Chapter 1614 Improvement
Even if this test detects that the repair paper will bleed, the solution is not complicated. You only need to glue the repair paper and repeat it many times until the repair paper becomes If the performance is close to the performance of the paper to be replenished, it will be fine.
After the preparation work is completed, it is time to formulate a repair plan.
Of course the simplest repair solution is to do what Zhou Zhi did before, that is, only the painting core is left, and the rest are replaced with new ones. This is of course the most direct, most complete, and most effective repair method.
However, this kind of repair method is usually used when the calligraphy and painting have major problems, and when people describe it, it is "merged into death". For these two rubbings that were cherished and valued by the predecessors, He said that although there are some problems, they are far from that level.
Therefore, the two volumes of rubbings are all "minor illnesses", but the mounting of calligraphy and painting is not a real cure. "Treatment" of such minor illnesses is actually much more complicated than "major blood transfusion".
The final restoration plan was based on a comprehensive analysis based on the overall current situation of "痗 Crane Inscription" and "Thousand Character Classic", the location of damage and repair requirements, etc., so as to "repair the old as before". "Minimum intervention" is the repair principle. Based on traditional repair techniques, only the damaged areas of the two rolls are partially repaired.
Moth-eaten holes are repaired by hand; the fractures and brittle parts of the roof, footings, creases and other parts are glued and flat-bonded with corresponding leather paper to reinforce them, and the repairs are made as far as possible along the Expose the repaired parts for the second time during the first intensive repair. Open, use the old repair paper that can be used as much as possible, replace it with new repair paper if it is not possible, repair it with slurry, and carefully process various seams. Under the existing conditions, only moderate repairs will be made, and only the current repair paper will be repaired. Repair the damaged area instead of comprehensive and advanced repair.
This is even more difficult. Anyone who has watched Qingwen's patching up the bird's fur in Dream of Red Mansions knows that repairing is a more difficult craft than cutting.
The most important point is that when repairing, you must leave enough room for future generations to repair the next time, just like the expert did last time.
After the plan is approved by Ellsworth, the restoration project can officially begin.
The first step is to establish a file. For every damaged area that needs to be repaired, take photos to leave clear and comprehensive details of the damage before repair, and also record the relevant matters related to the repair here. , including the location of the damage in the rubbing, thickness, color card reading, pH, surrounding conditions, repair plan, required spare materials, etc.
After everything was recorded and the repair details of each damage determined, the work began to be dusted and disinfected.
Here Zhou Zhi discovered some new restoration equipment, such as dust collectors for dust removal.
The dust remover uses ultrasonic equipment of a specific frequency to remove dust from the work to be repaired, so that the accumulated dust on the paper can be separated. The work is then placed in a fume hood, adjusted to the appropriate suction strength, and combined with soft Brush for cleaning.
Through the suction device above the cabinet top, the cleaned dust will be sucked into the dust bag. This device is something Zhou Zhi has never seen before.
The next step is to select the corresponding bamboo paper and leather paper to repair and reinforce the insect holes, fractures and brittle parts of the damaged leaves. Because bamboo paper is yellowish and slightly white, leather paper is almost white. The paper color of these two types of paper is quite different from the original book. Therefore, the selected replacement paper needs to be dyed appropriately so that the repaired effect can be harmonious and natural with the original book leaves.
The materials used for color mixing are generally various Chinese medicinal materials, but for these two rubbings, it is enough to use black tea bags that are commonly consumed by Westerners.
Take an appropriate amount of black tea and add water to boil. At the same time, use a clean strip of paper to test the color. If the color is darker, add water appropriately. If the color is darker, add a little black tea. Repeat the color test several times until it is close to the color of the original paper, and the tea is ready.
Put the paper into the sink by dip-dying, and control the dip-dying time to 30 minutes. Then peel off the pages one by one, lift them up and let them dry for seven minutes. Then spray water to moisten them again, flatten them, and then compare them with the image of the area to be repaired until it has passed. The dyed bamboo paper and leather paper can be used only after the color of the paper to be repaired cannot be distinguished by the naked eye.
The damaged moth-eaten holes in "The Crane Inscription" are mainly concentrated at the top and bottom of the ground. Open the rubbing, face down, and place it on the cold light-transmitting workbench that has been laid with fiber paper in advance. Repair the damaged holes in the order of "first the middle, then both sides" and "first fill the big ones, then the small ones." Use a brush dipped in slurry water and smear it around the hole. Use the prepared patching paper, align the paper pattern, and stick it flatly on the hole. Press it slightly and cover it with absorbent paper to absorb excess water and pulp.
Use tweezers to tear off the excess patching paper according to the wet seal, and at the same time finely process the seams. Considering that the physical properties of the paper around the holes have declined, in order to better protect the rubbings, it is necessary to appropriately expand the width of the overlap according to the actual situation when processing the overlap. It is generally controlled at 2.0-2.5 mm to appropriately increase the holes. Pulling force all around.
As for the reinforcement of fractured and brittle parts, due to the long-term external force, the creases will curl, break, and have burrs. Many parts of the footings have darker signs of brittleness.
Through naked eye observation, it can be found that the rubbings have been broken in these parts before, and they have been carefully repaired. For these parts, the way to deal with the breaks is to glue the strips of paper that have been torn in advance. The bonding method is to align the gaps first, and then Leave a slight gap between the single leaves, smear water from top to bottom, stick the strip of parchment paper to the edge of the book and cover it with absorbent paper, absorb the water, press it slightly and stick it tightly, and there will be brittle parts of the base. Apply slurry water in the same way, and use parchment paper strips to flatten it, press it firmly, and tear off the excess paper edges as needed.
It should be noted that handmade paper actually has front and back sides. After picking up the bamboo mat from the pulp water, the side that sticks to the bamboo mat and the side that faces the air have the same fiber density and organization method. Subtle differences.
In addition, the presence of thin bamboo filaments on the bamboo curtain will also cause the density of the paper to show an alternating sparse distribution. Therefore, when repairing, you must also pay attention to these details and change the density, front and back. and direction must be aligned with the original paper.
During the restoration process, Zhou Zhi also discovered that although the previous generation of restorers were skilled in craftsmanship, they had limited choices for repairing paper. Therefore, when repairing at that time, the thickness of the repairing paper used was greater than the original paper, and the seams were repaired. The position may be limited by vision and is a bit too wide.
These two situations will cause the pages of the repaired rubbings to be uneven, especially if they are eaten by insects the day after tomorrow, wrinkles similar to walnut patterns will grow around the holes.
Many repaired parts may look fine but feel stiff when touched, causing the thickness of the top and bottom of the entire book to be slightly higher than other parts.
After discovering this new situation, Zhou Zhi determined to improve these hidden dangers in the original repair.