On April 17, in the restoration room of ancient documents of Hunan Library, restorer Shi Wenlan inspected the effect of page restoration under the light.
Photo/text All-media reporter Guo Liliang
A table lamp, a pot of paste, and a brush, although it is only a window away from the busy Shaoshan North Road in Changsha City, in the restoration room of ancient documents in the Hunan Library, the quiet working atmosphere of the restorers seems to have nothing to do with the prosperity outside.
Paste-making, cleaning, patching, flattening, hammering, eye-punching, staple-binding, pinching the small pieces of paper with tweezers, and then evenly brushing the paste with the tip of a brush, carefully pasting it on the broken part of the pages of ancient books to repair it...... This set of actions has been repeated by the restorers every day, for decades.
"Master, these pages are moth-eaten and moldy, how to wash and repair them to ensure that they are not damaged?" Chang Zheng, a post-90s restorer, humbly asked Shi Yuxiang, a restoration instructor. After the 75-year-old Shi Yuxiang retires, he will still come to the restoration room to "sit on duty".
"Moth-eaten, moldy, and thread breakage are the 'injuries' of many ancient books, and they have to go through more than a dozen processes. Before restoration, the age of the ancient book, the form of binding, the damage and the paper should be carefully reviewed, and the restoration plan should be formulated according to the damage, and the restoration time should range from a few days to several months, and each step should be carefully considered. The restoration of ancient books is a kind of handicraft and a kind of practice. A qualified restorer of ancient books should be able to sit still, sit still, be patient, not afraid of difficulties, and master the knowledge of cultural history, library science and ancient book conservation. Shi Yuxiang was pleased to see that a group of young people born in the 90s joined the ancient book restoration team and took the lead.
"One-third of the 680,000 ancient books in the Hunan Library are in urgent need of restoration, which means that even if the seven ancient book restorers work without rest for a lifetime, they will not be able to finish the repair. Yan Sheng, assistant tutor of Hunan Library and leader of the restoration team, said.
More than a decade ago, there were fewer than 100 professionals engaged in the restoration of ancient books in China. Today, there are more than 1,000 ancient book restorers in China. On the eve of "World Book Day", the reporter approached this special group and recorded the persistence of ancient book restorers with the lens of "choosing one thing for a lifetime".
On April 18, the restorer Shi Yuxiang (left) instructed the restorer to use warm water to wash the broken pages of ancient books to remove mold and dust from the pages.
On April 18, restorer Yi Jingqi sprayed water to stretch the paper to meet the repair conditions.
On April 18, restorer Yi Jingqi sprayed water to stretch the paper to meet the repair conditions.
On April 18th, restorer Chang Zheng was hand-mixing paste, which is very important for the restoration of ancient books.
On April 18, restoration instructor Shi Yuxiang (left) instructed Yi Jingqi, a post-90s restorer, to prepare the paste by hand.
On April 17, restorer Zhao Hua carefully repaired the holes in the broken pages by dipping a brush in paste.
On April 18, assistant tutor Yan Sheng (left) and restorer Chang Zheng observed the microstructure of paper, fiber morphology comparison and identification through microscopic instruments, and served the repair of paper ratio.
On April 17, the restorer Chang Zheng covered the holes in the pages of ancient books after wetting the repair paper, and then brushed it flat with a brush and brush to remove the excess part of the repair paper.
On April 17, the restorer Shi Wenlan used thread binding to restore the restored ancient books.
On April 17, the restorer Shi Wenlan used thread binding to restore the restored ancient books.
On April 17, the restorer Shi Wenlan placed the repaired pages on a flat stone pier and hammered them along the edges with a hammer.
On April 17, restorer Shi Wenlan flattened the restored pages.
On April 17, restorer Shi Wenlan was selecting handmade paper for restoration, which has a collection of nearly 300 kinds.
Tools needed for the restoration of ancient books.
On April 18, restorer Zhao Hua was binding the pages of an ancient book that had been restored.
On April 18, in the ancient books and literature reference room of Hunan Library, the staff was sorting out the restored ancient books for readers to borrow.
On April 18, the public consulted ancient books and documents in the ancient books and literature reference room of Hunan Library for research.
On April 18, the restoration instructor Shi Yuxiang (front center) and his apprentices took a group photo in the restoration room.
Editor-in-charge: Li Ziyan
First trial: Li Ziyan
Second trial: Liu Guilin
Third trial: Yu Zhenhua
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