Book repair staff save our legacy
Print Edition
In the light of a shadowless lamp, 42-year-old Zhang Hua picks up a scalpel and a pair of tweezers and devotes all her energy to a centenarian patient鈥檚 injury, an ancient book of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
The yellowing and moth-eaten book requires more than 20 complicated steps to regain its wellbeing.
Zhang, with nine-year experience in book repair, will complete the task thanks to careful attention to detail.
鈥淓ach ancient book is unique and has different kinds of damage, so I have to offer the solutions respectively,鈥 said Zhang while busy unbinding a volume in the antique book repair office in northeast China鈥檚 prestigious Jilin University.
Tedious and demanding as the work seems to be, Zhang said it gives her a sense of satisfaction.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a race against time to save the books,鈥 she said.
A basic principle of repairing ancient books is trying to keep the book鈥檚 original appearance unchanged.
Zhang follows the techniques of ancient craftsmen to make the paste, select and dye the paper and bind the book.
Sometimes the books are seriously damaged due to acidification, so Zhang also uses modern skills of deacidification and pH paper tests.
鈥淚 also work with my colleagues to perform the tasks but each of us is engrossed in our own part most of the day,鈥 said Zhang. 鈥淚t feels like time passes so quickly when I immerse myself in repairing.鈥
Years of desk work has resulted in cervical spondylosis and short-sightedness, but Zhang said her passion for repairing books has never faded.
In China, books written or printed before 1912 featuring classical book-binding styles are classified as antiques.
The library of Jilin University houses about 400,000 such classics, a large proportion of which are in dire need of restoration and protection.
鈥淲e still have a long way to go,鈥 said Zhang.
In 2007, the country started a national project to preserve millions of ancient books. A state-level rare book restoration center was established in the National Library of China for protection and education.
China has about 50 million antique books, of which 20 million have been protected.
But the book repair business remains a daunting task, said Zhang Zhiqing, deputy director of the center.
The center also holds annual training programs for book-repair staff from museums and libraries nationwide.
Zhang was glad to be invited to the activity this April.
鈥淚t might take about 800 years to repair all the damaged ancient books in China given the current number of book repairers,鈥 Zhang said. 鈥淏ut I will make it a lifelong career.鈥
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