Ancient books are the witnesses to Chinese civilization that has lasted for thousands of years. They are the treasures of human civilization,” said Yin Guanghua, who has been committed to restoring antique books for over 40 years.
These books need to be preserved and restored so that the future generation has a chance to see them and what their ancestors did. This kind of restoration cannot be done easily. It takes time patience and a lot of hard work. The process of finding someone who is trained enough to take on this responsibility is difficult as book are no becoming a dying culture. In the future there possibly won’t be book as everything can be digitized.
Yin, who works at the ancient books protection center in northwest China’s Ningxia library, disclosed that she strives to restore the original appearance of antique books to the greatest extent possible. “As for my work, I always begin with a ‘diagnosis’ of the ancient books, so as to determine the cause and degree of damage. Afterwards, I will work out a repair plan, choose the most suitable paper and advance other procedures,” explained Yin.
According to the restorer, the paper used to fix ancient books is of a superior quality, and is not allowed to increase the thickness of the original section to be repaired. In Yin’s opinion, ancient book restorers should not only be patient, but also have a sense of responsibility, since the work involved in the repair is very painstaking and complicated.
“Every time I finish restoring an ancient book and binding it, I feel a great sense of achievement,” disclosed Yin, adding that “I hope to find an apprentice to pass on my restoration skills before I retire.”
