China Academy of Art

Zhang Xiaozhai, a specially appointed professor at the China Academy of Art and a senior cultural relic restorer at the Zhejiang Art Museum in east China's Zhejiang Province, has developed techniques for restoring ancient Chinese paintings and calligraphy damaged by mildew, moths, and other factors. With over 60 years of experience, he has successfully restored masterpieces from the Tang Dynasty (618-907) to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Zhang began working in Hangzhou at the age of 18 and became an apprentice to Chen Yanbin, a renowned painting restoration expert. After three years of intensive practice, he furthered his studies at the Shanghai Museum and the Palace Museum, continuously improving his restoration skills. Zhang Xiaozhai demonstrates the restoration process of an ancient painting. (Photo/Ning Qinbo) Today, the 81-year-old is an outstanding representative of the second-generation restorers of cultural relics and ancient Chinese painting and calligraphy works in Zhejiang Province. According to Zhang, restoring an ancient painting or calligraphy involves several complicated steps, including cleaning, separating, repairing, and restoring. These steps require extreme care and patience. An ancient painting or calligraphy work consists of layers of paper or other materials. These include the painting layer itself, Huaxin, and the paper layer attached to…