The process of invention and development of block printing

If the cultural development of about 4,000 years since ancient times created the necessary prerequisites for the invention of printing, such as standardized writing, engraving techniques, material materials, and graphic transfer techniques (these conditions were very mature by about the third century AD). Then, the Sui and Tang cultures provided social conditions for the invention of printing, and it was under such a social background that block printing came into being.

Since the Eastern Han Dynasty. China has been divided and chaotic for more than 300 years. In the Sui Dynasty, it became unified again. The cultural achievements of the Sui government are to vigorously promote Buddhism, respect Confucianism, and extensively collect ancient classics and books. The monument of scientific and technological engineering is to build the Grand Canal that has been running for ages. As a result of advocating the imperial examination system. Increase the number of readers. Confucian classics spread widely. In particular, at that time, there were many monasteries, many monks, and endless copying of Buddhist sutras, which made people urgently need a quick way to copy pictures and texts, which inspired the invention of printing.

By the Tang Dynasty. It was the heyday of culture and science and technology in Chinese history. Under the social atmosphere of national unity, political openness and cultural prosperity, people have a large demand for books. All these provided good conditions for the birth of printing. Historical documents and physical evidence, prompting the invention of printing there are two major social factors: one is the prosperity of Buddhism. Need large quantities of Buddhist sutras, Buddha paintings; Second, the implementation of the imperial examination system stimulated more people to study. There is a great demand for books. Sui and Tang societies all had these two conditions. As the Ming Dynasty scholar Hu Yinglin said: "Engraving (printing) originated in the Sui Dynasty, in the Tang Dynasty, expanded in the five dynasties. Be good at Song people." This is an accurate summary of the invention and development of printing.

Block printing

Block printing is the technique of engraving text and text on plate material. Its development in China has experienced from seals, ink to stone tablets to engravings. And then to the stages of the type. The plate material of block printing is generally selected with fine and solid wood texture. Such as jujube wood, pear wood, etc. The process of plate making and printing is: first write the word on a thin and transparent tissue paper, paste it face down on the board, use a carving knife to carve the word in a font, and then add ink to the engraved plate. The paper is covered on the plate, the brush is brushed, and the words are transferred to the paper and become positive characters.

The date of the invention of block printing is not known, but the academic community generally dates its beginning to the 7th century. Early printing activities were mainly carried out in the folk, mostly used to print Buddha statues, sutras, votive texts and almanacs. In the early Tang Dynasty, Xuanzang used Hui Feng paper to print images of universal sages and give them to monks and nuns. In 1966, a carved version of the Dharani Sutra was discovered in South Korea, engraved between 704-751. It is the earliest known block print. Now collected in the Museum of London, England, Tang Chengtong nine years (868) Wang Jie for two kin Jing created Pusshi's "Diamond Sutra". It is the earliest surviving block print with a date. This piece consists of seven sheets of paper glued together into a roll. Total length 488 cm, each paper height 76.3 cm. It is 30.5 cm wide, with a Buddha statue engraved on the front and all the scriptures engraved on the bottom. This volume of printing is beautifully carved, skilled in knife technique, simple and dignified, the ink color of printing is also thick and symmetrical, clear and vivid, and the engraving technology has reached a higher level.

By the 9th century, the use of block printing was quite common. During the Five Dynasties, not only the folk books were popular, but the government also printed Confucian books on a large scale. From the third year of Emperor Changxing in the later Tang Dynasty (932) to the third year of Guangshun in the later Zhou Dynasty (953), the Nine Classics, the Five Classics Characters, and the Nine Classics were engraved in two volumes, 130 volumes. In the Song Dynasty, the block printing was more developed and the technology was perfected, especially in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, Jianyang, Fujian and Chengdu, Sichuan, the engraving quality was high. Song Taizu Kaibao fourth year (971) Zhang Tuxin carved and published all the "Tripitaka" in Chengdu, a total of 22 years, a total of 1,076 volumes, 5,048 volumes, engraving up to 130,000 pieces, is the largest book in the early printing history. In the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, there were not only government offices at all levels, but also academies, bookhouses and private individuals. The books engraved are in four parts: classics, histories, books and collections.

