Engraving

Howtoprintabook

Whenprintingabook,firstdipabrushintheink,brushitonthecarvedboard,andthencovertheboardwithwhitepaper.InadditionTakeacleanbrushandlightlybrushitonthebackofthepaper,takethepaperoff,andapageofthebookwillbeprinted.Afterbeingprintedpagebypage,theyareboundintoabook,andthebookisprintedsuccessfully.Thisprintingmethodiscalled"engravingprinting"becauseitiscarvedonawoodenboardandthenprinted.

Historyofdevelopment

Background

Iftheculturaldevelopmentofabout4000yearssinceancienttimeshascreatedstandardizedcharacters,carvingtechniques,Indispensableprerequisitessuchasmaterialmaterialsandgraphictransfertechnology(theseconditionswereverymatureuntilthe3rdcenturyAD).ArrivedintheTangDynasty.TherehasbeenaheydayofcultureandtechnologyinChinesehistory.Inthesocialatmosphereofnationalunity,politicalenlightenment,andculturalprosperity,peoplehavealargedemandforbooks.Allthesehaveprovidedgoodconditionsforthebirthofprinting.

Invention

TheengravingtechniquewasinventedintheTangDynasty,anditwaswidelyusedinthemiddleandlateTangDynasty.Earlyprintingactivitiesweremainlycarriedoutintheprivatesector,mostlyusedforprintingBuddhastatues,mantras,vows,andalmanacs.IntheearlyTangDynasty,XuanzangusedHuifengpapertoprintthestatueofSamantabhadraandgaveittomonksandnuns.In1966,asinglepageoftheengravedSanskritDharanimantrawasdiscoveredattheXi'anDieselMachineryFactoryinthewesternsuburbsofXi'an.Itwasengravedbetween704and751.Itistheearliestknownengravedprint.The"DiamondSutra"madebyWangJieinthe9thyearofTangXiantong(868),whichisnowintheLondonMuseum,UK,istheearliestsurvivingengravedprintmarkedwithadate.Thispieceismadeof7sheetsofpapergluedintoaroll,withatotallengthof488cm,eachsheetofpaperis76.3cmhighand30.5cmwide.ThefirstvolumeisengravedwithaBuddhaimageandallthescripturesareengravedbelow.Thisvolumeofprintedmatterisexquisitelycarved,skillfulinknifetechnique,simpleandsolemninpicturesandtexts,andtheprintedinkisalsothickandwell-proportioned,clearandvivid,andtheprintingtechnologyhasreachedahighlevel.

In824,YuanZhenwroteaprefacetoBaiJuyi’scollectionofpoems,saying:“Duringthe20years,therewerenobooksonthewallsoftheforbiddenprovince,temples,andpostoffices.Thereisnodifferenceinthemouth.Asforwritingmolds,theyaresoldinthemarketonthestreet,orthosewhoholdthemtodrinktea,andtheyareeverywhere.”Moleimmediatelymolds,whileholdingthewhitepoemtoexchangeteaforwine..Itcanbeseenthatbythebeginningoftheninthcentury,theapplicationofprintinghasexpandedfromBuddhistmantrastopoetrythatpeopleliketoread.Around835,thelocalfolksinSichuanandnorthernJiangsuonce"printedcalendardayswithplates"andsoldthemonthemarket.Atthattime,somepeoplesaidthatthecalendarsprintedbythepeople"havebeenallovertheworld."ItisknownthattheywerenotonlyprintedinSichuanandJiangsu.In883,Chengdubookshopscouldseesomebookson"YinandYangMiscellaneousRecordsoftheNinePalacesandFiveWefts",and"CalligraphyElementarySchool","Allratesareengravingandprintingpaper"...thefirsttwoaftertheinventionofprinting.Withinahundredyears,ithasbecomeanimportantmediumforthepeopletopopularizeculture.

