Treatment of a Severely Damaged Paper Manuscript of the Tang Dynasty Unearthed from the Western Regions
-
Chen Yu
,
Yaya Wang
Abstract
A batch of paper manuscripts of the Tang Dynasty unearthed from the Western Regions represents one of the most important special collections at the Museum of Renmin University of China. These paper manuscripts are a unique source for studying history, religion, paleography, and culture. Due to their age and the detrimental storage environment, most manuscripts were severely damaged and incomplete and needed conservation treatment. One of these manuscripts dated to the 5th year of the Zhenyuan period (789 C.E.) was distorted and it was not possible to identify its content; it also posed serious challenges for handling. This paper proposes method for preserving this manuscript. Soiling was removed using dry-cleaning methods, followed by unfolding the folds with tweezers, mending losses and lining. After conservation measures, the surface of the manuscript was flat, and the handwriting was recognizable. For long-term storage and utilization, the manuscript was encapsulated in paper and stored in a self-made paper folder. This paper aims to contribute to research on a safe and reliable method for preserving severely damaged and distorted manuscripts.
Zusammenfassung
Ein Konvolut von Papierfragmenten aus der Tang-Dynastie, die in den westlichen Regionen von China ausgegraben worden waren, gehört zu den wichtigsten Sammlungen des Museums der Renmin-Universität in China. Diese Fragmente sind eine einzigartige Quelle für das Studium von Geschichte, Religion, Paläographie und Kultur. Aufgrund ihres Alters und der ungünstigen Lagerungsbedingungen waren die meisten Fragmente stark beschädigt und mussten restauratorisch behandelt werden. Eines dieser Fragmente aus dem 5. Jahr der Zhenyuan-Periode (789 n. Chr.) war stark zerknüllt, so dass es nicht möglich war, seinen Inhalt zu identifizieren; außerdem stellte es eine große Herausforderung bei der Handhabung dar. In diesem Beitrag wird die Restaurierung des Fragments beschrieben, die sich an asiatischen Restaurierungsmethoden orientierte. Die Oberflächenverschmutzungen wurden durch Trockenreinigung entfernt, anschließend wurden die Falten mit einer Pinzette geöffnet, Fehlstellen ergänzt und das Fragment kaschiert. Nach der Durchführung der Maßnahmen war das Fragment glatt und die Handschrift wieder lesbar. Zur langfristigen Aufbewahrung wird das Fragment in einer Papierhülle und einer selbstgebauten Papiermappe aufbewahrt. Diese Arbeit stellt einen Beitrag zur Erforschung sicherer und zuverlässiger Methoden zur Restaurierung stark beschädigter Fragmente aus dem Kontext archäologischer Ausgrabungen dar.
Funding source: The Major Planning Project of Renmin University of China "The Collation, Excavation and Rescuing Conservation of Documents Unearthed from the Western Regions"
Award Identifier / Grant number: No. 20XNLG06
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the Major Planning Project of Renmin University of China “The Collation, Excavation and Rescuing Conservation of Manuscripts Unearthed from the Western Regions” (No. 20XNLG06). This paper was supported by the Museum of Renmin University of China, and we would like to express our deepest thanks to Yuqing Hu from the National Library of China for her guidance on conservation techniques and hard work, and Shujie Chen and Zeng Gao from the Museum of Renmin University of China for the great support on the project. Last but in no way least, the article could not have been done without the efforts of all people involved in the conservation process and we would like to express our gratitude for their help here.
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Supplementary Material
The online version of this article offers supplementary material (https://doi.org/10.1515/res-2022-0017).
© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Original Works
- Disinfection of Mould-contaminated Archival Material by X-ray Irradiation – New Research Results on the Effect on Moulds and Cellulose
- Treatment of a Severely Damaged Paper Manuscript of the Tang Dynasty Unearthed from the Western Regions
- Mineral Clays for Cleaning Tidelines on Paper-Based Artworks
- Technical Note
- Didactic Panel Illustrating Light Exposure Effects
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Original Works
- Disinfection of Mould-contaminated Archival Material by X-ray Irradiation – New Research Results on the Effect on Moulds and Cellulose
- Treatment of a Severely Damaged Paper Manuscript of the Tang Dynasty Unearthed from the Western Regions
- Mineral Clays for Cleaning Tidelines on Paper-Based Artworks
- Technical Note
- Didactic Panel Illustrating Light Exposure Effects
