Preserving the past to enrich the future

Tang Shimin says the taxidermy process, especially for larger exhibits is really quite laborious. For example, the camels and giraffes in the museum were handled by all the taxidermists in Tang family in Shanghai.

"The camel was made by nine people and the giraffe by six people," he says.

In his view, the life of animals is limited, and taxidermy can "record" their existence in another way.

After a period of renovation, the museum opened to the public for free in 2018. In 2019, the museum launched an online exhibition to further expand its influence, while protecting its precious animal specimens as much as possible, according to Wu Yanhua, the director of museum, who is also the senior lecturer of the School of Life Sciences at Fudan University.

Although Tang Shimin's offspring didn't follow the family tradition, Yan Jun, a postgraduate student majoring in zoology at Fudan University, became Tang Shimin's new apprentice and is expected to become the new "guardian" of the taxidermy museum.

"In the process of teaching how to make exhibits, Tang Shimin has always been unreserved, including paying attention to every detail," Yan says.

Like Tang Shimin, Yan hopes her efforts will educate more people.

"I want to use the museum and the faculty of Fudan University to carry out biodiversity-themed education for young people," she adds.

Contact the writer at heqi@chinadaily.com.cn