中国书店第四代古书医生：修书即修行 | Preserving the past

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History touches people in many different ways.

人们有许多种方式去感受历史的触动。

Reading an ancient book, you may immerse yourself in the culture and wisdom of thousands of years.

比如，翻开一本古籍，感受传承千年的文化与智慧。

Hold it in front of you, and the ancient stories unfold as if an intimate friend were confiding in you.

与之对视，它便会如同朋友一般，把遥远的故事向你娓娓道来。

As a country of culture, ancient books carry a profound meaning in China.

古籍，对中国这个文化大国来说，所承载的意义更是深邃、厚重。

Among the pages were the ups and downs from the ages, demonstrating the wisdom and efforts of our ancestors. 

白纸黑字间，记录的是若干年代的风风雨雨，凝结着心血、凝结着智慧。

Ancient books are mortal.

古籍是有生命的。

As time goes by, they wither away. Torn, moth-eaten and moldy, these books are dying."When an ancient book gets sick, it needs a doctor.”

“古籍生病了，也要找医生。” 然而，随着时间的推移、人事的变迁，留存至今的古籍可能已经面目全非。破损、虫蛀、霉变……岁月令它们奄奄一息。

Xu Xiaojing is a fourth generation restorer at the China Bookstore.

徐晓静，中国书店第四代古籍修复师，便是专门服务于这些跨时代相遇的“医者”。

Since her graduation in 2005, Xu has been working at the China Bookstore. Having grown from an apprentice into one of the best restorers, she'd never do a perfunctory job on any broken books.

2005年，徐晓静大学毕业后便来到中国书店工作，如今已经是她从业的第13载。从当初的学徒学徒，到独当一面的修复师，经验丰富的她面对每本古籍仍不敢有丝毫怠慢。

Before the restoration, she'd discuss the program with her colleagues. "If we chose the wrong paper, the book would become crumpled after a while. It would damage rather than repair it."

修复之前，与同事讨论、制订方案的流程必不可少。 “如果我们在选择修复配纸的时候选错了，那么一段时间以后，这个书就会变得褶皱不平，不但修不好，还在搞破坏。”

"A full heart" is what Xu's master always urges upon her.

“用心”，是徐晓静的师傅时常用来敲打她的话语。

Unbinding, cleaning and repairing... All these processes must be done repetitively and precisely, in order to present the ancient book in its best condition.

拆书、洗书、补书……古籍的修复工作繁琐而精细。只有每个环节都精确无误，才能最终将完整的古籍呈现在世人面前。

"Restoring the books calms me down, and creates a spiritual space of my own. I enjoy it so much, even though I can only repair a few pages a day," says Xu.

“古籍修复行业能够让人静下心来，进入自己独立的世界。”徐晓静说，“虽然每天只能修几页，但我特别享受这个过程”。

During her work, Xu needs to understand the author, as well as to immerse herself in the time when the book was written. Every fragment and every blank is crucial. It's like communicating with the authors hundreds of years ago.

修复过程中，徐晓静需要将自己代入古籍之中，去理解作者、融入时代。每一块碎片、甚至每一处空白，在徐晓静眼中都至关重要。修书，是她与穿越了上百、上千年古籍作者的一次交流。

Sometimes books may have gone through many restorations. The techniques could be quite different. Xu and her colleagues have to try to understand the intentions of those restorers, inheriting and improving their methods. It's like communicating with their predecessors as well.

有时候，徐晓静遇到的古籍可能经历过多次修复，传承至今。前代的修复师们，所采取的修补方式可能不尽相同。徐晓静和同事们还需尝试理解这一代代修复师的意图，传承或改正他们的方式。

修书，也是她与世代业者的一次交流。

Every ancient book is alive for the restorers. Their mission is to restore the original appearance of the pages while respecting the books and the history, making them last longer.

每一份古籍在修复师的眼中都是鲜活的。他们使命便是尽力保留书页的原貌，尊重古籍、还原历史，无惧时间的风浪。

The job also has an effect on Xu: "The restoration helps me to cultivate stoical character."

这份工作也对徐晓静自身产生了作用：“修书如同一场修行，修的是一颗平常心。”

Through the healing hands of the restorers, a one thousand-year-old book could last at least another couple of centuries. When the restored books are back on the shelves, there will be a dialogue between us and the generations to come.

经过修复师们的“手术”，一本千年古籍的寿命至少能延长一两百年。将修复完毕的书籍放回书架的那一刻，他们也让今人与未来的对话成为可能。

Cameraman: Yang Wenchao

Film editor: Zhou Xin, Lu Gengrui 

Story written by: Yang Sitong 

English editor: Andrew Robert Corless

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