A brief history of printing

The words of the Shang and Zhou dynasty engraved on the bones of the turtle shell are among the most recognizable characters. These texts are the inscriptions and writings related to divination when the Shang Dynasty used tortoise shells for divination and good fortune. The text structure has not only evolved from a single body, but also has a large number of phonograms, which is a very progressive one. Text. During the Shang, Zhou, and Warring States eras, various bronze wares were cast. The inscriptions that were cast or engraved on bronze wares were called “Jin Wen” or “Zhong Ding Wen”. Shang dynasty Jin Wen's fonts are similar to those of Oracle, with fewer words; the Western Zhou dynasty has a neat character and a large number of words; at the end of the Warring States period, the fonts gradually approached Xiaoyan. After Qin Shihuang united the whole country, the policy of unified writing was adopted, and Xiaoyan was used as the correct character to eliminate the variant characters that were used in other regions. This played a significant role in the standardization of Chinese characters. It was developed on the basis of the 籀 (zhou zhou) essay. The shape of the body is even and round. Qin Wei was transformed from the simplified script into a librarian, turning the brushstrokes of the regular script into squares, and changing the structure of the script into a stroke, in order to write and lay the foundation for the script. The long-term stability of the regular script is still in use today. Therefore, the characters are simplified, unified, and gradually created and evolved by the hieroglyphs before they form the characters of today. See Figure 1-1.

In addition to ancient Chinese texts carved on the bones of the oracle bones and cast on bronze wares, from the Warring States Period to the Wei and Jin Dynasties, writings and documents were written on bamboo strips. They were called bamboo strips and were written on slightly wide rectangular wood chips. A number of simple edits are called together (books). The rope or thong compiled as a strategy is called a compilation. The text on the shabby was written in ink and brush. At the same time when bamboo slips and wood slips prevailed, the writing of characters on the white silkworms (缣帛) appeared, and it was easy to write. The length can be cut according to the number of characters, it can be folded, the collection is easy, and it is easy to carry, better than bamboo, but The output is not high and the cost is too high to be used universally. In addition, there is the text engraved on the stone, the earliest carved stone in China is the Qin Dynasty stone drum, because the carved stone shape like a drum, so called "stone drum." Each piece of stone contains a four-character poem and a total of ten pieces. Later generations call this kind of writing on the stone drum a “stone drum verse.” Its glyph structure generally maintains the writing of the Western Zhou Dynasty. These formed the oldest books in our country. During the archaeological excavations, many bones, bronze wares, bamboo slips, hibiscus, and gongs were excavated. These are valuable historical relics.

Writing instruments or paintings require utensils. From the third to fourth centuries BC, brush pens with rabbits and bamboos were used. They have been passed down from generation to generation and are still in use today.

In about the third century AD, pine smoke and animal glue were used as raw materials to make pine smoke and black ink, which was the black pigment used in calligraphy and painting. This replaced the natural materials such as cinnabar, graphite, lacquer, and ink of squid ink used in the past.

In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cai Lun summarized the experience of using hemp fiber papermaking since the Western Han Dynasty, improved papermaking, and creatively used bark, hemp, rags, and old fish nets as raw materials to make paper, opening up a broad road for the development of papermaking technology. It has changed the shortcomings of bamboo slips that are too heavy, too expensive, and not easy to use.

The invention of pen, ink, and paper laid the necessary material foundation for the exhibition of printing.

First, the origin of printing

As early as the 4th century BC (Warring States Period), there were already seals. The seals of the pre-Qin and Qin and Han were used as seal items, benefiting the seals from the seals to prevent private demolition, and for verification. The official seal was also a symbol of power. At that time, it was a concave inscribed text. After the 1st century (two Han dynasties), it was gradually carved into a raised Yang Wen. After the paper was changed to paper, the closed mud lost its usefulness. Changed to the use of the Zhu Sejiu cover, the popularity of the Yang Wen seal is even wider. The seal created the method of obtaining written text from the anti-engraved text. The role of the seal of Yang Wen provided a copying technique for obtaining the written text from the written text of Yang Wen. The area of ​​the seal was originally very small and could only contain words such as name or title. Taoists in the 4th century AD (Eastern Jin Dynasty) expanded the area of ​​the seal to accommodate longer spells. There were 120 characters spells. It can be seen that the essay could have been copied by stamping. .

In the 7th century BC, stone carvings appeared in our country. In order to avoid the work of copying from stone carvings, around the 4th century AD, a method was developed in which wet paper was tightly attached to a stone tablet and ink was used to expand the text or graphics, which was called "stone extension." Later, the words engraved on the stone tablets were engraved on the wooden boards, and then the extensions were made. Therefore, the engraving on the wooden boards began to be used for extension purposes. The stone writing is written in yin text, which provides a copying technique that obtains the right word from the yin text.

The method of using the seal is stamping. The stamp is first stained and then printed on the paper. If the seal of Yang Wen is used, it is printed in black on a white background and is clearly legible. The way to expand the stone is to brush the ink. Soak the soft tissue with water and spread it on the stone tablet. Gently knock the paper into the recessed part of the stone lettering. After the paper is completely dry, brush it evenly with the brush. The recessed part of the text is not inked, but it is still white. After the paper is peeled off, it will be a black text. Black and white words are not as striking as black and white. Therefore, if the word inscribed on the monument is being written in a way that mimics the seal, it will be replaced with the words written by Yang Wen, and the ink will be transferred to paper on the printing plate, or the area of ​​the seal will be enlarged to become a small wooden board. Brushing and spreading paper on the plate and imitating the method of rubbing the stone to get a clear black print on the white background are the engravings. Engraving and printing is the earliest form of printing in China. It is the combination and gradual evolution of two methods of seal stamping and stamping stone expansion. Therefore, the seal and the extension stone provide technical conditions for the invention of printing technology and is the precursor of the invention of printing technology.

Second, the development of engraving printing

What was the invention of printing? Based on the available information, it is impossible to determine. However, it was synthesized by the gradual development of the two methods of lithology and stamping. It has been a long time and has accumulated many people's experiences. It is the crystallization of human wisdom. Judging from the earliest existing documents and the earliest printed physical objects, China's engraving and printing techniques appeared in the 7th century AD, that is, the early Tang Dynasty.

Zhang Xiumin's “The History of Chinese Printing” proposed that the engraving and printing of books began in Tang Zhenguan. His main basis was the Ming Dynasty historian Shao Jingbang’s “Hong Dai Jian Lu”. Because Tang Taizong ordered the resignation of the Queen’s grandson, “The Woman’s Ruler” was in Zhenuan. The printing of the decade (AD 636) was the beginning of the world of engraving. The book also quotes Tang Fengqi's "Yun Xian San Lu": Tang Xuanxun printed Shi Puxian Bodhisattva (circa 645-664 AD) sent the Quartet as a circumstantial evidence.

Tang Kaiyuan (AD 713-714 AD) carved this book "Kaiyuan Zaozuo" is the world's earliest newspaper (Figure 1-2).