China News Service, Urumqi, September 1st, title: "The hand of patching the sky, the eye of the lice" The repairer of ancient books in Xinjiang "extended life" for the ancient books

　　Author Gou Jipeng

　　"We are known as the'doctors of ancient books'. I think it is a very meaningful thing to'renew the lives' of ancient books with our own hands." Minawar Abudu, a repairer of ancient books in Xinjiang, said cautiously. He flipped through the pages of the ancient book that was riddled with holes and was as thin as a cicada's wings, and moved quickly. After adjusting the position and leveling it, he began to repair the pages.

　　Recently, a reporter from China News Service came to the ancient book restoration room of Xinjiang Library. On the marble restoration platform, all kinds of restoration materials are neatly arranged, and the walls are covered with various brushes and brushes, arranged in order from largest to smallest. Minawar Abdu is working at the desk with colleagues.

　　I saw her holding a writing brush in her right hand, dipping the paste prepared in advance, and spreading it around the hole, and then pasted the repairing paper with the same paperiness, thickness, color and even texture in the left hand, and pressed the forefinger of her right hand down. Tear outward with the left hand.

In this way, a broken hole was repaired, and the whole process was completed in a few seconds. She repeated this action almost a thousand times a day.

　　Minawar Abdu said: "Book page repair is only one of the steps in the restoration of ancient books. It also includes the steps of unpacking, uncovering the pages, matching and repairing paper, flattening, punching, threading, twisting, and stitching. The prosthetist is equivalent to a general practitioner, who must have the hands of patching the sky, the eyes of the lice, the spirit of wisdom and harmony, and the heart as careful as a hair."

　　Xinjiang has a rich collection of ancient books. These ancient books faithfully record the trajectory of Xinjiang’s historical development and carry Xinjiang’s unique culture.

"Every ancient book is a precious document that records our history. It is my job to organize, repair, and prolong their lives." Minawar Abdu said.

　　In 2008, Minawar Abdu first became attached to the restoration of ancient books.

"At that time, I went to the National Library to attend a conference. During the break, I accidentally walked into the ancient book restoration room. I saw that everyone was working carefully and meticulously. A pile of old and broken paper was reborn in their hands. This gave me a chance. Interest."

　　Thereafter, in 2010, Xinjiang Library selected her to study in the Ancient Books Restoration Room of the National Library, under the tutelage of Mr. Du Weisheng, an expert on restoration of Chinese ancient books.

"In the first three months, I didn't understand anything. Some professional aspects were particularly difficult, and Mr. Du taught me over and over again. Originally there was only one year of courses, but after a deep understanding, I found that I need to learn a lot, and I took the initiative to apply for an additional year.” Minawar Abdu said, folding, cutting, pressing, and piercing, etc., a few ordinary people seem to be too simple to learn, but she spent more than a month learning , Practice, and solid basic skills will lay a solid foundation for her future work.

　　After returning from school, Minawar Abudu became one of the few ancient book restorers in Xinjiang.

Over the years, she has completed more than a dozen ancient books restoration.

However, her ancient book restoration career has not been smooth.

Once, after repairing an ancient book, she suffered a sudden illness in her left eye and was almost blind.

　　"I was very sad at the time. I had studied ancient book restoration for two years, and when I was about to do a big fight, suddenly I couldn't see anything with my left eye." Minawar Abdu said that what she was most worried about at the time was I can no longer work on the restoration of the ancient books I like.

　　Fortunately, after surgery, Minawar Abdu's vision was restored, and he sat on the restoration table to restore the ancient books as he wished for many years.

"Book repair is also about mind. In addition to our passion, we also need to persevere in this industry." She said.

(over)