A journey beyond border and time to revive ancient Chinese books

Chen Xiaoshan vividly recalls his rendezvous with a block-printed edition of the Confucian classic "Xunzi," dating back to the Song Dynasty (960-1279), while abroad a few years ago.

"The moment I touched it, I could almost feel the pulse of Chinese culture," recalled 32-year-old Chen, a member of an ongoing project called "Integration of Chinese ancient books."

In a small building on the main campus of Shandong University in east China, Chen and his colleagues have spent the past six years bringing many ancient Chinese classics that were dispersed overseas "back home."

The project is a comprehensive cultural undertaking that encompasses several aspects, such as surveying and cataloging overseas Chinese ancient texts, copying and digitizing some selected works, conducting research on them, and building a database, said Zheng Jiewen, the chief expert of the project.

Their final objective is to complete the copying or digital scanning of approximately 9,000 kinds of rare and valuable Chinese classics and other ancient documents found abroad. Around 2,000 of them will be photocopied and published.

Undoubtedly, the entire project is an exceptionally challenging endeavor.

The survey and cataloging team comprises over 420 people, including university teachers, international students and overseas Chinese, according to the team leader Shan Chengbin.

Every day, they endure hours of commuting to gain access to a mere handful of Chinese classics, as some overseas agencies responsible for storing these invaluable books have daily borrowing limits, Shan said.

Once the arduous task of cataloging the books is complete, a meticulous screening process will ensue, aiming to discern whether they possess sufficient value to warrant their "return" to their place of origin. This intricate process involves delving into an expansive sea of books and searching for those elusive "hidden gems" that lie within.

One such discovery made through a collaboration between St. Petersburg State University in Russia and Shandong University is the "Records of Iron Forging," which documents 16th-century metallurgical techniques in China. It is considered a rare surviving edition. In June 2019, a replica of this book was presented as a gift by the Russian side to China.

Tang Ziheng, a 68-year-old retired literature professor from Shandong University, dedicated himself to the proofreading and publication of overseas ancient books.

"I wake up at around five in the morning almost every day and spend six to seven hours going through manuscripts," said Tang, who is engaging in five rounds of proofreading to minimize potential errors and ensure the reliability of the replicated books brought back from abroad for academic research.

The first batch of 14 kinds of proofread books will be published in the second half of this year.

The "Integration of Chinese ancient books" project was officially launched in April 2017 and is set to span a period of 10 years.

To date, the project has successfully surveyed 1,988 book archive agencies overseas, leading to the identification and cataloging of 360,000 ancient Chinese books. Among this collection, approximately 1,600 kinds of unique books have "returned home" through copying or scanning.

"Paper has a lifespan of a thousand years, and some ancient books from the Song and Yuan dynasties are nearing their limit. If we don't find them in time and replicate them, they may vanish in the river of history," Chen Xiaoshan said.

Chinese scholars are also bringing their expertise in ancient books to library institutions overseas. In 2018, the project started sending experts to help a Sinology institute and a municipal library in France compile comprehensive catalogs of ancient Chinese books there. The work is expected to be completed by 2024.

Chen said the significance of the project lies not only in the revival of rare ancient books but also in opening up a new space for cultural exchange between the East and the West.