Dust removal, removal, flattening, reinforcement, filling in gaps... In the past ten years, Yu Yanlong has been familiar with every movement of every paper cultural relic restoration step.

Rejuvenating the "sick" organic cultural relics is his important job as a cultural relics restorer.

From 2012 when he joined the Qufu City Management Cultural Relics Committee, he was transferred to the Confucius Museum for more than five years.

In the past ten years, Yu Yanlong has restored more than 200 cultural relics above the national third level. He is silently guarding them in his own way and taking on the role of "the first person in charge of health" to continue the life of paper cultural relics.

　　Text/film reporter Kong Xikangyan

　　A pile of old papers that have been buried for many years

　　Just south of the Confucian Temple in Qufu, next to the Confucius Avenue, there is a place that many people must go to when they come to Qufu - the Confucius Museum.

　　The Confucius Museum is a place that is both lively and deserted. It is lively because countless tourists stop and stay throughout the year.

To say that it is deserted is that apart from the din of people, there is also a little-known corner, where people are diligently restoring pieces of cultural relics day after day.

　　Stepping into the "desolate" place, walking along the promenade, there is a studio marked with the words restoration room.

Pushing open the two doors, a breath of ancient scrolls came oncoming.

Yu Yanlong, deputy director of the Science and Technology Protection Department of the Confucius Museum, will repair ancient books at his desk every day.

　　On January 30th, under the bright lights in the restoration room, Yu Yanlong was working on restoring the 200-year-old "Nashuying Zhengji Music Score (Volume 4)", the cover of which was dilapidated and stained.

　　"Paper, as an organic cultural relic, has a limited lifespan. Our job is to rejuvenate the cultural relics through restoration, so that the cultural relics can be preserved for a longer time." In Yu Yanlong's eyes, cultural relic restorers are the first responsibility to extend the life of cultural relics Humans cannot be careless.

　　After a paper cultural relic is delivered, a "consultation" must be carried out first.

"Restoring ancient books is similar to seeing a doctor. The situation is different, the test results are different, and the treatment plan is different." Yu Yanlong said frankly. The pages of the book are damaged, broken, and moth-eaten to varying degrees.

Before restoration, it is necessary to investigate the current situation of the ancient books and analyze the paper fibers.

After the materials and diseases of ancient books are clearly analyzed, the specific repair method will be determined.

　　At this time, the restoration work has entered the first step of the "Long March". After more than ten procedures, such as dismantling, dust removal, cleaning, slipping, filling, flattening, folding, hammering, aligning columns, binding... Only one cultural relic can be restored to its original state.

　　Due to the degree of damage and the difficulty of restoration of each cultural relic, the time required for restoration is also different, ranging from one month to a whole year.

"Most of the restoration work on paper cultural relics needs to endure loneliness. Flattening and repairing the incomplete paper requires not only craftsmanship, but also patience." Yu Yanlong said.

　　From archaeologist to cultural relic doctor

　　Perhaps it is the historical heaviness unique to paper cultural relics, which seems to imbue the character of the restorers with this steady atmosphere.

Yu Yanlong, who was born in 1986, got up, walked, and picked up objects. Even if he had nothing to do with work, he still maintained a leisurely rhythm. It seemed that his stability and caution had already been carved into his bones.

　　Looking at Yu Yanlong who is so dedicated to the restoration of cultural relics, it is hard to imagine that he also had a little resistance when he first entered the industry.

"My postgraduate major is archeology. Archeology is the exploration of the unknown, and the restoration of cultural relics is the completion of the known." Yu Yanlong said frankly that when he applied for the major, he thought he could go on field trips and travel all over the country.

Unexpectedly, I was finally "trapped" between the square inches of the repair table, with a broken ancient book in my hand, surrounded by brushes, paste, brown brushes, tweezers, scissors and other tools, slipping, filling holes, spraying water, flattening …The daily work seemed very single and boring, but as he was doing it, his mood quickly changed.

Looking at the "scarred" and lifeless ancient books and archives, they are restored to their brilliance after being repaired by my own hands. The sense of accomplishment that arises spontaneously is unmatched by other jobs.

　　Looking back on the restoration of cultural relics over the past 10 years, he was most impressed by his participation in the restoration of Confucian archives.

　　"The Confucian archives are huge and time-consuming to restore. It took five or six of us several years to complete the restoration of more than 8,000 pages," Yu Yanlong said.

The full name of the Confucian Mansion Archives is "Confucius Family Ming and Qing Document Archives". It records various activities of the Confucian Mansion from the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty to the Republic of China. It has a history of more than 400 years in the Ming, Qing, and Republic of China, with a total of more than 300,000 pieces, which is the largest number in my country. , the private archives with the most complete collection, the richest content, and the longest coverage period, with extremely high historical and cultural value.

　　Faced with such an important value handed down from generation to generation, the pressure of restoration is self-evident.

From official documents to books, letters... There are various types of paper, some of which are severely flocculated and turn into mud when exposed to water, which adds a lot of difficulty to restoration.

"In the past, we mostly used the method of overall mounting, but now we use partial disease treatment and restoration. Although the restoration technique is more demanding and more difficult, we can retain the original frame form of the document and respect the historical authenticity of the document." Yu Yanlong said frankly, paper The restoration of quality cultural relics is not only a craft, but also a job that requires careful study.

No matter what is restored, there is no perfect model.

Restoration is also a process of thinking. Even if you have experience in the restoration of similar collections, when you meet again, you need to explore more, do more research, and constantly find the best restoration method.

　　In this way, he learned from his teacher Hu Yuqing (an expert in restoration of ancient books of the National Library of China) to improve his restoration skills, and successively presided over and participated in the cleaning and protection of the first rubbings of the "Qianlong Yuding Stone Classic", the protection and restoration of the pocket-sized "Four Books" handwritten edition, the Confucian archives, and the rare books of ancient books. The protection and restoration of 249 pieces/sets of paper cultural relics such as protection and restoration projects.

　　If it can be repaired, it must be written

　　To know what is there is to know why. In addition to restoring cultural relics, Yu Yanlong is also willing to delve into the stories behind the cultural relics.

When repairing the Shunxing banknotes, he not only completed the restoration, but also conducted in-depth research on the history and restoration methods of the Shunxing banknotes, and wrote two papers published on "Chinese Coins" and "Cultural Relics World".

　　Why do you want to study the "Shunxing" money ticket?

Yu Yanlong has his own original intention and ideas.

"The 'Shunxing' money ticket is one of the important discoveries in the sorting out of Confucian archives." Yu Yanlong said that the "Shunxing" money ticket was issued by the Shunxing money store of the Confucian government during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty The circulation of local banknotes is in Qufu and several surrounding counties, which to a certain extent reflects the social and economic development of these areas at that time, and is of great significance to the study of local economic history.

The discovery of money tickets can also be corroborated by related historical events to a certain extent.

　　Not only that, the front and back of the bill have written text, or a red seal, and there are many cases where multiple layers of paper are pasted. In the process of protection and restoration, there are also innovative restoration methods to share.

It is convenient to provide reference and reference for those in the same industry when restoring such paper cultural relics.

　　"To restore cultural relics is also to fulfill the responsibility of inheriting excellent traditional culture." For him, as a cultural relic restorer, although he shoulders the mission of extending the life of cultural relics, the in-depth excavation of the value of cultural relics and the historical stories behind cultural relics need more exploration. He said that he is willing to "write out" the history of more valuable cultural relics and contribute to strengthening the protection and utilization of cultural relics and ancient books.

　　Qilu Evening News