Developmentofwoodblockprinting

InthemiddleandlateTangDynastyinthe9thcentury,theuseofwoodblockprintingwasquitecommon.DuringtheFiveDynasties,notonlythefolkengravingwaspopular,butthegovernmentalsoengravedConfucianbooksonalargescale.FromthethirdyearofEmperorMingzongChangxingoftheTangDynasty(932)tothethirdyearofGuangshunoftheLaterZhouDynasty(953),twovolumesoftheNineClassics,FiveClassicsCharacters,andNineClassicsCharacterswereengravedinonehundredandthirtyvolumes.TheengravingandprintingintheSongDynastyweremoreadvancedandthetechnologywasperfect,especiallyinHangzhou,Zhejiang,JianyanginFujian,andChengduinSichuan.InthefourthyearofEmperorSongTaizu'sopeningofthetreasure(971),ZhangTuxinpublishedalltheTripitakainChengdufor22years,totaling1,076volumes,5,048volumes,and130,000piecesofengraving.Itisthelargestbookintheearlyprintinghistory.

AlthoughmovabletypeprintingwasinventedinSongDynasty,blockprintingisstillcommonlyused.

IntheYuan,Ming,andQingdynasties,notonlyofficialsatalllevels,butalsoacademies,bookstores,andprivateindividualswereengagedinbook-cutting.Theengravedbooksarealloverthefourvolumesofclassics,history,subtitlesandanthologies.

Popularcoloroverprinting

ColoroverprintingwaspopularinSichuanintheearlyyearsoftheNorthernSongDynasty.Thereis"Jiaozi",thatis,banknotesprintedintwocolorsofvermilionink.Inthe14thcentury,onZhongxingRoadintheYuanDynasty(nowJiangling,Hubei),the"DiamondSutra"printedintwocolorsofvermilionandinkwastheearliestsurvivingcolor-printedversion.Bytheendofthe16thcentury,colorprintingwaswidespread.MinQi,MinZhaoming,LingRuxiang,LingChu,andLingYingchuintheWanliperiodoftheMingDynastywereallfamousmasterswhoweregoodatcolorprinting.ThecolorprintingtechnologyoftheQingDynastywasfurtherimproved.Thecombinationofthischromatographictechniqueandtheengravingtechnologyproducesbrilliantchromaticengravings.AttheendofMingDynasty,"BookofTenBambooStudios"and"AnnotationofTenBambooStudios"arebothartistictreasuresofancientprints.

Recordsof"Hongjianlu"

Accordingtothebookof"Hongjianlu"byShaoJingbangintheMingDynasty:TangTaizong'sempressChangsuncollectsstoriesabouttypicalwomeninfeudalsociety.Wroteabookcalled"NuZe".InthetenthyearofZhenguan,thenativeeldestQueenSundied,andsomeoneinthepalacesentthebooktoEmperorTaizongofTang.AfterTangTaizongsawit,heorderedittobeprintedwithblockprinting.

ThetenthyearofZhenguanis636AD.Theprintingof"NuZhe"maybethisyear,oritmaybealittlelater.ThisistheearliestblockcopymentionedinChinesedocuments.Analyzefromthisinformation.Maybethefolkshadalreadystartedprintingbookswithengravingprinting,soTangTaizongthoughtofprinting"NuZe".Theageoftheinventionofblockprintingmustbeearlierthantheageofthepublicationof"NuZe".

Bytheninthcentury,itwasquitecommoninChinatousewoodblockprintingtoprintbooks.

Historicalrecords

"BaiShiChangqingCollection"

DuringtheTangDynasty,thepoetBaiJuyicompiledhisownpoemsintoacollectionofpoems——"OnDecember10th(January2,825A.D.),BaiJuyi’sfriendYuanZhenwroteaprefacetothe"BaiClanChangqingCollection".Theprefacesaid:Atthattime,IntheYangzhouandYuezhouareas,somepeopleusedBaiJuyi'spoemsto"writeMoule"andsoldthemonthestreetorexchangedthemforteaandwine.Theword"mole"heremeansblockprinting.