Color overprinting in the early Northern Song Dynasty in Sichuan popular "Jiaozi", that is, two colors of ink overprinted paper money. In the 14th century, the Notes on the Jing of Jin, printed in red and ink on Zhongxing Road (today's Jiangling City, Hubei Province) in the Yuan Dynasty, is the earliest extentcopy of the double color printing. By the end of the 16th century, the double color printing was widely popular.

Block printing technology

The text, the image is engraved on the board. Then brush the ink on the printing plate, spread the paper, and then give the appropriate pressure on the paper, so that the printing of the text on the plate to the paper, after lifting the paper, a printing is completed, which is the basic principle of block printing. If the process of engraving printing is introduced in detail, that is, using thin paper to write the plate according to certain specifications - correction - the written version is pasted on the board - engraving - brush printing - binding.

At the end of Sui Dynasty and the beginning of Tang Dynasty, the earliest engravings of engravings have long been lost, and we can only infer it according to the records of the literature. These documents mainly include:

Sui Fei Changfang (577-610 years) in the "Three treasures of the Past dynasties" book recorded: "Kai Emperor 13 years (594) on December 8. Sui Emperor Buddha disciples name respect white,... is a Zhou ceremony often, insult the holy trace, tower Yu destroyed, like the fall of the... Do people's parents, think of life. Pay attention to respect, and then worship. The relics of the abandoned images are written and carved according to the orders." Here said "carving" is engraved Buddha Buddha sutras. Of course, there are different views on this.

Lu Shen of Ming Dynasty (1477-1544) said in the book "Hefen Yan Idle Record" : "Emperor Wen of Sui Dynasty opened Emperor 13 years on December 8, imperial rescripts, read orders carved. The printing of this book began before King Feng Ying."

Ming Hu Yinglin (1551-1602) in "Shaoshi Shan Fang Bi Cong" also clearly pointed out: "the carving originated in the Sui dynasty, line in the Tang Dynasty, spread to the five dynasties, good at the Song people." The invention and development of block printing are more specific.

In recent years, Feng Pengsheng's "Introduction to Chinese woodblock Watermarking" put forward a printed matter of the Sui Dynasty (607 years), which was confirmed as a carved printed matter of the Sui Dynasty, and the color in the picture was hand-painted (see exhibits).

To sum up, the invention of block printing can be determined as the late Sui and early Tang dynasties. From 590 to 640 AD.

A treasure trove of early prints

Dunhuang sutra Cave

In 1900, the Dunhuang Sutra Cave was discovered, containing a large number of documents of the Tang and five Dynasties, in addition to a large number of manuscripts, there are also a lot of printed matter, so that people can see the style of printed matter at that time.

After the discovery of the cave, the British, the French, the Japanese, and the Russians came here and stole a large number of precious documents, of which almost all printed materials were stolen by foreigners, and the people were all sad.

In 1907, the British Stein led an expedition to Dunhuang and stole a large number of documents, including the famous printed "Vajrayna Prajna Sutra". The original is now in the British Library in London, and it is a very rare piece in the history of printing. It is mounted on a reel and has beautifully engraved illustrations on the front. After the printing age and the name of the printer, the text is skillfully carved and exquisite, and the printing ink is uniform and thick. It is generally regarded as a product of the development of printing to a very high level. From the signature, it can be seen that its engraving age is the ninth year of Tang Xiantong (868 years), and Wang Jie contributed to the printing. It is 5.25 meters in length and consists of 7 sheets of printing paper, each of which is 26.67 cm high and 75 cm wide. Among the printed materials of the Tang Dynasty found in the cave of Tibetan Scriptures, there are almanacs of the fourth year of Ganfu (877) and the second year of Zhonghe (882), as well as the calligraphy book "The Tang Dynasty publishes errors to complement deficiencies and cut rhymes".

Print of the sutra cave. There are about dozens of pieces, reflecting the printing of the middle and late Tang Dynasty, which has developed to a very high level. Not only excellent engraving, but also complete variety.

