History at fingertips: University holds event on preservation of ancient books

The restoration techniques of cultural relics, which were introduced in the documentary Masters in the Forbidden City, opened its door to ZJU students and faculty, thanks to Ancient Book Preservation on Campus, an event held last Thursday at ZJU's Basic Branch Library.

The event was jointly organized by Zhejiang University Library and the National Ancient Book Preservation Center of Zhejiang Library. It provided participants with a unique access to the skill and encouraged them to care about the future of cultural relics.

“Though the development of science has enabled us to keep the digital version of ancient books, the binding form and the material of the paper still serve as precious resources of historic information, thus the original pieces of ancient books could never be replaced by any modern technology,” the activity tutor said.

Clipping the book covers and sewing the thread, two dozen students sat around the table and followed the instruction to creat their own books. The emphasis on details counts the most for a book-maker. It is also a matter of innovation and creation rather than mere handicraft.

“Proficient enough, you can try punching more needle holes and sewing more densely, and with such innovation on the basis of traditional method you will find more pleasure in the process,” the activity tutor said.

“I took part in this activity last time, and the process of making my own wire binding book was very interesting,” a student of life sciences said.

Participants were exposed to the ancient technique of woodblock printing, an ancient Chinese printing method in which wooden boards are engraved as molds of characters. They brushed the boards with ink and covered traditional Xuan paper on them, pressing them with a polished stone and then uncovered the paper. The patterns and characters were successfully printed on it.

“It needs more patience than studying medical science,” a student of clinical medicine said. With his careful operation, a black orchid was printed on the paper.

The activity tutor displayed broken ancient books and shared many preservation skills. The books were put flat on the EL (Electro Luminescence) board for the staff to have a clear check of the missing or broken parts, so as to restore it with tweezers, brushes, Xuan paper and paste.

ZJU Library has a collection of over 180,000 volumes of ancient books. The event was part of ZJU’s efforts to celebrate this year’s Chinese Cultural Heritage Day.

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Authors: DENG Yunqiu, XU Weiqin, ZHOU Nan

Video Credit: YANG Wenting