Jiang Xun, a book binding designer and founder of Model Bookstore Plus Poem Space inside a centurial church, passed away unexpectedly at the age of 51.
His wife Xing Na said, "Falling accidentally from a height while moving a warehouse, he left this world forever on January 16, after all rescue measures proved ineffectual."
Founded in 2014 and located in Beijing, Model (or Mofan) Bookstore mainly focuses on block printing and design, and currently has six branches. As the first church bookstore in China, Model Bookstore Plus Poem Space was established inside Holy Saviour’s Cathedral in Xicheng District of Beijing in 2019. Readers can personally experience the printing on two old letterpress printers in the bookstore, which has won the title of "the most beautiful bookstore" twice.
Xing said that she was currently working hard to maintain the normal operation of the Model Bookstore.
"Because Jiang once said, 'If I pass away someday, I hope the brand of Mofan will remain.'" Xing said, "Chinese character 'Mo' means the word mold, and 'Fan' is its tray." The name of Mofan(Model) comes from printing, one of the four great inventions of ancient China.
Born in Shenyang, Liaoning, in 1970, Jiang graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts. He designed more than 1,000 book covers and related products for the Government Offices Administration of the State Council, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Finance, the National Library, the National Museum, Peking Union Medical College, and the Zhonghua Book Company. Selected for many domestic book fairs, his works won the first Chinese Government Award for Publishing, Graphic Design Award, and "China's Most Beautiful Book".
- Translated by Abigail Wu
