Hu Ke has had her nose buried in books for more than a decade. The 35-year-old Beijing resident collates scholarly interpretations of ancient manuscripts, peruses such content for punctuation needs with a fine-toothed comb and ensures a lucid style for unhindered public understanding.

 

A member of the editorial staff in the history division of the Zhonghua Book Company, one of the country's oldest publishing houses dedicated to Chinese classical texts, Hu has been collating tomes sourced from the ancient times since 2011. She may look like a college student in a studious pair of glasses, but she's a thorough and conscientious "blue-penciler" who fits the meticulous nature of her job to a T.

 

"Most ancient books were originally in the form of manuscripts. Since they have been passed down for generations, they are prone to discrepancies. Also, ancient texts had no punctuation marks or paragraphs, which can often make them unintelligible to the general masses," Hu says.

 

Hence, collating manuscripts along with their modern interpretations, while retaining the veracity of their content, is of utmost importance to help scholars who write academic papers and anyone who is keen to understand China's history. Hu and her colleagues bridge the gap.

 

To review the draft by an author who has studied an ancient book is the team's primary duty. "We need to ensure the author concerned has done a thorough job, including studying various manuscripts of the book and covering all the merits in them," Hu says.

 

The next steps involve cross-referencing the draft using multiple sources, determining its academic value, checking if it is in line with the modern style and norms of publication and finally, coming up with revision suggestions for the author.

 

Interactions with the author can be a protracted process. "Sometimes, discussions about a punctuation mark can go on forever," Hu says. Once all these preliminary steps are done, further editing, reviewing and publishing can begin.

 

Years of experience have given Hu the comprehensive ability to deal with historical books. She is able to decide which ancient texts to publish. She discusses collating plans and gets projects approved. She edits submitted drafts, and keeps an eye on both the publishing process and the publicity thereafter.

 

"The standards for choosing an ancient classic can be flexible. If we notice there is enough room to improve the published edition of an ancient text or an author has made a breakthrough in studying such a book, these will be chosen," she explains.

 

A penchant for knowing the past prompted Hu to study ancient history for seven years, and get her bachelor's and master's degrees from Peking University. During her student years, she built a solid foundation for herself in terms of learning how to make ancient texts more comprehensible.

 

"The science behind editing riveted me to ancient classics while bibliography allowed me to understand the depth of Chinese culture and the significance of such works," she says.

 

Hu sensed her knack for editing at her academic standards class. She always did well in the tests. Moreover, she realized that many of her peers－and even some faculty members－faced difficulties comprehending ancient books that were not properly collated.

 

She decided to pursue a career in ancient Chinese literature and history, and contribute to carrying forward the quintessential culture of her country. "I figured my work might help others do better research," she says.

 

During her internship at the company's history division in the third year of her postgraduate studies, Hu saw her employers put considerable emphasis on publishing ancient texts. She made the book firm her first choice when it came to finding a job.

 

Hu recalls how the initial couple of years felt like she was "back in college".She realized it was hardly enough to rely on her knowledge from class to review ancient manuscripts or academic books based on them.

 

Most editors engaged in the publication of old books have a solid background of ancient Chinese literature, history and philology. "They all know their way around classical Chinese characters and texts," she says.

 

In addition, the job requires a working knowledge of multiple fields, including bibliography and collation. When dealing with manuscripts, Hu and her colleagues often encounter unfamiliar terms, which send them on a frantic search through reference books and databases.

 

The book company arranged for Xu Yimin, a senior editor and philology expert, to mentor Hu. In the interim period, Xu published a monograph on interpretation of ancient book collation. It systematically introduces the theory and specific working methods of how to collate ancient texts. "I still refer to it, particularly when I have to find the best place for the original image of an ancient book," Hu says.

 

To date, the publishing house has finished 62 out of 241 previously edited volumes that make up Twenty-four Histories, a collective term used for the 24 officially compiled books that are often considered an authoritative source of traditional Chinese history and culture. These are used for research on a wide range of subjects, including literature, art, music, science, military affairs and geography. "There is still a lot for me to do and learn," Hu says.

 

A total of 11 books in the series have been collated and published since the Twenty-four Histories project was launched in 2006, including the Records of the Grand Historian, the Canonical Book of the Sui Dynasty and the Canonical Book of the Chen Dynasty.

 

Fudan University professor Chen Shangjun, who joined the revisions of the Canonical Book of the Sui Dynasty, describes his experience as going through an "academic drill".He suggests that discussions about all revisions be henceforth printed and filed for future reference.

 

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.