To actively implement the national cultural strategy and significantly enhance the quality of public services, Zhejiang Library has partnered with Topnod (known as Jingtan in Chinese) to create NFTs, showcasing Chinese traditional culture to a global audience.
Non-Fungible Tokens, also known as NFTs (数字藏品), are unique digital identification codes generated using blockchain technology for specific works of art. By safeguarding digital copyrights, NFTs enable reliable distribution, purchase, collection, and use. Each NFT represents an original piece, and when a reader acquires it, they become the sole owner in the world. This exclusivity is what makes NFTs alluring and highly valuable.
On May 17, 2023, the first 3D NFT from Zhejiang Library, “Zixufu” (“Master Nil”) and “Shanglinfu” (“Imperial Forest”) came online on the platform, Topnod,at a number of 10,000. These two works were originally made by Sima Xiangru (author of prose poem in the Han Dynasty) and written by Wen Zhengming (painter, calligrapher, writer and collector in the Ming Dynasty). This product is shown in the form of a folder, containing seven parts, including completely restored “Zixufu” and “Shanglinfu” in 3D structure, the high-definition pictures, the detailed appreciation video and the audio commentary about the love story of Sima Xiangru and Zhuo Wenjun.
“Zixufu” and “Shanglinfu” are companion articles that satirize Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty and express the author's political ambitions. They are landmark works of typical literature in the Han Dynasty. While the calligraphy works of Wen Zhengming have always been quite elegant, which show the gentle temper of the writer.
Dharani Sutra (Informally called the “Leifengta Sutra”), digitally published this time was originally stored in Leifeng Pagoda which was built by Qian Chu, the King of Wu-Yue. The scoll of Leifengta Sutra takes bamboo sticks as the centering, covered with gold silk and bound brocade. The whole scroll was stored in the hole of a brick and then sealed with yellow mud. In that case, the scrolls could be passed on for thousand years. Thanks to this unique and ingenious design, even many scrolls were lost because of time passed and wars, some of them still remain in world.
The 3D NFT which is put online this time is the one that inscripted by famous archeologist and collector Chen Xijun. The Leifengta Sutra is issued together with 3D model of the old and new Leifeng Pagoda and the story about these two heritages.
