Taking a page from tradition

The rest involved perseverance-trying over and over again until it was correct.

"The whole process was one of desperation," Zhang recalls.

His first attempt was to bind the ancient Buddhist text, Diamond Sutra, in dragon-scale style.

When he finished the first small section, he wasted no time in sharing his brilliant work with his teacher Lyu, who rapidly poured cold water on the flames of his enthusiasm.

"He told me I got it all backward," Zhang says. "So, it was back to the drawing board and I had to start from square one again."

Zhang's determination and interest in the ancient binding technique got him through those early setbacks and, eventually, after two and a half years, he tasted success with the completion of a 73-meter-long scroll with 217 scales.

Instead of completely copying the old style, he innovated. Zhang arranged the patterns on the top edge of each paper sheet, and once they were all rolled out, they formed an image of Buddha.

"Images can offer stronger stimuli (to the eye) than words, and people usually first get interested in the image they see before starting to turn the pages," he explains.

"The image breaks as the pages are turned, symbolizing a progressive reading experience."