Du Weisheng

01 · Lineage & Regional School

In 1974 he entered the National Library, where he studied ancient book restoration under Xiao Zhenbang and Xiao Shunhua, and later studied the mounting and restoration of calligraphy and paintings under Han Kuizhan, Liu Shaolin, and Gu Shuqiang. Within the regional tradition and school record of Mounting and Restoration Craftsmanship in Guojiatushuguan: The National Library's ancient-book restoration is a top-down line: in 1949, to repair the newly acquired "Zhaocheng Tripitaka," eight technicians were assembled with the approval of the military control commission as a beginning; in 1953 the Book Repair and Finishing Group was formally set up, and in 2001 it was renamed the Rare Books and Special Collections Restoration Group. The four characters "repair the old as it was" are the general principle, and the specific means are drawn from painting-and-calligraphy mounting, such as underlining, edging, and pocket-patching. Beijing's Si Ya Tang is another branch: opened during the Guangxu reign of the Qing, with proprietor Ding Mengsong, it joined the China Bookstore in 1958, and three generations have hands-on rescue-restored more than 300,000 damaged ancient books. "Repairing the old as it was," turning decay into wonder, is a crucial link in protecting ancient books through the ages and enabling their complete transmission to the present; thus people from all circles have praised this craft as the "life-prolonging broth" of ancient books. Engaging in ancient-book restoration requires not only familiarity with the formats and editions of books from each dynasty, but also understanding of the paper, book covers, and binding styles of each period, and moreover a consummate skill. The National Library of China is a comprehensive research library and the national central repository as well as the national bibliographic center; its collections date back to the Southern Song dynasty and include numerous precious rare ancient books. In 1949, to restore the "Zhaocheng Tripitaka," a national-treasure Buddhist canon that had just entered the collection of the Beiping Library, and with the approval of the then military control commission, a restoration team of eight technicians was formed—the predecessor of today's National Library restoration group. In 1953 the "Book Repair and Finishing Group" was formally established, and from then on ancient-book restoration, as a dedicated library function, embarked on a path of professionalized and standardized development. In 2001 the "Book Repair and Finishing Group" was renamed the "Rare Books and Special Collections Restoration Group." The National Library's document restoration work has achieved brilliant results historically; the national-treasure-level precious documents it has restored include the "Zhaocheng Tripitaka," the "Yongle Encyclopedia," Western Xia documents, part of the Dunhuang manuscripts, Song- and Yuan-dynasty rare editions, and the Qing-dynasty "Complete Book of Corvée and Taxation." It was opened during the Guangxu reign of the Qing dynasty; its proprietor was Ding Mengsong. Around the late Qing and early Republican period, Si Ya Tang was already extremely renowned in the capital for its mounting craft. In 1958 Si Ya Tang came under the China Bookstore. Three generations of mounting inheritors have since toiled there, rescue-restoring more than 300,000 damaged precious ancient books, among which are no few rare and unique editions.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Male, Hui ethnicity, born in March 1952 in Beijing. National representative bearer of Mounting and Restoration Craftsmanship (Ancient Book Restoration Craftsmanship), a fourth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. Research librarian. Over more than forty years in the profession he has comprehensively mastered the binding and framing techniques of ancient books in all their forms. In restoring ancient books he adheres to the principle of restoring the old as the old, adopting such techniques from painting and calligraphy mounting as hollowing out the backing, insetting a lining, and cutting away damage and filling it in. Within the documented technical tradition of Mounting and Restoration Craftsmanship in Guojiatushuguan: Ancient-book restoration is a special craft. Over the long course of history, fragile ancient texts, having passed through scattering and changing hands as well as destruction by natural disasters and warfare, are mostly riddled with holes and utterly tattered. Repairing a single ancient book often requires a dozen or even dozens of process steps, each move meticulously exacting, and the demands on those engaged in ancient-book restoration are nearly stringent. The National Library's document restoration work has a long history; as early as the period of the Metropolitan Library it was already staffed with document restorers. It can be said that it is precisely thanks to the unremitting efforts of generations of National Library book restorers that the splendor of one national-treasure collection after another can be re-presented to the world. Beijing's Si Ya Tang is a century-old time-honored brand famed for mounting and restoring ancient books, stone rubbings, and paintings and calligraphy. In those days many of the capital's master mounters came from Si Ya Tang. Yet according to statistics, across the country library ancient-book restoration specialists number fewer than 100. Besides a severe shortfall in numbers, there are also problems of low overall quality, low professional titles, and advanced age. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Recorded Craft Procedures": Repairing a single ancient book often requires a dozen or even dozens of process steps, each move meticulously exacting, and the demands on those engaged in ancient-book restoration are nearly stringent.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

He has directed and taken part in the restoration of numerous precious ancient books in collections in China and abroad; the research project on the paper-pulp leaf-casting machine that he directed received the Ministry of Culture Award for Scientific and Technological Progress; and he has directed and taken part in drafting a number of industry standards, including the Technical Specifications and Quality Requirements for the Restoration of Ancient Books (GB/T 21712-2008). He transmits his techniques through a variety of channels and has trained several dozen ancient book restorers.

04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier

05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage

National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.

06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography

1. Du Weisheng · National Representative Bearer Archive