In recent decades, the printed matter of Tang Dynasty has been unearthed again and again. This makes the Tang Dynasty printed matter has included the early Tang, the middle Tang, the late Tang various periods.

In 1974, in a tomb of the Tang Dynasty in the western suburbs of Xi 'an, a printed matter "Sanskrit Dronyi Sutra Mantra" was unearthed. It was square, printed on hemp paper, 27 cm high and 26 cm wide, with a blank box, incantations were printed around the box for circular reading, and lotus flowers, constellation and other graphics were printed around the box. Archaeologists determined this printed matter to be printed in the early Tang Dynasty (early 7th century).

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.

In the Five Dynasties, Wuyue with Hangzhou as the center. The economy and culture are flourishing. The rulers, led by King Wu Yue (929-988), were devout Buddhists. Engraved more Buddhist sutras.

In 1917, Tianning Temple Pagoda in Huzhou, Zhejiang Province found a printed Buddhist sutta "Treasure Suitcase Printing Sutta", 7.5cm high, 60cm long, each line of 8-9 words, with an image at the beginning of the image, printed before the image: "King Wu Yue, Marshal of the world printed" Treasure Suitcase printing Sutta "84,000 volumes. Offering in the pagoda. The text such as "Three years of Xiande and three days of age" can be known to have been printed in 956 AD.

In 1924, when the Leifeng Pagoda in Hangzhou collapsed, another Wuyue printed Buddhist sutras called "Baozao Indronyi Sutras" were published in the brick holes of the pagoda, with a frame height of 5.7 cm and a length of 205.8 cm, with 10 to 11 characters per line. The front of the picture was printed with the words "General Marshal of all soldiers and horses in the world, the King of Wuyue made this Sutras 84,000 volumes, enclosing the Xiguan brick Pagoda, making a permanent offering, and the August Diary of Yihai". The year of Yihai was 975. It has been eight years since Song Kaibao, but Song's rule has not yet reached Wu Yue. Lu Xun's article "On the Fall of Leifeng Pagoda" describes this matter. At that time, in order to find the sutra, almost all the bricks of the tower were smashed.

In 1971, another Wu Yue state seal "Treasure Box Indoli Sutra" was found in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province. It was placed in a 10 cm long bamboo cylinder, and its engraving date was "Yichou" year, that is, 965.

In addition to the above prints found, it is recorded that Yanshou (904-975), a senior monk of Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou at that time, also printed more than ten kinds of Buddhist sutras and Buddha images, totaling 400,000 copies.

The capital of the Southern Tang Dynasty was located in Jiangning (Nanjing). According to the historical records, many books were printed, including the famous Shi Tong by Liu Zhiji (661-221) and the New Ode of Yu Tai compiled by Xu Ling (507-583).

Song, Liao, Western Xia, Jin printing mature period

Following the five dynasties, from 960 to 1279 AD, there were Song, Liao and Jin periods. In addition to the Song, in the north there was Liao established by the Khitan and Jin established by the Jurchen, and in the northwest there was Xixia established by the Dangxiang. In this period. The printing industry has developed by leaps and bounds. Block printing technology has become more mature, and the number of printed books has increased greatly, and the varieties of printed books include Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, and various categories such as classics and history subsets. In the history of printing, this period is called the maturity and heyday of printing.

The Song Dynasty opened a brilliant page in the history of printing printing after hundreds of years of development in the Tang and five dynasties, technology has gradually matured, after entering the Song Dynasty, due to the attention and promotion of the government, the printing industry prospered, unveiled the most brilliant page in the history of printing.

The Song version of the book has been passed down to the present few. All generations of book collectors are proud to have Song edition books. Known as "a page of Song edition book, one or two gold" said. Because the Song edition is not only very old. And the collation is fine. Fine engraving, fine paper and ink. This all shows the superb printing skills of the time.

The Song Dynasty ruled the country by literature, and several generations of emperors attached great importance to the construction of culture. Shortly after the founding of the Song Dynasty, they organized and compiled three books, "Taiping Guangji", "Taiping Imperial Review" and "Wenyuan Yinghua"