TheBookoftheOldTangDynasty

ThereisalsosucharecordintheBookoftheOldTangDynastythatinDecemberofthe9thyearofYamato(AD835),TangWenzongorderedalllocalitiesnottoengraveandprintprivately.Almanac.so,whathappened?Accordingtootherancientbooks,thesituationislikethis:thepeopleofJiannan,LiangchuanandHuainanRoadatthattime.Theyalluseengravingtoprintcalendarsandsellthemonthestreet.Everyyear,SiTiantai,whomanagescalendars,hasn’taskedforanewcalendar,butthenewcalendarsprintedbythepeopleareeverywhere.Thepromulgationofthecalendaristheprerogativeofthefeudalemperor.Inordertomaintaintheprestigeoftheimperialcourt,DongchuanJieduaskedFengSutoprohibitprivatepublishingofcalendars.Thealmanacisrelatedtoagriculturalproduction,andfarmersneeditverymuch.Howcanoneorderbeforbidden?AlthoughTangWenzonggavethisorder,folkengravedcalendarsarestillpopulareverywhere.Eveninthesamearea,thereismorethanoneprivateprintingcalendar.

DuringtheHuangChaouprising,TangXizongfledtoSichuaninapanic.Theemperoralsoranaway,ofcoursenoonewouldmanagethebanonthesealofthecalendar.Therefore,thepeopleofJiangdongregioncompiledandprintedtheirowncalendarsandsoldthem.InthefirstyearofTangXizongZhonghe(AD881),therewasacalendarprintedbytwopeople,whichwasonedayawayfromthemoonandthemoon,andtherewasadispute.Whenalocalofficialfoundout,hesaid,"Everyoneisacolleaguedoingbusiness.Whatdoesitmatterifthereisadifferenceofoneandahalfdays?"Howcanthealmanacbeoneday?Themagistrate'sstatementreallymadepeoplelaugh.ThisincidenttellsusthatinJiangdongalone,thereareatleasttwoprintedcalendars.

"FamilyInstructions"

LiuPi,whofledtoSichuanwithTangXizongatthetime,alsosaidintheprefaceofhis"FamilyInstructions"thathesawalotinbookstoresinChengduBooksonyinandyang,miscellaneousnotes,anddreams.Mostofthesebooksareengravedprinting.ItcanbeseenthattheprintingindustryinChengduwasrelativelydevelopedatthattime,notonlyprintingcalendars,butalsovariousotherbooks.

The"DiamondSutra"engravedintheTangDynasty

Thereisonlyone"DiamondSutra"engravedinthe9thyearofXiantong.TheninthyearofXiantongwas868AD,andithasbeenmorethanathousandyears.Howisthisprintedmattermorethanathousandyearsoldpreserved?Thereisanotherstoryhere.

ThereisZuomingshaMountaininthesoutheastofDunhuang,GansuProvince.AsearlyastheJinDynasty,someBuddhistsopenedcaveshere,carvedBuddhastatues,andbuilttemples.Thenumberofcavescontinuestoincrease,andsodoesthenumberofBuddhastatues.Peoplecallthisthe"Thousand-BuddhaCave".In1900,whenaroyalpriestwasrepairingacave,heaccidentallyfoundacloseddarkroom.Whenheopenedit,hefoundabundleofpaperscrolls,manyofwhichwerecopiedfromtheTangDynasty.Thereisalsoavolumeof"DiamondSutra"engravedintheTangDynasty.

This"DiamondSutra"isaboutonefootandsixfeetlongandonefoothigh.Itismadeupofsevenprintedsheetsgluedtogether.Thereisapaintingonthefrontofthevolume,whichdepictsthemythicalstoryofShakyamuni'sstatementtohisdisciples,withavividexpression,andthefulltextofthe"DiamondSutra"isattheback.Thereisnolineoftextinthevolume,indicatingthatitwasengravedinthenineyearsofXiantong.Thisbookistheearliestengravedandprintedbookintheworld.Thepictureisalsocarvedonawholepage,perhapstheearliestengravingintheworld.

Wrongunderstandingofprinting

IntheFiveDynasties,therewasafeudalbureaucratnamedFengDao.Hehasservedasahighofficialinfourdynastiesinjustfivedynasties,andheisadespicableandshamelessguy.HesawallkindsofprintedbookssoldbypeopleinJiangsu,Sichuanandotherplaces,buttherewasnoConfucianclassics.HesuggestedtotheemperortoengraveandprintConfucianclassicsinthethirdyearofChangxinginthepost-TangDynasty.Atthattime,ninetypesofscriptureswereprinted,andtheywentthroughfourdynasties.Ittookthemthreeyearsand22yearstocompletetheengraving.Becauseofthegreaterimpactofthistime,somepeoplethoughtthatprintingwasinventedbyFengDaointheFiveDynasties.Ofcourse,thiswaswrong.

