This short contribution showcases the benefits of infrared reflectography for research on written artefacts. It describes how this method enabled the discovery and decipherment of a title on the bottom edge of a 19th century Chinese manuscript, the medical recipe book Slg. Unschuld 8051 from the Berlin State Library collection. It also discusses the possible meaning of the title and its relation to the manuscript and its contents.

An English as well as a German version of the contribution were originally published in two of the Berlin State Library's blogs:

https://blog.crossasia.org/the-advantages-of-infrared-reflectography-recovering-the-title-of-a-19th-century-medical-recipe-book-from-china/ (English version, published 31 March 2025)

https://blog.sbb.berlin/infrarot-reflektographie_rezeptbuch/ (German version, published 1 April 2025)

The research behind this contribution was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under Germany's Excellence Strategy – EXC 2176 'Understanding Written Artefacts: Material, Interaction and Transmission in Manuscript Cultures', project no. 390893796. The research was conducted within the scope of the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC) at the University of Hamburg.