Item 2023-12-3 has parts A and B. This book was a gift from President Hu of Dianji University to University of Northern Iowa President Mark A. Nook in October of 2019.
3A) The box that contains the Chinese Zodiac book of paper-cuts. Paper-cuts are used to tell the history of Chinese culture or just for decoration. Different styles have different symbolism.
The box is made of hard cardboard, designed so the top cover folds over the open box, with a magnetic strip on the right side of the box to hold it closed. The top of the box is red with yellow, black, white, and red characters. There is a dark red watermark on the top left side behind the title written in characters. It is translated into English below. The lower right corner has a yellow border of birds and flowers. The lower left side has a multicolored circular depiction of birds and flowers. Below this is the gold Shanghai Dianji University logo and the name next to it (Chinese on top, English below that). The left side of the box is red with yellow characters in the main section. The bottom 1 cm is orange. The top 8 cm are orange as well. It has red (Chinese) and yellow (English) text with the book's title. The right side of the box is plain red that matches the front. The bottom of the box is plain red except for a red box 4 cm in size with red characters inside it. The two other sides of the box are orange and are part of the inside of the box that actually holds the book. When the box is open, the orange inner box is visible, with a gold paper frame inside it that fits snugly around the book. On the left side of the box in the middle is a yellow ribbon that goes horizontally across the box. The book is intended to sit on top of the ribbon so pulling the end of the ribbon helps the book come out of the box. The ribbon sticks out 4 cm from the box's edge when it is closed. There are scuff marks on the outside of the box. The yellow ribbon is fraying at the end and the inner gold paper frame is starting to come apart at the corners.
