ROC national archives steps up restoration efforts

2015/06/05

The historic documents and records of the ROC are set for preservation and restoration through a program initiated by the National Archives Administration under the National Development Council.

Based at the NAA’s permanent facility in Xinzhuang District of New Taipei City, the undertaking involves three full-time conservators cleaning, preserving and restoring the nation’s historical artifacts such as bond certificates, diplomas, maps and official seals.

“One of the earliest documents preserved in the archives is a property deed from the Qing dynasty [1644-1911],” NAA Chief Secretary Chen Mei-jung said. “Usually these files are transferred to the NAA after 25 years of storage by other government agencies, the exception being records of great national significance, such as those related to the Jiji earthquake of 1999 and Typhoon Morakot of 2009.”

Restoration projects currently underway comprise a batch of water-damaged diplomas from National Beiping University. These form part of the NAA’s priority task to salvage pre-1949 historical artifacts.

Lin Ching-fu, one of the NAA’s conservators, said a restoration technician can process no more than 35 pages of documents per day. “At this rate, with each technician handling approximately 1,000 pieces monthly, it will take 183 years to restore all 6.3 million pages awaiting attention in the archives.”

Other painstaking projects demanding Lin’s attentions include railway records from the Japanese colonial era (1895-1945) and a supersized East Asia nautical chart by the Japanese navy.

“Paper-based documents are susceptible to insect and mold damage in Taiwan’s humid environment,” Lin said. “But with our expertise in cryogenic preservation and anti-aging treatment, the life of the restored documents is extended by a couple of centuries.

“We are doing our best in the race against time, preserving for future generations first-hand evidence of milestones in the ROC’s storied past.”

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=231177&ctNode=413)