TheTripitakaintheNorthernSongDynasty

BythetimeoftheSongDynasty,theprintingindustrybecamemoredeveloped,andbookswerecarvedeverywhereinthecountry.IntheearlyyearsoftheNorthernSongDynasty,ChengduprintedtheTripitakawitharigidamountof130,000yuan;thecentraleducationalinstitutionoftheNorthernSongDynastyGovernment,Guozijian,hadmorethanonehundredthousandbooksonthehistoryofprintedscriptures.Fromthesetwofigures,wecanseethescaleoftheprintingindustryatthattime.Therearemorethan700booksprintedoncarvedboardsintheSongDynasty,andthefontsareneatandsimple,beautifulandgenerous,andtheyhavebeencherishedbytheChinesepeoplesincethen.

Paneldivision

SongDynastyengravingandprintinggenerallyusedwoodforengraving,butsomepeopleusedcopperplateforengraving.TheShanghaiMuseumhasacollectionofcopperplatesusedintheprintedadvertisementsofthe"JinanLiujiaKungfuNeedleShop"intheNorthernSongDynasty.

Speakingofprintingbooks,engravingisindeedagreatcreation.Onekindofbookcanbeprintedonalargenumberofpieceswithonlyonewoodcarving,whichismanytimesfasterthanwritingbyhand.

Butwiththismethod,toprintabook,youhavetosculptawoodenboard.Thelaborisstillalot.Itisimpossibletoprintbooksquicklyandinlargequantities.Somebookshavealotofwordsandoftentakemanyyearstosculpt.Carved,ifthebookisprintedonceandnotreprinted,thenthewell-carvedwoodenboardiscompletelyuseless.Isthereanywaytoimproveit?

Movabletypeprinting

Inthemiddleoftheeleventhcentury(SongRenzongQinglireign),China'sBiShenginventedmovabletypeprinting,butmovabletypeprintingwasneverwidelyusedintheSongDynasty.EngravingprintingwaswidelyusedinthemiddleandlateTangDynasty.EngravingwasstillcommonlyusedintheSongDynasty.

BiShengusedclaytomakesquarerectangularcylinders,engravedwithsinglecharactersononeside,andthenburnedhardwithfire.Thesearethemovabletypeonebyone.Whenprintingabook,prepareanironplate.Putrosinandwaxontheironplate.Thereisanironframearoundtheironplate.Theironframeisdenselypackedwithmovabletype.Oneironframeisone.Plate,thenusefiretobakeundertheironplatetomelttherosinandwax.Inaddition,useaflatplatetopressonthearrangedtypetoflattenthewords,andamovabletypeplateisarranged.Itisthesameasengraving,aslongasinkisappliedtothecharacters,itcanbeprinted.Inordertoimproveefficiency,hepreparedtwoironplatesandorganizedtwopeopletoworkatthesametime.Oneplatewasprintedandtheotherwastypeset;whenthefirstplatewasprinted,thesecondplatewasready.Thetwoironplatesareusedalternatelyandprintedquickly.BiShengengravedafewofeachsinglecharacter;morethan20commonlyusedcharacterswereengravedwhentheyencounteredunpreparedandunpreparednewcharacters,andtheyweretemporarilycarvedandburnedwithfire,whichisveryconvenient.Afterprinting,puttheironplateonthefireandheatittomelttherosinandwax,removethemovabletype,anduseitnexttime.

ThisisthemovabletypeprintingtechniqueinventedbyBiSheng.Thistypeofcementtypeiscalledmudtype.BiSheng'sinventionofmovabletypeprintingcanonlybeseenintherecordsofShenKuo's"MengxiBiTan".

