Shi Mei (right), deputy director of Nanjing University Library, introduces exhibits to visitors. The exhibition, held at the university's art museum in Jiangsu province, will run until Dec 21. [Photo/China Daily]

Lovingly preserved 'treasure' from universities' collections draws huge interest

About 1,300 years ago, a group of Buddhist monks or pilgrims copied a roll of sutra by hand and, in so doing, carried out an act of utmost homage to the deities. Despite the passing of time, the color has not faded, and therein lies a story of supreme human devotion. It was written in their blood, though the manner of its extraction is still not confirmed. It may have been the result of biting their own fingers to provide the "ink". More than a millennium has passed but, because of the addition of mineral dyestuffs mixed in with the blood, the color on the 3-meter-long scroll has not diminished.

This manuscript, Dafangbianfo Bao'en Jing ("sutra on the greatness of Buddha's repayment of kindness"), or simply known as "the gratitude sutra", was rediscovered in 1900 in one of the Mogao Caves at Dunhuang, Gansu province. About 60,000 volumes of ancient documents were found in that Buddhist grotto, commonly called "the library cave".

Successively owned by several collectors but now part of the collection of Nanjing University, the "gratitude sutra "makes a rare public appearance at an exhibition of ancient books at the university's art museum in the capital of Jiangsu province.

Over 200 copies of ancient manuscripts and books from the university's collection are showcased for the monthlong exhibition, Varied Splendor of Literary Troves: Selected Treasures From Nanjing University, which will run until Dec 21.

"We've been categorizing our inventory of ancient books for years," says Shi Mei, deputy director of Nanjing University Library and chief curator of the exhibition.

"And this is an opportunity to show how our traditional culture has been inherited through their pages," she adds. "Therefore, the very best from our collection is being presented."

According to Shi, it is the largest-scale exhibition of ancient books ever held by the university, and also one of the largest among Chinese universities.

Ancient Chinese books are defined as those predating 1911, the end of the monarchy in China.

Since 2014, the National Center for Preservation and Conservation of Ancient Books, which is based in the National Library of China in Beijing, has sponsored and helped to organize a series of exhibitions around the country under the banner Varied Splendor of Literary Troves, as translated from Cefu Qianhua, its original Chinese title.

The ongoing event at Nanjing University, or NJU, is the 30th exhibition in the series. It is only the second university involved in the program, the other being Zhejiang University, as most of the rest were presented by provincial- or city-level public libraries.

It is probably not exaggerating to call many of the exhibits "national treasures".

Another highlighted exhibit is a set of four printed books compiled by iconic Confucian philosopher Lyu Zuqian from the Song Dynasty (960-1279), which are annotations on the history of the Southern Dynasty (420-589). It is the oldest printed work in the university's collection and is also an example of early-stage Chinese print technology.

The books were designed to be portable to better disseminate the historical documents among readers. The pages were soaked in pepper water as a preservative, so they have never been eaten or damaged by bugs and remain in pristine condition.

Surviving copies of Yingwuzhou ("a parrot island"), a printed opera script from 1616, were only housed in Nanjing University and the National Library of China. And this exhibited edition is famed for its value, not only in literature, but also in art. The book contains a series of exquisite illustrations, and some of them are not seen in the copy on display at the national library.

Additionally, a tattered page from Yunji Qiqian ("the seven slips in a book bag"), a milestone anthology of Taoist canons, at the exhibition will also raise the excitement level of ancient book collectors.

Shi explains that the anthology was first published in the 11th century, in which many previously lost Taoist canons were retrieved. An emperor of the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) once ordered a reprint of this 120-volume tome, but almost all the copies were soon destroyed during a war that broke out shortly afterward.

"Only its scattered pages can be seen," Shi says. "So this page is extremely precious."

At the exhibition, a visiting collector half-jokingly asked Shi whether this is for sale.

"No matter how high a price you offer, it's out of the question," Shi responded. "We collect it and we have the duty to take good care of it while it is in our custody."