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Banishing bookworms from the library
By Wang Jie |
March 18, 2013, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
RESTORERS of ancient books at the Shanghai Library compare themselves to doctors and their books to patients. But, as Wang Jie finds out, they are also artists.
Today it is easy to search for books and read them on a computer or mobile device. Though physical books crumble, they can be scanned and preserved digitally forever.
But ancient books, especially ancient Chinese books, are far more difficult to preserve.
The general erosion of time, heat, light, oxygen, dust, moisture, insects, worms and natural disasters are destroyers, not to mention ancient rulers who wanted to stamp out ideas that conflicted with official ideology.
The earliest and most infamous example is China's first emperor, Emperor Qinshihuang, and his "burning of books and burying of (Confucian) scholars" from 213 BC to 210 BC. After his death in 210 BC, more chaos and destruction followed.
"A well-preserved Chinese ancient book is so rare because of all the natural disasters, the political turmoil and the natural process of decay," says 46-year-old Zhang Pinfang, director of the Ancient Book Restoration and Protection Department at the Shanghai Library.
The library contains 1.7 million ancient Chinese books, manuscripts and rubbings, but many are in bad condition, broken, torn, illegible. The earliest book that the library owns is "Wei Mo Jie Jing" ("Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra") in AD 518 from the Northern Wei Dynasty (AD 386-534), and the earliest book that Zhang restored is "Grass and Titoni from the Window" from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
Since 1996 the new library on Huaihai Road M. opened to the public, Zhang and the 12 people in her team have restored nearly 60,000 books dating from the Song Dynasty (960-1279) to modern period.
Zhang compares the work of her team to that of doctors and likens books to her patients.
"Restoration is difficult because each book is damaged differently and to different degrees. Our job is to make a diagnosis for each and to find a solution or treatment," Zhang says.
However, the number of waiting patients is daunting. "Though we work every day, there are many books still waiting."
All the work is done by hand because old materials are fragile.
If the book is made with paper, then the first step is to remove the threads in the binding and select an appropriate paper for mending. Paper must be made to order at a government-run preservation center in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, that hand-produces paper using ancient techniques.
"You can't use today's paper to mend holes in ancient paper; the texture, weight, color are striking in contrast," Zhang explains.
Paper-making was different in different dynasties. In the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), paper was made with a mixture of flax, textile fiber and fish nets, Zhang says. Even the nuances of color are studied and matched. "Today the cost of such a piece of paper is beyond imagination."
So they mend newly produced paper on some holes that appeared on the old torn pages, or strengthens weakened pages by pasting them on the newly produced paper.
Mending holes caused by worms, moisture and acid is difficult and shapes vary. Zhang uses "patches" that are just 2mm from the edge of the hole.
"I compare my work to that of a doctor and artist," says Wang Chenming, a 29-year-old restorer who has worked in the department for years. The history major now specializes in mending holes. That's all he does.
"Some of my friends wonder how I could continue with this 'boring' job for so many years," he says in amusement. "But they are wrong, it's not boring at all. For me, it is interesting."
Every book on his work table is a "patient" requiring a different diagnosis.
"It's like a doctor with a patient. Sometimes the problems are tough, but the team discusses the best way to find a cure," Wang says. "Selecting paper to mend a hole is like matching a blood type. Type A can only be matched with Type A."
Wang uses tweezer and special home-made glue that does not contain any acid.
As for missing characters, nothing can be done. The team does not "recreate."
"We don't restore the original characters. If they not there, then we leave that area empty," Zhang says. "That's the rule in restoring ancient books. What's missing is also part of the history of the book.
"Also, it is impossible for us to create exactly the same characters today. To do so would spoil the integrity of the book itself," Zhang adds.
The library recently purchased a device that would semi-automatically restore the ancient books. The old torn page will be placed at the bottom of a water tank that pressed by a certain mechanical part. Then the paper pulp will be mixed gently with the water by hands. A certain pumping machine will dry up the water in the tank, and the water will leak from the page, leaving the paper pulp on the holes.
But often a machine cannot surpass human judgment and the work of human hands.
The art and craft of restoring old books is fading, but Zhang and the veterans in her department are passing on their craft to newcomers.
For the young people, the appeal of restoring books is not only about mending but also appreciating.
"Frankly, I don't care much about the historical value of these books, we are more keen on the artistic value of the books, such as the way they are bound," Wang says. "There were so many beautiful, thread-bound editions in ancient times. I am lucky I became the one to revive them with my own hands."
