Urban Exploration... Night Reading in Xujiahui Academy, Searching for Light, Script Reading, Intangible Cultural Heritage Craft Reading | Activity | Xujiahui

On August 16th, the first day of the opening of the Shanghai Book Fair, Xujiahui Academy held a "Night of Light Seeking" reading promotion experience activity, bringing seven different reading forms and three "Light Seeking" routes, and making a night reading appointment with book fans.

One of the highlights of this event, "Reading Architecture: Special Exhibition of Dragon Scale Decoration Art Books", invited Zhang Xiaodong, a national intangible cultural heritage inheritor and decoration artist, to present a unique reading posture for citizens and readers.

Dragon scale binding is a type of binding form that emerged during the transition from scroll binding to page binding in ancient books, first appearing in the Tang Dynasty. As the scroll unfolds, layers of pages are arranged in an orderly manner like scales, and the unfolded pages move with the wind.

Originally, this unique form of decoration had already been lost. Through Zhang Xiaodong's perseverance and more than ten years of searching through historical traces, this dusty craft was finally brought back to life. However, he was not only satisfied with restoring the dragon scale costume, but also integrated the two techniques of dragon scale costume and warp folding costume, and launched a new way of decoration - warp dragon costume, and innovatively launched the "Thousand Pages" series of works with continuous growth and undulating folds through the art of "paper carving".

In this exhibition, visitors can not only appreciate Zhang Xiaodong's representative work of dragon scale costume, "Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains", but also appreciate his representative works of classic dragon costume, "Qing Dynasty Sun Wen's Painting of Cheng Jia's Illustrated Edition of Dream of the Red Chamber" and "Poetry of Dream of the Red Chamber", as well as his thousand page series of works such as "First Visit to the Grand View Garden" and "Second Visit to the Grand View Garden".

On the evening of the event, the beloved "Little Prince" also appeared at the children's library of Xujiahui Academy.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the publication of "The Little Prince". The Children's Hall of Xujiahui Academy has exhibited nearly 300 books of "The Little Prince" in different languages and with different decorations, as well as hand-painted illustrations and calligraphy copies by the famous French literary translator Zhou Kexi. More than 200 different versions of "The Little Prince" have been purchased for readers to borrow, creating a childlike world belonging to the Little Prince.

At the same time, the evening event helped children explore the Little Prince's fantasy world through various forms such as sitcoms, book sharing sessions, and planet exploration missions.

At the same time, held on the third floor, was an author sharing session on "Old Zhou Wangye's Eye: City History in the Streets and Alleys" brought by media person Zhou Li. Speaking authentic Shanghai dialect, Old Zhou led readers to embark on an indoor "citywalk", experiencing the historical and cultural charm of Shanghai's neighborhoods, architecture, Shanghai style art, culinary culture, and other aspects.

As a blogger studying and exploring Shanghai style urban culture, Lao Zhou never stops writing and his popularity cannot be underestimated.

In the experience activity of "Exploring Shanghai: Traveling through Time and Space", readers can embark on a journey through time and space by searching for symbols on buildings and clues in old paper piles through an old map of Shanghai.

Xujiahui Academy, as a dissemination platform for various local intangible cultural heritage arts represented by Tushanwan Art, also launched a series of activities under the name of "Exploring the Source of Light" on the evening of the event, offering a rubbing experience. Readers can experience the traditional handicraft techniques of rubbings selected for the 14th batch of Xuhui District level Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

In the auditorium of Xujiahui Academy, the mystery play "The Pillow Man" script reading and guiding event also attracted enthusiastic support from readers.

The Ellery Quinn and Detective Novel Treasure Exhibition will be held on the east side of the book wall on the 3rd floor of the academy during the event.

Taking Ellery Quay as the starting point and combining with many famous works of the Golden Age, this exhibition showcases the most brilliant period in the development of detective novels, showcasing many rare and rare initial versions. While allowing readers to fully appreciate the charm of detective novels, the exhibition also continues the tradition of Shanghai urban literature and fills the long-standing gap in domestic exhibitions focused on detective novels and authentic Western literature.

Located in the elite area of the Hengfu Historical and Cultural District, Xuhui District continues to develop and fully showcase its rich reserves of cultural and tourism resources. During the book exhibition, including Xujiahui Academy, a total of 100 book themed activities will be held at various locations in Xuhui District. Bring the joy of reading to a wider audience.