He Zhigang is instructing his apprentice Tang Mingyu to restore ancient books.
In the long river of history, ancient books, as a silent testimony of rich cultural heritage, are facing the fate of gradually deteriorating and gradually being forgotten with the passage of time. In this context, the profession of ancient book restorer came into being and has become an important force in guarding historical memory. He Zhigang is one of them, as an autonomous region-level intangible cultural heritage inheritor, in the past year, he is most pleased that more and more young people are devoting themselves to the cause of ancient book restoration, which not only means that this important skill has a good person, but also indicates that this ancient skill has a new vitality in the new era.
1 I have been associated with books since I was a child
On December 15, at the Ancient Book Restoration Center of the Guilin Library in Guangxi, He Zhigang, an ancient book restorer, was standing at the operating table to guide his apprentice Tang Mingyu to restore a seriously damaged ancient book.
He Zhigang, 56, joined the Guilin Library in Guangxi Province in 1985 and officially took over the restoration of ancient books in 2009, becoming the third generation of ancient book restorers in the library. "My parents used to be library workers, and I have had a lot of love with books since I was a child, and I was exposed to the art of ancient book restoration at the age of 15 and developed a strong interest. Ho Zhigang said that when he first chose to learn the art of ancient book restoration, part of the reason was that he liked to read books since he was a child and had a feeling for books.
In 2007, when the 'Chinese Ancient Books Protection Program' was launched, there were less than 100 ancient book restorers in the country, and there was a serious shortage of manpower, but the number of ancient books that needed to be restored was innumerable. Due to his certain foundation and outstanding talent in book restoration, He Zhigang was selected by the Guilin Library in Guangxi Province as the backbone of ancient book restoration for key training, and began to learn from the senior restorers in the library, and strive to master the skills of ancient book restoration.
In order to further improve the restoration skills of ancient book restorers and improve the overall strength and level, since 2009, Guangxi Guilin Library has sent He Zhigang to Beijing, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Chongqing and other cities to participate in various training courses and workshops on ancient book restoration. Seizing the precious learning opportunity, He Zhigang humbly consulted with well-known domestic ancient book restoration masters such as Du Weisheng, Zhao Jiafu and Pan Meidi, and constantly absorbed knowledge and skills to improve his restoration skills.
2 There is a new development of old skills
The difficulty of ancient book restoration lies in the fact that it is large in different places in the north and south of the country, and the damage of different papers in each book is different. He Zhigang said that on the basis of learning from others' strengths, he also explored and improved the restoration skills of ancient books based on the experience taught by the predecessors of the Guangxi Guilin Library, combined with the characteristics of the local natural environment and the preservation status of ancient books.
Ho Zhigang took out a delicate set of bamboo tools from the workbench drawer, each with a different shape. "These are my homemade repair tools, such as this bamboo driver, which is used to separate the pages that are glued together, and the tools suitable for each size of book are different, so I have to make a suitable set of tools for each book I get. He Zhigang said that he also had a hobby of doing some small handicrafts, and he was able to integrate this hobby into the actual work of ancient book restoration, which gave him a special sense of pleasure and achievement.
Our principles for restoring ancient books are: minimal intervention, reversible restoration, repair as old as before, and maintain documentary information as much as possible. He Zhigang said that repairing an ancient book generally has to go through more than a dozen processes and a long cycle: establishing restoration files, formulating restoration plans, opening pages, numbering, distributing paper, adjusting pulping, repairing, leveling, folding, trimming, sorting, flattening, binding, etc.
Among them, the principle of least intervention emphasizes that the original material should be intervened as little as possible when restoring ancient books. This means that the restorer should only carry out the necessary restoration of the damaged part of the ancient book, rather than carrying out a complete remake, with the aim of maintaining the original state and sense of history of the ancient book, and avoiding excessive restoration and destroying its historical value.
The principle of reversibility of repair requires that all repair operations should be reversible, i.e., at some point in the future, if better repair techniques or materials become available, the previous repair can be undone without leaving a trace. This requires a choice of restoration materials and techniques that can be easily removed or replaced without causing harm to the original document.
Repairing the old as old means that when restoring ancient books, the restored part should be as visually and materially harmonious as possible with the original material. This is not a requirement to make an ancient book look "brand new and undamaged", but to preserve the traces of its history, such as smudges, creases, etc., because these are all part of history and are of great value to researchers.
The principle of maintaining documentary information requires that all information in ancient books should be preserved to the greatest extent possible during the restoration process, including text, images, marks, annotations, etc. This requires the restorer to have not only exquisite restoration skills, but also a deep knowledge of the historical and cultural background to understand and identify all the elements in ancient books and their importance.
