rubbing. People's Daily reporter Wang Fan photographed
Although this industry is not popular, in recent years, there have also been many post-90s generations. Cheng Wentao, who has joined the ancient book restoration team of Shanxi Provincial Library for more than 4 years, is one of the representatives. Although the working hours are not long, he has already set a goal for himself in his heart. "Become a pillar like Master Xing Yamei as soon as possible." It was his dream.
"Recently, we are making every effort to complete the restoration of the "Xixiawen Buddhist Scripture Title Painting" of the precious ancient book in the collection, which has been supported by the China Cultural Relics Conservation Foundation and the ByteDance Ancient Book Protection Special Fund, and is expected to be completed by the end of May." Cheng Wentao said, "Nowadays, more and more people pay attention to this industry, and gradually have the support of social forces, in my opinion, now is the best era for the protection of ancient books." ”
"The restoration of ancient books needs talents in the new era, and I hope that more young people are willing to join this industry and bring vitality and vitality to the restoration of traditional ancient books." In Xing Yamei's view, the development of the times has put forward higher professional requirements for the profession of restorer, and with the addition of young talents, the ancient book restoration skills will also usher in a new space for inheritance, development and creation.