Inheritor dedicated to repairing ancient Chinese books in SW China's Sichuan

At the ancient book restoration center of the Sichuan Provincial Library, Yuan Dongjue carefully takes out a restoration sample she has made from the flattening machine, places it on the repair table, and gently flips open one of the pages. "Look, this is 'butterfly binding.' This binding style allows an entire illustration to be viewed on a single page, preserving the integrity of the image."

Under the light, the pages appear smooth and flat. Except for the slightly yellowed color of the paper, there are almost no traces of the book's long history. This is all thanks to Yuan's skilled hands.

Yuan Dongjue (left), a provincial-level representative inheritor of ancient book restoration techniques in southwest China's Sichuan Province, instructs an apprentice. (Photo/Song Haoxin)

Yuan is a provincial-level representative inheritor of ancient book restoration techniques in southwest China's Sichuan Province and was named a national exemplary individual in the protection of intangible cultural heritage in 2024.

Yuan has been dedicated to repairing ancient books for 40 years. Now in her late 70s, she is still full of dynamism and vitality.

She has demonstrated through her actions that ancient book restoration is her passion. Yuan's connection with ancient book restoration began in the early 1980s. At that time, restoration work in most parts of China had stalled for years and needed to be restarted. In 1983, while working in the book repair department at the Sichuan Provincial Library, she was recommended to attend an ancient book restoration training program.

"After returning, I knew this was what I wanted to do," she recalled. A year of systematic training made her fall in love with ancient book restoration. In 1984, she began establishing an ancient book restoration workshop at the Sichuan Provincial Library.

Through Yuan's efforts, the workshop took shape with a full array of tools and materials, as well as standardized restoration processes. For the next 18 years, she single-handedly managed the library's ancient book restoration work.

According to statistics, she has restored 355 types of precious ancient books, paintings, and archival materials, totaling 4,088 volumes. Among these, 25 types and 190 volumes have been included in the catalogs of national precious ancient books.

Yuan also derives satisfaction from mentoring professional talents. To date, she has formally accepted 38 apprentices and taught over 1,000 students through various forms. Two of her apprentices, Luo Hanqi and Wu Shiyu, have become key figures in Sichuan's ancient book restoration.

Today, Yuan continues to be passionate about ancient book restoration. "Restoring ancient books keeps me feeling young," she said.