China's ancient book restoration skills in the Ming and Qing dynasties already had a relatively complete system, in the past, the restoration of ancient books were purely manual operations, very dependent on the experience and technology of restorers. He Zhigang said that it is precisely because of this that it takes a lot of time and energy to train an ancient book restorer who can take charge of his own work. "With the development of science and technology, there are now advanced instruments such as paper fiber meter, paper thickness gauge, whiteness meter and other advanced instruments specially used to assist in the restoration of ancient books, and the restoration technology of ancient books has also undergone many innovations, relatively speaking, the efficiency is much higher than before, and the entry is relatively easy. ”
3 A new generation of restorers takes over from the old craftsmen
Now our most advanced ancient book restorers can basically carry out restoration work independently. He Zhigang looked at Tang Mingyu, the apprentice who was concentrating on work beside him, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.
At present, under the careful teaching of He Zhigang and other predecessors, Guangxi Guilin Library already has three ancient book restorers who can take charge of their own affairs, and several successors are being trained.
Tang Mingyu began to work on the restoration of ancient books in 2014. "I chose to major in ancient book conservation and restoration, and I was interested in the restoration of cultural relics when I was a child, and I have been working towards this goal ever since. Tang Mingyu said that although she had long understood the hardships and difficulties of the restoration of ancient books, she could only understand the difficulties of the work after she really got started.
When I first learned from Mr. He, some seemingly simple basic skills, such as pulping and paper matching, were not easy to operate by myself. Tang Mingyu said that when he first joined the work, he learned the basic skills from the older generation of restorers, observed their restoration work, and waited until he was proficient in the basic skills before actually restoring ancient books.
After all these years of work and study, the most important spirit I have learned from teachers is patience. Tang Mingyu said that sometimes a tattered ancient book is placed in front of him, and he may not be able to repair a page well in a day, and he will inevitably feel a little irritable, so he needs to remain calm and patient, and focus on every detail.
Tang Mingyu said that the restoration of ancient books is not only a technical work, but also an art. Every restoration is like a dialogue with history, and you need to feel the texture of each piece of paper and the story of every ink with your heart.
He Zhigang listened to the apprentice's statement beside him, and he was extremely relieved. He knows that the restoration of ancient books requires not only technology, but also respect and love for history. Watching Tang Mingyu and other apprentices grow step by step, He Zhigang firmly believes that this ancient skill can be passed on in their hands and continue to contribute to the preservation and promotion of China's cultural heritage.
Ho Chi-gang shows off his homemade bamboo restoration tools.
Tang Mingyu was carefully repairing the broken pages with tweezers.
The restoration of ancient books has entered the field of vision of more people
With the new year approaching, Ho Zhigang is full of expectations and hopes for the future of the ancient book restoration industry. Although the field of cultural relics restoration has gradually received widespread attention from the society and has been "out of the circle" to a certain extent, the restoration of ancient books, as a highly professional field, is still facing the problem of talent shortage.
In 2024, Ho hopes to see more young people with professionalism and cultural feelings join the ranks of ancient book restorers. He hopes that these new forces will not only inherit and carry forward the traditional restoration skills, but also bring new thinking and innovation, and inject new vitality into the field of ancient book restoration. With the development of digitalization and technology, the restoration of ancient books is expected to use modern technology to identify damage more accurately, complete the restoration more efficiently, and better display and disseminate the cultural value of ancient books.
At the same time, he hopes that the public's cultural awareness will be further enhanced, so that more people can recognize the profound cultural and historical value behind each ancient book. Through education, exhibitions, exhibitions and other forms, the ancient art of ancient book restoration will enter the vision of more people, and stimulate the public's interest and respect for traditional culture.
Entering 2024, Ho Zhigang expects that the industry will usher in a broader development prospect, so that more ancient books can be restored and preserved, so that valuable historical and cultural heritage can be passed on from generation to generation.
Warm comments: Guilin's cultural heritage blooms with dazzling brilliance
Up to now, Guilin has a total of 256 intangible cultural heritage items above the municipal level, including 6 national intangible cultural heritage items and 125 autonomous region-level intangible cultural heritage items. In recent years, with the state and society attaching importance to intangible cultural heritage, more and more outstanding intangible cultural heritage items in Guilin have been effectively protected and passed on in an orderly manner. The achievements of He Zhigang and his apprentices in this field are a vivid embodiment of Guilin's traditional intangible cultural heritage.
With the gradual expansion of the influence of intangible cultural heritage items, more and more people have begun to pay attention to and participate in the learning and protection of these ancient skills. The participation of the younger generation has injected new vitality and innovation into the inheritance of traditional culture. Their participation is not only a learning and inheritance of ancient skills, but also a contribution to the treasure house of Chinese culture in Guilin and the whole world. It is hoped that in the future, more intangible cultural heritage items will be more widely recognized and respected, and more inheritors and participants will be able to work together to make Guilin's cultural heritage shine more dazzlingly.