Cong Qiushan and his apprentice. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

Framing paintings and calligraphy works is a traditional handicraft in China and it is playing a crucial role in protecting traditional culture.

Numerous precious calligraphies, paintings, and books have been preserved until now only because of the protection provided by materials such as papers and silk, noted Cong Qiushan, a retired repairer of artworks at Nantong Museum.

Framing is inseparable from repairing art pieces, he added.

Aged 67, Cong has been engaged in the repairing work for more than 40 years and has restored over 1,000 paintings and calligraphy works.

The repairing process is not always smooth and many difficulties have unfolded before the repairer, requiring him to continuously reflect and overcome various challenges.

Cong noted that his work needs him to keep on learning because it is not uncommon for him to encounter a new challenge.

In 2016, retired Cong was reemployed by the Nantong Museum and he looked forward to some young people joining the repair work.

Wang Zhuxin is one such young person who took a fancy to repairing cultural relics after watching the hit documentary series Masters in the Forbidden City about restoring relics.

Over the past three years, Wang learned about the framing art and repair techniques from Cong. Now, she is not only an assistant of her mentor in framing and restoring an artwork, but also can take charge of the work alone.