Today it is easy to search for books and read them on a computer or mobile device. Though physical books crumble, they can be scanned and preserved digitally forever.
But ancient books, especially ancient Chinese books, are far more difficult to preserve.
The general erosion of time, heat, light, oxygen, dust, moisture, insects, worms and natural disasters are destroyers, not to mention ancient rulers who wanted to stamp out ideas that conflicted with official ideology.
The earliest and most infamous example is China's first emperor, Emperor Qinshihuang, and his "burning of books and burying of (Confucian) scholars" from 213 BC to 210 BC. After his death in 210 BC, more chaos and destruction followed.
"A well-preserved Chinese ancient book is so rare because of all the natural disasters, the political turmoil and the natural process of decay," says 46-year-old Zhang Pinfang, director of the Ancient Book Restoration and Protection Department at the Shanghai Library.
The library contains 1.7 million ancient Chinese books, manuscripts and rubbings, but many are in bad condition, broken, torn, illegible. The earliest book that the library owns is "Wei Mo Jie Jing" ("Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra") in AD 518 from the Northern Wei Dynasty (AD 386-534), and the earliest book that Zhang restored is "Grass and Titoni from the Window" from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
Since 1996 the new library on Huaihai Road M. opened to the public, Zhang and the 12 people in her team have restored nearly 60,000 books dating from the Song Dynasty (960-1279) to modern period.
Zhang compares the work of her team to that of doctors and likens books to her patients.
"Restoration is difficult because each book is damaged differently and to different degrees. Our job is to make a diagnosis for each and to find a solution or treatment," Zhang says.
However, the number of waiting patients is daunting. "Though we work every day, there are many books still waiting."
All the work is done by hand because old materials are fragile.
If the book is made with paper, then the first step is to remove the threads in the binding and select an appropriate paper for mending. Paper must be made to order at a government-run preservation center in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, that hand-produces paper using ancient techniques.
"You can't use today's paper to mend holes in ancient paper; the texture, weight, color are striking in contrast," Zhang explains.
Paper-making was different in different dynasties. In the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), paper was made with a mixture of flax, textile fiber and fish nets, Zhang says. Even the nuances of color are studied and matched. "Today the cost of such a piece of paper is beyond imagination."
So they mend newly produced paper on some holes that appeared on the old torn pages, or strengthens weakened pages by pasting them on the newly produced paper.
Mending holes caused by worms, moisture and acid is difficult and shapes vary. Zhang uses "patches" that are just 2mm from the edge of the hole.
"I compare my work to that of a doctor and artist," says Wang Chenming, a 29-year-old restorer who has worked in the department for years. The history major now specializes in mending holes. That's all he does.
"Some of my friends wonder how I could continue with this 'boring' job for so many years," he says in amusement. "But they are wrong, it's not boring at all. For me, it is interesting."
Every book on his work table is a "patient" requiring a different diagnosis.
"It's like a doctor with a patient. Sometimes the problems are tough, but the team discusses the best way to find a cure," Wang says. "Selecting paper to mend a hole is like matching a blood type. Type A can only be matched with Type A."
Wang uses tweezer and special home-made glue that does not contain any acid.
As for missing characters, nothing can be done. The team does not "recreate."
"We don't restore the original characters. If they not there, then we leave that area empty," Zhang says. "That's the rule in restoring ancient books. What's missing is also part of the history of the book.
"Also, it is impossible for us to create exactly the same characters today. To do so would spoil the integrity of the book itself," Zhang adds.
The library recently purchased a device that would semi-automatically restore the ancient books. The old torn page will be placed at the bottom of a water tank that pressed by a certain mechanical part. Then the paper pulp will be mixed gently with the water by hands. A certain pumping machine will dry up the water in the tank, and the water will leak from the page, leaving the paper pulp on the holes.
But often a machine cannot surpass human judgment and the work of human hands.
The art and craft of restoring old books is fading, but Zhang and the veterans in her department are passing on their craft to newcomers.
For the young people, the appeal of restoring books is not only about mending but also appreciating.
"Frankly, I don't care much about the historical value of these books, we are more keen on the artistic value of the books, such as the way they are bound," Wang says. "There were so many beautiful, thread-bound editions in ancient times. I am lucky I became the one to revive them with my own hands."
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