The new generation of 'book doctors'

Wang, who worked for two years before applying for the post-graduate program at the institute, said he was happy to discover that his knowledge in bioscience actually helped him perform more efficient inspection and data analysis of paper pulp.

A student who has more exposure in the field is Li Jie. The 23-year-old said she "practically grew up in a museum" as her parents are antique restorers. As such, her interest in the craft of restoration was piqued since she was a child.

Li even managed to single-handedly restore the local chronicles of her county when she was an undergraduate student studying library science in Shaanxi province.

"We can't possibly reach the same standards as our professors in just two or three years because they have decades of experience. However, we can still help each other and improve as rapidly as we can," she said.

"There are 14 students in our class and though we may come from 11 different academic fields such as science, liberal art and engineering, we share the same ambition to devote our lives to prolonging the life of ancient books."

In April, the students held a print art exhibition at the Guanghua Building in Fudan University and showcased the ex libris stamps they created.

But while there is a massive number of ancient books in China that needs to be mended, the book restoration profession isn't exactly an iron rice bowl.

In China, most ancient books of cultural importance are owned by the government and stored in State-owned libraries and institutes.

These places usually have strict employment regulations because staff salaries are paid by government funding. As such, it is more difficult for such establishments to hire new staff such as book restoration experts.

The alternative would be to send old books to restoration workshops, but such businesses have yet to take off in the country.

Yang Guanghui, deputy director of the institute, said they are pushing for the creation of a State-level restoration center where ancient books in need of repair can be consolidated and worked on by course graduates.

zhangkun@chinadaily.com.cn