Reviving Old Texts

孟文杰

Whenever Song Jing visits a museum，she makes a point of checking out the section on ancient books.In addition to appreciating the wisdom hidden in these historical volumes，she also focuses on how they are bound and pre?sented.

“It's more like a force of habit caused by my job，” said Song.This 34- year- old “book doctor”has been working in the restoration di?vision for ancient books at the National Library of China in Beijing for eight years.

Song made her way to the ancient books division after finishing her cultural relic protec?tion studies course at Peking University in 2015.She has since been engaged in restoring more than 100 ancient cultural relics.At the mo?ment，Song and her colleagues are working on restoring a copy of Yongle Dadian，an encyclo?pedia created in 1408 that was commissioned by Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty （1368 — 1644）.

After receiving the challenge at the begin?ning of 2022，it took Song and her colleagues six months to research and decide on how to re?store the books.“Most books from Yongle Da- dian that have survived until today have suf- fered damage to their original binding，” Song said.

“To restore them to their original form，we need to gather information from various sourc?es，such as images and texts，before we can make sure their original binding style and re?pair them accordingly，” she explained.More?over，the ancient encyclopedia's silk texture and color have both grown inconsistent，which makes creating the necessary raw materials and matching the color difficult.

In the past，restorers had to rely on their experience to determine the appropriate materi?als to use for a project.As technology has evolved，they are able to use a new method to finish the task through microscopes.However，technology can only help so much，as ancient?book restoration still requires essential manual skills，including cutting and brushing paper and binding.

Apart from this，the restoration also re?quires strong control when brushing the paper. “If the pressure is not properly controlled dur?ing the brushing process，the paper may tear，but if the touch is too light，the paper won' t ad?here，” Song explained.

Owing to the meaningful and complex pro?cess，the ancient books restoration technique of the national library was listed as a national-lev?el intangible cultural heritage in 2008.

“Hopefully，I can be of some help in in?spiring more young people to find their lifelong passion in the field of cultural heritage preserva?tion，”said Song.

每当宋晶参观博物馆时，她都会特意去查看有关古籍的部分。除了欣赏这些历史卷轴中隐藏的智慧，她还关注古籍的装帧和陈列方式。

“这是工作带给我的习惯”，宋晶说。这位34岁的“古籍医生”在北京中国国家图书馆的古籍修复部门工作已有8年。

在2015年，宋晶在北京大学完成文物保护专业的学习后，来到了古籍部门。此后，她参与了 100多件古代文物的修复工作。目前，宋晶和她的同事们正在修复《永乐大典》 的一个副本，这是一部创作于1408年、由明朝成祖皇帝（1368 — 1644）下令编纂的百科全书。

在2022年年初收到这个挑战后，宋晶和同事们花费了六个月研究、决定怎样去修复这些古籍。“《永乐大典》中保留至今的大部分书籍，其原始装帧都已损坏，”宋晶说。

“为了把它们恢复成原始形式，我们需要从各种来源收集信息，如图像和文本，然后才能确定它们的原始装订风格并进行相应的修复，”她解释道。此外，古代百科全书的丝绸质地和颜色都变得与以前不一致，让制作必要的原材料和颜色匹配变得困难。

在以前，修复员必须凭借经验来确定一个项目使用的合适材料。随着技术的发展，他们现在能够通过显微镜用新的方法完成任务。但是，技术只能提供有限的帮助，因为古籍修复仍然需要基本的手工技巧，包括剪裁和刷纸以及装订。

除此之外，在修復过程中还需要在刷纸时有很强的控制能力。“如果在刷纸的过程中力度控制不当，纸张可能会撕裂，但如果触摸过于轻柔，纸张就无法粘合”，宋晶解释道。

由于其意义深远且复杂的过程，国家图书馆的古籍修复技术于2008年被列入国家级非物质文化遗产。

“我希望，自己可以帮助鼓励更多年轻人，在文化遗产保护领域找到一生所爱。”宋晶说道。

选自《21世纪英文报》