Workingprinciple

Theprocessofengravingprintingisroughlylikethis:Afterwritingthehandwritingofthemanuscript,stickthesidewiththewordsontheboard,andyoucanengraveandengrave.Differentformsofcarvingknivesengravetheinvertedinkonthewoodblockintoaconvexembossedtext,andatthesametimeremovetheremainingblankpartsonthewoodblocktomakeitconcave.Thecharactersengravedontheboardsurfaceareabout1to2millimetersfromtheembossedsurface.Rinsethecarvedboardswithhotwater,washawaythesawdust,etc.,andthestereotypeprocessiscomplete.Whenprinting,useacylindricalflat-bottomedbrushtodiptheinkandevenlybrushitontheboardsurface,andthencarefullycoverthepaperontheboardsurface,gentlybrushthepaperwithabrush,thepaperwillprintthepositiveimageofthetextorpicture.Liftthepaperfromtheprintingplate,dryitintheshade,andtheprintingprocessiscomplete.Aprintercanprint1500to2000sheetsaday,andaprintingplatecanprint10,000timesinsuccession.Therigidprocessisabitliketheprocessofengravingaseal,exceptthatmorecharactersareengraved.Theprocessofstampingisoppositetothatofastamp.Thesealisprintedonthetopandthepaperisonthebottom.Theprocessofengravingandprintingisabitlikerubbing,butthecharactersontheengravingplateareinvertedcharactersinpositive,whilethecharactersonthestelearenormalinscribedcharacters.Inaddition,rubbinginkisappliedtothepaper,andengravinginkisappliedtotheplate.Itcanbeseenthatengravingprintingnotonlyinheritsthetechnologiesofseal,rubbing,printinganddyeing,butalsohasinnovativetechnologies.In1900,abeautifullyprinted"DiamondSutra"wasfoundinDunhuangThousandBuddhaCaveswiththewords"April15,Xiantong9thYear(AD868)"attheend.Thisistheearliestintheworldwithadefinitedate.Theprintedmatteroftherecord.Engravedprintsmayhavebeguntobepopularonlyamongthepeople,andtherewasaperiodwhentheycoexistedwithmanuscripts.InthefourthyearofEmperorMuZongoftheTangDynasty,thepoetYuanZhenwroteforBaiJuyi's"ChangqingJi".Intheprefaceof"TheCollectionofChangqing","Niu,Tong,andhorsesareeverywhere."Mule"meansimitation,and"Yesell"meanshawking.ThisshowsthatthedisseminationofBaiJuyi'spoemsbytheupper-classintellectualatthattime,inadditiontomanuscripts,hadprintedcopies.ItwasdiscoveredinthetomboftheTangDynastyinChengduin1944.ItisablockprintofthelateTangDynasty.ShenKuosaidin"MengxiBiTan"thatengravingprintinghadnotyetprevailedintheTangDynasty.DuringtheFiveDynasties,mostoftheConfucianbooksFengDaoshiprintedthe"FiveClassics".Fromnowon,theclassicswillbeprintededitions.IntheSongDynasty,engravingprintinghasdevelopedtoitsheyday,andtherearemanykindsofprints.Pearwoodandjujubewoodarethebettermaterialsforengraving.Therefore,thereisironywiththeidiom"disasterandpearandjujube"forbooksthatarenotworthless.Itcanbeseenthatbooksarealltherage.Engravingprintingstartedwithonlymonochromeprinting.Inthefifthgeneration,somepeopleusedpenstoadddifferentcolorstotheoutlineoftheinkprintingoftheillustrationstoincreasethevisualeffect.TianjinYangliuqingprintsarestillproducedinthisway.Putseveraldifferentcolormaterialsondifferentpartsofaboardatthesametime,andprintthemonthepaperatatimetoprintoutcolorsheets.Thismethodiscalled"single-platemulti-colorprinting".Inthisway,"huizi"(thebanknoteissuedatthattime)wasprintedintheSongDynasty.Single-platemulti-colorprintingpigmentsareeasytomixandpenetrate,andthecolorblocksareclearlydefinedandseemdull.Intheactualexploration,peoplediscoveredthemethodofdividingthecoloringandprintinginstages,whichistouseseveralprintingplatesofthesamesizetoloaddifferentcolormaterials,andthenprintthemonthesamesheetofpaper.ThismethodiscalledItisalsoknownas"multi-versionmulti-colorprinting"and"registerprinting".Theinventionof"multi-versionmulti-colorprinting"wasnotlaterthantheYuanDynasty.Atthattime,the"DiamondSutraNote"engravedbyZhongxingRoad(nowJianglingCounty,Hubei)wasoverprintedintwocolorswithvermilionink.Thisistheearliestoverprintededitioninexistence..Multi-pagemulti-colorprintingachievedgreaterdevelopmentintheMingDynasty.DuringtheMingandQingDynasties,NanjingandBeijingweretheengravingcenters.TheJingchangwasestablishedintheMingDynasty,andtheBeizanginYongleandtheorthodoxTaoistwereallmadebyJingchang.ThepalaceoftheYingwuPalaceintheQingDynastyandtheYongzhengLongzangarebothstereotypedinBeijing.IntheearlyMingDynasty,NanzangandmanyofficialengravedbookswerestereotypedinNanjing.AfterJiajing,bythemiddleofthe16thcentury,Nanjingbecamethecenterofcoloroverprinting.

