Making page-turners

Zhao Shengqun, the lead editor of the revised edition of the Records of the Grand Historian and a retired professor of Nanjing Normal University, says it is a general misunderstanding that compilation of ancient books is all about compiling words, placing punctuation marks, writing annotations and translating texts.

Instead, it is "a research achievement in award evaluation and project application". The work of compiling ancient books varies in terms of difficulty levels. In-depth and creative research is arduous and valuable, Zhao adds.

Hu and her colleagues stress their job is not a thankless errand. "A lot of things in the world cannot be achieved in a short time, but they are nonetheless very important. Basic research can require the efforts of several generations," Hu says.

She considers herself fortunate enough to be in this profession. "Nowadays, many people explain and popularize traditional culture on TV or online platforms, but having a reliable book is important to avoid deviation from history and misleading the audience," she says. "We collate ancient books to offer people a solid and credible source of historical information."

Recent years have witnessed the digitization of ancient tomes. The company has established a specialized e-division. Automatic punctuation and online editing tools have improved the efficiency of collating books, which in turn enriches the digital database for ancient texts.

The National Library of China, in collaboration with nine other libraries across the country, has made over 1,700 sets of ancient books available digitally, the dual objective being preservation and easy accessibility. A registration database has also been set up to protect the books. Information about nearly 8 million books have been uploaded to the platform.

"Digitization of ancient books has improved over the past 10 years. Images collected by various public institutions have been made available online, which is of great convenience in terms of research on and collation of ancient books," Hu says.

She says she hopes more young people realize the immense value of historical book editing and take it up as a career.