Between the lines the story of an unusual tome

[Photo by Wu Linhua/ China Daily]

A commitment to books and beauty produces an international prizewinnner.

Covered in dull olive green synthetic raffia, bound by gray strings, the almost square book seems modestly unadorned. And the stories in it about a simple man and his family's bookshop in the city of Xi'an are unlikely to stir readers that much. However, anyone carefully leafing through the pages of Order: The Story of Fangyuan Bookshop, is likely to be touched and amused by the ordinariness that is presented ingeniously through the airy and light interaction of text and image. The deft creativity of the designer of the flip-book presentation of the caricature faces of the man to the left of the strings that bind the book are something to marvel at.

The book, made by the bookshop owner, Lyu Chonghua, designed by Li Jin and published by Guangxi Fine Arts Publishing House, won the Gold Medal in the Most Beautiful Book in the World competition in Leipzig, Germany, in February.

It is the second time after 12 years that a Chinese book won the award again.

"When you see the book, you see Lyu Chonghua and the store," says Li, assistant professor in the Department of Design of Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts, sitting on a wooden bar stool, on top of which two nails stand out, in front of the counter of Fangyuan Bookshop.

The 200-square-meter shop, beside the gate of the academy, is jam packed with 20,000 books and other items related to the arts, gorgeous calligraphy model books, plaster statues and row upon row of neatly stored brushes. And in the most important location are a stack of solid olive green books, copies of Order: The Story of Fangyuan Bookshop, which are barely discernible because they almost melt into the background.

"The book is like a square solid brick, just like him," Li says in a matter-of-fact way that reflects the character of those who live in the area. "Look at the face, both round and square."

Li, 44, looks smart and elegant, wearing a dark cotton gown, her long black hair in a bun held together by a hairpin.

She was a classmate of Lyu at the Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts, where the pair studied graphic design, more than 20 years ago.

"Many people say that it is the first time a designer has creatively used such a cover," she says. "Well, it's the wrapper of the books. Every day I step into the bookstore I see these olive green wrappers at the door."

Publishers use it to protect books while they are being transported because such wrapping is cheap but durable.