Relatedcontent

DunhuangTibetanScriptureCave

In1900,theDunhuangTibetanScriptureCavewasdiscovered.ItcontainsalargenumberofTangandFiveDynastiesdocuments,exceptforalargenumberofmanuscripts.Inaddition,therearealsomanyprintedmaterials,sothatpeoplecanseethestyleoftheprintedmaterialsatthattime.AfterthediscoveryoftheTibetanscripturecave,British,French,Japanese,andRussianscameheresuccessivelyandstolealargenumberofpreciousdocuments.Almostalloftheprintedmaterialswerestolenbyforeigners,andtheChinesewerealldistressed.In1907,theBritishSteinledanexpeditiontoDunhuangandstolealargenumberofdocuments,includingthefamousprint"VajraPrajnaParamitaSutra".TheoriginalisnowintheBritishLibraryinLondon.Thisisaverypreciousprintinthehistoryofprinting.Itisinscrollswithbeautifullyengravedillustrationsonthefront.Theengravingtimeandthenameofthepersonwhomadetheengravingarefollowed,thecharactersareexquisitelyengraved,andtheprintinginkisevenandthick.Itisgenerallybelievedthatitisaproductwhereprintinghasdevelopedtoaveryhighlevel.Itcanbeseenfromtheinscriptionthatthedateofitsengravingisthe9thyearofTangXiantong(868),anditwasfundedandprintedbyWangJie.Thewarpis5.25meterslongandconsistsof7sheetsofprintedpaperconnectedtoformaroll,eachwithaheightof26.67cmandawidthof75cm.AmongtheTangdynastyprintsfoundintheTibetanscripturehole,therearealsothealmanacofthefourthyearofQianfu(877)andthesecondyearofZhonghe(882),aswellasthebook"DatangMagazineAbuseandMissingQiyun".PrintedmatterofBuddhistscripturecave.Thereareaboutdozensofpieces,reflectingthatprintinginthemiddleandlateTangDynastyhasdevelopedtoaveryhighlevel.Notonlyistheengravingexcellent,butalsothevarietyiscomplete.

