The Delicate Art of Fixing Ancient Chinese Books By Hand

Few rare books would exist today without the work of antique book fixers. They repair damaged manuscripts with precision and care. We talked to a book fixer in Beijing to learn about the delicate art of restoring ancient Chinese books.
0:00 What is antique book fixing?
0:23 Meet an antique book fixer
0:31 How to restore an antique book
1:43 Common problems with old books
2:07 The challenges of the work
2:41 A dying trade
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Producer: Jessica Novia
Script: Tiffany Ip
Videographer: Patrick Wong
Editor: Hanley Chu
Mastering: Joel Roche
Music: Audio Network
#antiques #preservation #books

[@kylin3197]

1 day for a 1 page...so much dedication!

[@restlesssheep7156]

The ratio to the quality of the video and the views this has is saddening. I hope your channel blows up. Each video is made with such care.

[@BarbieRocks8888]

What do these books date to?😮

[@aBc-123-XyZ]

Looks like she'll be in demand for a long time. Hopefully they go digital and have 2 version, soft back and digital.

[@AaLLLLL]

I think they have already done that, you are able to download these books from library websites.

[@whywho8887]

Great Respect for her outstanding work

[@HeyMelani]

Omg WOW!! What a job and what an amazing final results 🤭😍 Thank you for this fantastic story, it was so interesting to watch! Much love from Italy 💐 I’m a new subscriber and I loooove your channel already!

[@cookbook800]

Wow…… she definitely has dedication to an ancient craft!

[@amarbaha]

That level of skill is amazing!

[@monyonk89]

Whoa she's like Baumgartner Restoration for books

[@mihaititienar2994]

Amazing 🤩

[@alasi6261]

She is a national treasure.

[@jasja2605]

I recently bought a old Chinese manuscript in a second hand store,I know very little about it but would like to learn more

[@lkm1010]

A most interesting occupation.

[@hs4xace]

👍👍👍👍👍

[@RegstarRogstar]

Before 1911? Wow such specific year. Why is that. How can i find out more about this

[@PM_ME_MESSIAEN_PICS]

That's when the Qing dynasty collapsed.

[@SimonLi]

thatas so cool that theres a job like this haha how do you even train for this lmfao

[@deel699]

There's schooling for that trade

[@smirbelbirbel]

In the US and Europe, it's a university study programme. In Germany, where I study, it takes at least 6 years.

[@SimonLi]

@@smirbelbirbel that’s crazy!!

[@AnotherMADCreation]

I'm an apprentice and learning from a master, no schooling needed.... Just needed to be interested in how books are repaired/restored. It's hard on the back and neck but she's right, you get lost in it....it can be very meditative.

[@Rexini_Kobalt]

works from before the purge...