Young ancient book restorer who saved 700-year-old national treasure goes viral. Screenshot of Modern Express

Ding Feng, a librarian at Nanjing Library, has attracted wide attention on Wednesday after he restored two volumes of a national treasure ancient book, a medical book inscribed in Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).

In the Department of Historical Documents of Nanjing Library, among the 13 ancient book restorers, the post-90s generation has become the main force. Some of them have been working for nearly 10 years, and some others are graduate students majoring in cultural relic restoration.

"Our daily work is monotonous, and we spend most of our time in restoration," Ding said. "Restoring ancient books has honed my character and taught me how to be patient, which is the biggest benefit of my work." 

Huang Jin, born in 1994, is also a member of the department. In her daily work, apart from burying herself in the restoration work, she also shares the restoration process of ancient books on social platforms to spread knowledge about ancient books to the public. Netizens were impressed by their superb techniques. "They're like doctors operating on ancient books. Now the post-90s generation has become a major force in protecting cultural relics. I hope the Chinese civilization can continue to be passed on and arouse the interest of more young people," a netizen said.