TheFiveDynastiesDevelopmentPeriod

TheFiveDynastiesandTenKingdomsareonly53yearsold.Thedynastieschangefrequentlyandtheregionsaredivided.Itisaturbulentera.However,intermsofprinting,itwasnotgreatlyaffected.Instead,itcontinuedtodeveloponthebasisoftheTangDynasty,whichprovedHuYinglin'sthesisthatthecarvedversion"expandedtotheFiveDynasties".AmongtheprintingoftheFiveDynasties,themostfamousisFengDao(882-954)whopresidedovertheengravingoftheConfucian"NineClassics".TheengravingprojectwascarriedoutintheImperialCollege,alsoknownasthe"NineClassics",whichopenedthehistoryoftheImperialCollege'sprinting.ThishasagreatinfluenceonthebookprintedbytheImperialCollegeinsubsequentdynasties.Fivegenerations.AnotherprintingprojectwastheengravingofBuddhastatuesandBuddhistscripturespresidedoverbythemilitaryleaderCaoYuanzhong(905-980)stationedinthewesternpartofGansu.TheBuddhistscripturesandstatuesprintedbyCaoYuanzhonghavelongbeenlost.AftertheDunhuangBuddhistScriptureCavewasdiscoveredin1900,theseprintsbecameknowntotheworld.In1908,FrenchmanBosshestole5,000piecesofculturalrelicsfromtheTibetanscripturecave.AmongthemwerethestatueofGuanyinBodhisattva(5pieces)presidedoverbyCaoYuanzhong,andthestatueoftheGreatSageVishamen(11pieces).ManjushriBodhisattvaStatue(11pieces),AmitabhaBodhisattvaStatue(5pieces),KsitigarbhaBodhisattvaStatue,etc.In1907Stein’spiratedproducts,therearealsothesameprints.TheprintsoftheseBuddhastatuesaremostlysinglepagesfromaboveandbelow.Mostofthemhavetheengraver,theengravingyear,andsomehavetheengraver'sname.Forexample,inthelowerpartof"AvalokitesvaraBodhisattvaStatue"isengraved"DiscipleGuiyijunJiedu,GuashaPrefectureObservation;CaoYuanzhongcarvedthisprintingplate.ItisregardedasthecitygodAntai,HejunKangning;thejourneyofeastandwestisopened;Year(947)DingWeisuiJuly15th.CraftsmanLeiYanmei".The"DiamondSutra"engravedbyCaoYuanzhongisfolded,andthenameofLeiYanmeiisalsoengraved.TheengravingdateisthefifteenthyearofTianfu(949).LeiYanmeiistheearliestengravingcraftsmanweknow.TwooftheBuddhastatuesandscripturesengravedbyCaoYuanzhongorganizedhisname.TheotherDunhuangprintsoftheFiveDynastieswereprobablyalsoengravedbyhimandhisdisciples,andtheengravingreachedaveryhighlevel.DuringtheFiveDynasties,theprivatelyfundedprintingactivitieswerethemostfamousShuXiangWuZhaoyi(902-967),andhecanalsobecalledthefirstprivateengraverinhistory.Accordingto"SongHistory"records,WuZhaoyi'sbooksinclude"SelectedWorks","Beginners"and"BaiShiLiuTie".Thesebooksareallself-fundedandengraved.DuringtheFiveDynasties,WuYuecenteredonHangzhou.Theeconomyandcultureareveryprosperous.TherulerheadedbyKingWuyue(929-988)devoteshimselftoBuddhism.ManyBuddhistscripturesareengraved.In1917,aBuddhistscriptureprintedmaterial"BaoqiPrinting"wasdiscoveredinthepagodaofTianningTempleinHuzhou,Zhejiang.Itwas7.5cmhighand60cmlong,with8-9charactersperline.Thereisanimageatthebeginningofthevolume.Theimageisprintedwith:"MarshalWuYue,KingoftheWorld"84,000volumesofthe"BaoqiSealingSutra"wereprinted.Itwasprovidedinthepagoda.TheBingchenYearsoftheThreeYearsofXiande,etc.,itcanbeknownthatitwasprintedin956AD.In1924,whentheLeifengPagodacollapsedinHangzhou,anotherBuddhistscriptureprintedbyWuyueState,"TheDharaniSutra"waspublishedintheholeofthetower.Theframeis5.7cmhighand205.8cmlong,with10-11charactersineachline,printedinfrontofthepicture."TheGeneralMarshaloftheWorldSoldiersandHorses,theKingWuyuemade84,000volumesofthissutra,roundedintothebrickpagodainXiguan,supportedbyYongchong,anddiaryoftheAugustofYihai."TherulehasnotreachedWuYue.LuXun’sarticle"OntheFallingofLeifengPagoda"describesthisincident.Atthattime,peoplealmostsmashedthetowerbrickstofindtheprintedscriptures.In1971,anotherpieceof"TheTreasureSealDharaniSutra"printedbyWuYuewasfoundinthepaintedgoldenstupainShaoxing,Zhejiang.Itwasplacedina10cmlongbambootubeanditsengravingdatewasthe"Yichou"year,thatis,965.year.Inadditiontotheseveralprintedmaterialsfoundabove,accordingtorecords,atthattime,theLingyinTemplemonkYanshou(904-975)inHangzhoualsoprintedmorethanadozenBuddhistscripturesandstatues,totaling400,000copies.ThecapitalwaslocatedintheSouthernTangDynastyinJiangning(Nanjing).Accordingtohistoricalrecords,manybookshavebeenprinted,suchas"ShiTong"byLiuZhiji(661-221)and"Jade"compiledbyXuLing(507-583)."Taishin".

