bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

knowledgeQuestion

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Goldthread

Lian Chengchun has a unique job: fixing ancient Chinese books.
For the past decade, the 32-year-old antique book fixer has painstakingly restored dozens of frayed, rotted, and torn manuscripts – all by hand.
China classifies antique books as those printed before 1912. A﻿ccording to one report, there are an estimated 50 million in China, and only about 20 million have been preserved, creating a daunting task for antique book fixers like Lian.


Many books have been damaged over time by man-made and environmental conditions.
“Some books have rotted, some are aged, some have water damage, and some cannot even be opened properly,” Lian says. “Some books are especially hard to fix, such as ones that are infested with bugs or have holes in them.”
Why are Chinese students so good at maths?
In those cases, it might take more than six months to restore a book.
“When we repair them, we’re preserving their old quality,” Lian says. “In the end, the book should look the way it did originally.”
Growing up in a family of antiquarians, Lian was fascinated with rare books from a young age. When she turned 20, she travelled to Beijing from her hometown in Shanxi province to pursue repairing books professionally.

She started working at the National Library of China, which houses one of the world’s largest collections of Chinese literature. There, she met a master book fixer and asked to be his apprentice.
“In Chinese culture, it’s customary for a master to train an apprentice,” Lian says. “The master guides the apprentice and supervises each step of the way.”
The special ‘gold’ Chinese noodle that is thin as a thread
Now, she runs her own studio in Beijing and repairs up to six books a year. On average, she says, it takes one to two days to restore a single page. One book can have anywhere from 30 to 60 pages.
“The first step when you receive a book is to assess its level of damage,” Lian says. “Is this page dry or humid? Do I use pulp or paper to fix this page? Does it require precision down to the millimetre?”
Most of Lian’s clients are auction houses and private book collectors, but it’s a small industry. Lian says she can count the number of professional full-time book fixers on her hands.
“There are plenty of people who want to learn how to fix books,” she says, “but as a hobby. It’s not something they want to pursue professionally.”

The starting salary is low, she says, and the hours are long. “I always lose track of time. Once I sit down, the next thing I know, it’s been a whole day already.”
Lian says she rarely takes a day off, working weekends and only taking public holidays off.
“It’s actually very difficult to be an antique book fixer,” she says. “Nowadays, society is developing so quickly, and we have more electronic products. There are fewer and fewer people inheriting this craft.”
This article was originally published on Goldthread. Follow Goldthread on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram for more stories about Chinese culture.


China’s pro-birth policies not yet enough to counter demographic crisis, expert warns

JD.com says sorry to customers after Singles’ Day campaign with comedian sparks backlash

Serious about babies? China must listen to the people having them

How can China stay on path to prosperity as its demographic dividend ebbs away?

China society

The delicate and dying art of fixing ancient Chinese books by hand

Lian Chengchun examines a torn page at her studio in Beijing. Photo: Patrick Wong

Lian says few people are willing to take up the profession full time. Photo: Patrick Wong

Lian patches up a torn page at her studio in Beijing. Photo: Patrick Wong

Patua, Macau’s dying language, and the 103-year-old Macanese woman who speaks it

Aida de Jesus, 103, grew up hearing Portuguese in the alleyways and speaking Patua, a creole language, with her grandmother at home in Macau. Photo: Goldthread

Aida De Jesus' family. Photo: Goldthread

These stills from a music video by Doci Papiaçám Di Macau show the origins of different Patua words.

Minchi, a Macanese dish of minced pork that is a signature at Palmer's restaurant. Photo: Goldthread

Sonia Palmer (left) with her mother in Macau. Photo: Goldthread

Why ‘Chinese Hawaii’ of Hainan is surfer’s paradise, says China international Monica Guo

China international surfer Monica Guo left her home 10 years ago and has settled in the nation’s resort destination of Hainan to pursue the sport full-time.

Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports of Hainan Province

She moved back to her Chinese village to take care of her ailing father. Now Dianxi Xiaoge’s an online cooking sensation

Many of Dianxi Xiaoge’s fans say her videos offer a temporary escape from the modern stresses of the city. Photo: Goldthread

A still from one of Dianxi Xiaoge’s earlier videos. Photo: Courtesy of Dianxi Xiaoge

Lifestyle

Arts & Culture

Culture

News

People & Culture

Trending in China


There are more than 50 million antique books in China, but only a handful of people are trained to repair them



There are more than 50 million antique books in China, but only a handful of people are trained to repair them.


Chinese culture

Books and literature

Chinese artifacts