Chinese experts have begun restoring a 700-year-old handwritten
copy of the Koran, the sacred book of Islam, in northwest China's
Qinghai Province.?
The restoration began with a detailed scientific analysis of the
paper and ink, said Xi Sancai, director of Nanjing Museum’s
cultural relics preservation research institute.?
"We will clean up marks and mildew stains, and mend damaged
pages by using the most advanced and mature technologies," said Xi,
heading up the three-strong restoration team.
The 867-page two-volume set, the oldest of its kind known in
China, is written in Arabic and stored in two caskets in Xunhua
County’s Jiezi mosque in Xunhua County.
Experts believe it was completed before the 13th Century.
Completed in the 13th century, it was brought to China during the
Salar people’s migration eastwards from Maracanda, present-day
Samarkand in Uzbekistan.
"The books have been seriously eroded and are in danger of
rotting," said Ma Weimin, deputy director of the Qinghai Provincial
Cultural Heritage Bureau, adding that they have been photographed
with a digital camera, allowing replicas to be made.
"Local conditions, such as the lack of equipment, limit the
work," said Xi. Local people were reluctant to see the books
removed from the area but Xi said he was confident of success as
the books were not severely damaged.
Xi assured that few chemical materials would be used to protect
the books and predicted the work would be completed within a year,
using the 444,000 yuan (US$55,000) allocated to the project by the
State Cultural Heritage Administration.
The books will be displayed near the mosque in a new exhibition
center, built from voluntary donations by local people, totaling
four million yuan (US$500,000).
(Xinhua News Agency September 22, 2006)
