Shanghai, Suzhou libraries promote China's intangible cultural heritages
A foreign student learns stele inscription technique at Shanghai Library on Thursday.
Foreign students learn traditional stele inscription technique.
A series of cultural activities are being held at libraries in Shanghai and Suzhou, neighboring Jiangsu Province, to promote China's intangible cultural heritages and enable the public to experience their splendor.
Lectures on intangible cultural heritages are delivered and participants learn ancient document restoration and stele inscription techniques from specialists.
The 10-day event, jointly hosted by Shanghai Library, Suzhou Library and video game development giant Bandai Namco Holdings China Co Ltd under a crossover cooperation, comprises seven experiences.
In Shanghai, five experience activities are being held at Shanghai Library this week – on Thursday, Friday and the weekend.
Among these, two are attended by foreign students from East China Normal University and Shanghai University. The rest, scheduled on the weekend, will be open to the public.
The other two experience activities were held in Suzhou in late October.
The stele inscription technique.
Foreign students learn stele inscription.
Some simple procedures from dozens of procedures involved in the two intangible cultural heritages have been selected for the activities and the tablet stones used are specially designed as they embody Jiangnan culture. Jiangnan refers to a region south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.
"I know something about Chinese calligraphy and I am interested in Chinese culture and Chinese medicine," said Simon, a Russian student of East China Normal University who participated in Thursday's event.
Book restoration, a centuries-old craft in China, is indispensable in the preservation of ancient writings.
"Due to bad preservation practices of the past, we come across pages eaten by worms and paper that has grown extremely brittle," said Zhang Pinfang, head of the Document Preservation and Conservation Institute of Shanghai Library.
Every situation requires specialized treatment. Restoring a single page can take hours.
"Such events will help promote cultural exchanges and bring people close to historical documents," said Zhang. "It will make more people aware of the traditional technique and attract young people to join in the work."
Local chronicles of Shanghai and Suzhou are displayed during the event at Shanghai Library, so participants can learn about the development of the two cities and experience the essence of Jiangnan culture.
