The process of invention and development of block printing

In 1906, in Turpan, Xinjiang, a printed work of the Tang Dynasty, "Lotus Sutra", "Respectively the 17th Merits" and "Infinite Longevity Buddha" of the 16th. This print changed hands several times. After falling into the hands of the Japanese Nakamura. It is now in the Shodo Museum of Tokyo. Japanese printing historian Nagasawa rules also studied that. This printing has the characters of Wu Zhou Dynasty, and it is designated as Wu Zhou Dynasty printing. Pan Jixing believes that it belongs to the early to middle period of Wu Zhou Dynasty (690-699 years).

The Lotus Sutra of the Tang Dynasty, discovered in Turpan, Xinjiang, China in 1906.

In 1966, a Buddhist pagoda in Gyeongju, South Korea, found a printed matter "Unstained Jingguang Dalonyi Sutra", which was packed with a total length of 640 cm, a total of 12 printing paper, the paper height of 6.5 cm, the upper and lower sides of the plate frame, 7-9 words per line, engraved with the Tang Dynasty classic style. There are four characters created by Wu Zetian in the printing. Recognized by scholars at home and abroad as the late Wuzhou period of the Tang Dynasty, it was engraved in the eastern capital of Luoyang in 702. In 1975, a printed work was unearthed in the Tang Dynasty tomb in the west of Xi 'an (Da Sui Qiu Doloni Sutra), which was 35x35 cm square and printed on hemp paper. Archaeologists have attributed the seal to the high Tang Dynasty, when it was engraved during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong (713-755).

In 1944, a printed work "Da Sui Qiu Doloni Sutra" was unearthed in a Tang tomb near Wangjiang Tower, East Gate of Chengdu City. It was slightly square (31×34 cm) and engraved with words such as "Book of Mantras printed by the Bian family in Longchi Fang, Chengdu County". Experts dated the print to the late Tang Dynasty (2nd century). From the above literature records and unearthed physical evidence, from the early Tang Dynasty to the end of the Tang Dynasty, each issue of printed matter is complete, proving that there have been printing activities since the early Tang Dynasty (early 7th century).

By the middle of the Tang Dynasty, the printing had spread throughout Shaanxi, Sichuan, Huainan, Luoyang and other places, and the engraving skills were already very high.

The miracle of five generations of printing turmoil

The Five dynasties and Ten kingdoms lasted only 53 years, with frequent changes of dynasties and divisions in various regions, which was an era of turmoil. However, in the aspect of printing, it was not greatly affected, but continued to develop on the basis of the Tang Dynasty, proving Hu Yinglin's assertion that the engraving book "expanded in the five dynasties". In the five dynasties of printing, the most famous is Feng Dao (882-954) presided over the engraving of the Confucian "Nine Classics", which is an epoch-making initiative in the history of printing, and is also the first large-scale engraving of Confucian classics supervised by the government in history. This engraving project was carried out in the Guozijian, also known as the "Nine Classics", which created the history of Guozijian printing books. This had a great influence on the printing of books in the later dynasties.

Five generations. Another printing project was led by Cao Yuanzhong (905-980), a military leader stationed in western Gansu Province, who engraved Buddha images and Buddhist sutras.

The Buddhist scriptures and Buddha images printed by Cao Yuanzhong have long been lost. The prints only came to light after the discovery of the Dunhuang Sutra Cave in 1900. In 1908, the French Boxihe stole 5,000 cultural relics from the cave of the Sutras, including the "Statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva" (5 pieces), the "Statue of Great Saint Vishamun" (11 pieces), the "Statue of Manjusri Bodhisattva" (11 pieces), the "Statue of Amitabha Bodhisattva" (5 pieces), and the "Statue of Tizang Bodhisattva" engraved by Cao Yuanzhong. The same print was found in Stein's 1907 theft. These Buddha prints are mostly single pages below the figure above. Most have engraver, engraver age, and some have engraver name. For example, in the lower part of the statue of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, it is engraved with "Disciples return to the rebel Army, Guasha State observation; Cao Yuanzhong carved this plate. Worship city god Antai, conning county; East-west route opened; When the great Jin opened four years (947) Ding did not age July 10 May record. Rayenmi the craftsman ".

The Diamond Sutra engraved by Cao Yuanzhong is folded and also has the name of Lei Yanmei, the encoder. It was engraved in the 15th year of Tianfu (949). Lei Yanmei is the earliest engraving craftsman we know of. Two of the Buddha statues and Buddhist sutras engraved by Cao Yuanzhong are engraved with his name. Other Dunhuang prints of the five generations were probably also engraved by him and his disciples, and the engravings reached a very high level.

In the Five Dynasties, Wu Zhao, the minister of Shu (902-967), was the most famous person who carried out private printing activities, and can also be called the first private book printer in history. According to the records in the History of Song Dynasty, the books printed by Wu Zhao were Selected Literature, Beginner's Record and Bai's Six Posts. These books were engraved and printed at his own expense.