Experts working on old texts feted

Veteran scholar Yuan Xingpei from Peking University says Zhang's work is unprecedented.

The book on the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220) tombs is compiled by Qiu Xigui and his team. They studied hundreds of bamboo slips and 50 silk books and paintings that were unearthed 40 years ago.

Yuan says that though collating ancient texts is a lonely job, "it is a significant one".

As for Song Yunbin's background, he was once with the Zhonghua Book Company working on the History of Twenty-four Dynasties.

Song, who was born in Zhejiang province in 1897, contributed greatly to the study of ancient texts and Chinese culture.

In a Guangming Daily article in March 1950, Song writes: "Our ancestors have left us many treasures... It's our duty to sort them out ... and offer readers decisive, precise and clear notes."

His grandson, Song Jingqi, donated his collection of paintings and calligraphy to be auctioned and used the money to set up the Song Yunbin Foundation.

The foundation is believed to be one the first nongovernmental foundations promoting the study of ancient texts.

According to Ge, it is one of the few foundations that is not set up by the super-rich.

Speaking about the foundation, Song Jingqi says: "We want to carry on the tradition of collating ancient texts, and we want to encourage earnest research."