ThematurityoftheSongDynasty

AftertheFiveDynasties,from960to1279AD.Duringthisperiod.Theprintingindustryhasdevelopedbyleapsandbounds.Engravingprintingtechnologyhasbecomemoremature,andtheamountofprintedbookshasincreasedgreatly.ThetypesofprintedbooksincludeConfucianism,Taoism,Buddhism,andvariouscategoriessuchastheConfucianism,Taoism,Buddhism,andConfucianism.Inthehistoryofprinting,thisperiodiscalledthematurityandheydayofprinting.TheSongDynastyturnedagloriouspageinthehistoryofprinting.AfterhundredsofyearsofdevelopmentintheTangandFiveDynasties,printingtechnologyhasmatureddaybyday.AfterenteringtheSongDynasty,duetothegovernment'sattentionandadvocacy,theprintingindustryprosperedandopenedthemostgloriouspageinthehistoryofprinting.TheSongversionofthebookhasbeenhandeddowntothisday.ThebibliophilesofalldynastiesareproudofowningtheSongversionofthebook.Knownas"onepageofSongeditionbook,oneortwogold".BecausetheSongversionofthebookisnotonlyold.Andthecollationisfine.Theengravingisexcellent,andthepaperandinkareexcellent.Allthisshowsthesuperbprintingskillsofthetime.

Theemperorpaysattentiontoit

SongDynastyruledthecountrybyculture,andseveralgenerationsofemperorsattachedgreatimportancetotheconstructionofculture.SoonafterthefoundingoftheSongDynasty,theyorganizedthecompilationof"TaipingGuangji"and"TaipingYulan"And"WenYuanYingHua"threelargeseries,atotalof2500volumes.Later,hecompiledlargehistoricalbookssuchas"CefuYuangui"and"ZizhiTongjian",andengravedlargeseriessuchas"ShuowenJiezi","ThirteenClassics"and"SeventeenHistory"intheImperialCollege.TheprosperityofthefolkprintingindustryintheSongDynastycreatedthewidespreadcirculationofbooksascommodities.Inthehistoryofprintingandtypology,privateengravededitionsarecalledfamilyengravededitions,familyschooleditions,workshopengravededitions,bookshopeditions,etc.respectively.Thehome-printededitionsaremostlyliteratiandlargefamilieswhoengravebookswrittenbythemselvesortheirancestors,andalsoengravebooksthattheythinkareprecious.Thistypeofblockcopyismostlyforgiftsorsoldatlowprices,notforprofit.Forexample,thesonofthepoetLuYouhascarvedhisfather'scollectionofpoemsmanytimesforgiftstorelativesandfriends.Intheprivateprintingindustry.Themostrepresentativeoneisthebookcarving.ThebookstoresoftheSongDynastyweresimilartomodernpublishinghouses,whichintegratedbookediting,printingandselling.Itischaracterizedbyprofit-makingpurposes,andbecauseofmarketcompetition,italsoattachesgreatimportancetoquality.ThemostfamousprintedfolkbookstoresintheSongDynastyareKaifeng,Henan,Jianyang,Fujian,Hangzhou,Zhejiang,Meishan,Sichuan,andJiangxi.DuringtheTangandFiveDynasties,Buddhistprintsaccountedforalargeproportion,andreachedtheSongDynasty.Thefourmajortypesofbooksare"Jing,History,Zi,andJi"asthemainbody.BothprintvolumeandvarietygreatlyexceedBuddhistscriptures.However,comparedwiththepreviousgeneration,theprintvolumeandscaleofBuddhistscriptureshavereachedthehighestlevelinhistory.Accordingtohistoricalrecords,therehavebeensixengravingsintheTripitaka,thecollectionofBuddhistscripturesalone.