Xi'an, 24 Apr (Xinhua) -- In an office at the end of the four-story corridor of the Shaanxi Provincial Library, Wu Feifei, an ancient book conservator, prostrated himself in front of a desk, gently pressing the leaf with one hand, and carefully placing a small strip of paper with a brushed paste on the broken position on the leaf with tweezers... For more than a decade, she has "reborn" broken, worm-mothed, curly ancient books.
Ancient books mainly refer to books written or printed before 1912 with the form of classical Chinese binding, which is an important carrier of traditional culture. After experiencing the turbulence of time, ancient books will more or less appear acidification, flocculent, aging, mildew, rats, insects and other diseases, endangering survival.
Ancient book restorers are people who "see doctors" and "continue to live" for ancient books.
Wu Feifei, a librarian at the Shaanxi Provincial Library and an ancient book restorer, is restoring ancient books. (Courtesy of the interviewee)
"Restoring ancient books is a meticulous task, and you are responsible for each page." Wu Feifei said that after obtaining the ancient book, it is necessary to carefully examine its basic situation and record it, formulate a restoration plan, disassemble the clothes, paper twists, book leaves, etc., test the paper, and select the appropriate paper, dyes and paste for restoration.
Prepare well before you start tinkering. The key to repairing is to "prescribe the right medicine". When encountering water stains and dirt, choose the appropriate method to decontaminate and remove acid; when the book mouth is cracked, the crack is glued with leather strips; when encountering insect moths and damage, it is necessary to make up for it with repair paper with similar materials, slightly lighter color and slightly thinner thickness; in the face of mildew, the strength of the paper is reduced, then add a piece of paper on the back to strengthen the book leaf...
After the disease is solved one by one, the leaves of the book must be flattened by spray tide page by page, and then bound by a number of procedures such as cutting, piering, hammering, column, compaction, twisting, coat, loading the book cover, and pasting bookmarks.
Depending on the disease, the restoration of an ancient book can take anywhere from a week to several months. It took more than four years to complete the rescue restoration of Qingyongzheng's copper movable type "Integration of Ancient and Modern Books", one of the treasures of the Shaanxi Provincial Library.
Shaanxi Provincial Library is a key protection unit of ancient books in China, with more than 350,000 ancient books. "Ancient and Modern Book Integration" has a total of more than 4600 volumes, which is a landmark masterpiece in the history of mainland books, the history of books and the history of printing, and has been selected into the national precious ancient books list.
After experiencing war and turmoil, this set of books has multiple problems such as acidification, defects, folds, adhesions, insect moths, water stains, and broken threads. In 2015, the "National Ancient Book Restoration Technique Transmission Center - Shaanxi Institute of Transmission" was established, and the "Integration of Ancient and Modern Books" ushered in the overall scientific restoration and protection.
At the beginning of the project, the restoration team selected 15 ancient books for trial repair. "The overall water stains of this set of books are serious, and we have tried a variety of methods, but the effect is not ideal, but it is harmful to the paper." So we don't deal with water stains for the time being, and solve other problems first. Wu Feifei said, "Every action may cause harm to ancient books, according to the principle of repairing the old as old, rescue as the mainstay, treatment as a supplement, minimal intervention, and reversible process, for those that cannot be properly repaired, it is better not to repair." ”
In 2020, the rescue restoration and protection stage of "Ancient and Modern Book Integration" was completed. Since then, in addition to continuing the restoration and protection of the "Integration of Ancient and Modern Books", the Shaanxi Institute of Transmission and Learning has also carried out the protection and restoration project of paper cultural relics in the collection of the Forest of Steles Museum in Xi'an and the protection and restoration project of paper literature in the library collection of Shaanxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Chen Qian, an ancient book restorer at the Shaanxi Provincial Library, is restoring paper documents in the library collection of the Shaanxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Cai Xinyi
In 2007, the General Office of the State Council issued the Opinions on Further Strengthening the Protection of Ancient Books, proposing to implement the "Chinese Ancient Books Protection Plan". In 2009, Wu Feifei just joined the work, just in time for the Shaanxi Provincial Library to expand the team of ancient book restoration talents, she was interested in traditional history and culture from an early age, and she immediately signed up to join.
From theoretical study to practical exercises, to being able to repair a book on her own, Wu Feifei spent a year. "It's already faster than the seniors." Wu Feifei said that thanks to the country's emphasis on the protection of ancient books, they have the opportunity to study and exchange in Beijing, Shanxi and other places, and systematically learn relevant knowledge such as editions, rubbings, paper, calligraphy and painting mounting.
In the 11 years of entering the industry, Wu Feifei has honed her skills in a number of restoration projects. The initial freshness faded, and she became accustomed to the mundane and boring work, looking for history in each page and "talking" with the ancients.
It is understood that since the "13th Five-Year Plan", the number of restorationists like Wu Feifei has increased from less than 100 to thousands. At the same time, the distribution and preservation of ancient book resources in the country have been basically clarified, and a national ancient book protection talent training base and a national ancient book restoration technique transmission institute have been established, and the "Chinese Ancient Book Resource Library" has been launched to achieve online registration and inquiry, which meets the needs of the public for the use of ancient book resources.
In the Library of Shaanxi Normal University, a national key protection unit for ancient books with more than 240,000 ancient books, students can not only read ancient books, but also learn about ancient books and feel cultural inheritance from activities such as book exhibitions, engraving and printing experiences, and ancient book imitation experiences.
This year, "the protection and utilization of ancient books" was written into the government work report. Wu Feifei said: "With the country's emphasis on the protection and utilization of ancient books, these cultural heritages can not only be restored and protected more scientifically and standardized, but also enter the public life in a variety of ways." (End)
(Source: Xinhua News Agency)
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