Movable type

Origin

Theideaof​​printingwithmovabletypehasbeenaroundforalongtime.QinShihuangunifiedthenationwideweightsandmeasures,andtheedictoffourcrosseswasprintedonpotterywithwoodenstamps,archaeologistsHebelieves,"ThisisthebeginningofChinesemovabletypetypography,butalthoughhehasinventedit,ithasnotbeenwidelyused."Ancientsealsalsohaveacertainenlighteningeffectonmovabletypeprinting.Therecordofmovabletypeprintingwasfirstseenin"MengxiBiTan"byShenKuo,afamousscientistintheSongDynasty.From1041to1048AD,BiSheng,whowasbornasacommoner,usedclaytomakecharacters.Onecharacterwasaseal,whichwashardenedwithfiretomakeitceramic.Whentypesetting,prepareapieceofironplate,relaxthemixtureofincense,wax,paperash,etc.ontheironplate.Thereisanironframearoundtheironplate,andtheironframeisfilledwiththecharacterstobeprinted.Thenbakeitwithfiretomeltthemixtureandintegrateitwiththemovabletypeblock,andpressitonthemovabletypewithaflatplatewhileitishottomaketheliteralsurfaceflat.Canbeprinted.Inthisway,printingtwoorthreecopiesisnotveryefficient.Ifyouprintmore,dozensoreventhousandsofcopies,theefficiencywillbeveryhigh.Inordertoimproveefficiency,twoironplatesarecommonlyused,oneforprintingandtheotherfortypesetting.Afterprintingonepiece,theotherpieceislinedupagain.Itisveryefficienttousealternatelyinthisway.Commonlyusedwordssuchas"之","也"andotherwords,eachwordismadeintomorethan20words,incasetherearerepetitionsinaversion.Unpreparedrarecharactersarecarvedouttemporarilyandburnedimmediatelywithvegetationandfire.Thecharactersremovedfromtheprintingplateareputintothesmallwoodengridofthesamecharacter,andlabelsclassifiedbyrhymeareaffixedontheoutsideforretrieval.Atfirst,BiShengusedwoodasmovabletype.Theexperimentfoundthatthewoodgrainsarenotuniform,anditiseasytoswellanddeformwhenexposedtowater,anditisnoteasytoremoveafterbeingsolidifiedwithadhesive,soheswitchedtocement.

BiShenginventedmovabletypeprintingtoimprovetheefficiencyofprinting.However,hisinventionwasnotvaluedbytherulersandsocietyatthattime.Afterhisdeath,movabletypeprintingwasstillnotpromoted.Thegluetypehecreatedwasnotpreservedeither.Butthemovabletypeprintingtechnologyheinventedhasbeenpasseddown.

InventorBiSheng

BiSheng(approximately1051)NorthernSongDynastyCommoner,HuainanRoad,Qizhou,QishuiCounty,ZhiheTownship,nowWugui,CaopandiTown,YingshanCounty,HubeiProvincePeoplefromDunVillage.Beginningasaprintingshopworker,specializinginmanualprinting.Inhisprintingpractice,hewaswellawareofthedifficultiesofengravingprinting,seriouslysummeduptheexperienceofthepredecessors,andinventedmovabletypeprinting.ShenKuo'smethodisspecificallyrecordedin"MengxiBiTan".BiSheng’screationandinventionofthemovabletypeisafundamentalreforminthedevelopmentofprintinginmycountry.Itisascientificsummaryofthelong-termpracticalexperienceoftheworkingpeopleinancientChinaandhasmadeagreatcontributiontotheculturalexchangesbetweenChinaandtherestoftheworld.

Priortothis,therewereonlycopying,rubbingandengraving,whichwasheavy,laboriousandtime-consuming.Itwasnotonlyinconvenientforstorage,butalsotyposanddifficulttocorrect.ThemovabletypeprintingmethodinventedbyBiShengissimple,flexible,convenientandlightweight.Theproductionprocessisasfollows:firstusecementtomakeasinglewordofuniformspecifications,burnithardwithfiretomakeitintoamovabletypeofcement,andthenclassifytheminawoodengrid.Generally,afewtodozensofcommonlyusedcharactersarereservedforpreparation.Theneedfortypesetting.Intypesetting,aframedironplateisusedasthebase,andalayerofmedicinemadeofamixtureofpineresin,waxandpaperashisappliedonit,andthentherequiredcementtypeispickedoutonebyonefromthesparewoodengridandarrangedInsidetheframe,fillituptobecomeaplate,andthengrillitoverthefire.Whenthemedicineisslightlymelted,flattentheliteralsurfacewithaflatplate.Afterthemedicinecoolsandsolidifies,itbecomesapattern.Whenprinting,justbrushinkonthepattern,applypaper,andapplyacertainamountofpressure.Afterprinting,usetorchtobakethepotion,shakeitgently,andthemovabletypewillfallofftheironplate,anditcanbeusedagainnexttime.

BiSheng’sclaymovabletypewasfirstintroducedtoNorthKoreaandwascalled"Taomovabletype".LateritspreadfromNorthKoreatoJapan,Vietnam,andthePhilippines.Inthefifteenthcentury,movabletypeboardsspreadtoEurope.In1456AD,FortGordon,Germanyusedmovabletypetoprintthe"FortGordonBible".ThiswasthefirstmovabletypeprintinEurope,fourhundredyearslaterthanthehistoryofmovabletypeprintinginChina.MovabletypeprintingpassedthroughGermanyandspreadtomorethanadozenothercountriesatthespeedofsound,promptingthearrivaloftheRenaissance.Inthe16thcentury,movabletypeprintingspreadtoAfrica,America,andMoscow,Russia,andtoAustraliainthe19thcentury.Fromthe13thcenturytothe19thcentury,themovabletypeprintingtechniqueinventedbyBiShengspreadallovertheworld.PeopleallovertheworldcallBiShengagreatrevolutionaryinthehistoryofprinting.BiShengdiedin1051(threeyearsfromtherightofEmperorRenzongoftheSongDynasty),andhewasburiedwithhiswifeLiMiaoyinintheYangofSleepingLionMountain,WuguidunVillage,CaopandiTown,YingshanCounty.OntheseventhdayofFebruaryin1052(thefourthyearofEmperorRenzongofSongDynasty),hissonsBiJia,BiWen,BiCheng,andBiRong,andhisgrandsonsWenxian,WenBin,andWenZhongerectedthemonument.

In1990,thetombstoneofBiShengwasdiscoveredinJiaao,WuguiVillage,Pandi,Yingshan.Thetombis3kilometerswestofthecemetery.FivekilometersawayisthetombofPrimeMinisterBiHanru.Itwasconfirmedby28expertsincludingShiShuqing,aresearcherattheChinaHistoryMuseumanddeputychairmanoftheNationalCulturalRelicsAppraisalCommittee,commissionedbytheChinaPrintingTechnologyAssociation,thePreparatoryCommitteeoftheChinaPrintingMuseum,andtheHubeiProvincialCulturalManagementCommittee.

Developmenthistory

Thepublication"BuddhaViewingtheImmeasurableLifeSutra"discoveredintheWhiteElephantPagodainWenzhou,ZhejiangProvincein1965wasidentifiedastheNorthernSongDynastyYuanFutoChongning(1100~1103)Newyearmovabletypebook.ThisistheearliesthistoricaltestimonyofBiSheng'smovabletypeprintingtechnology.SongZhouBida(1129~1204)wasgiventhetitleofLordJiGuogong.Whenhewasold,helearnedBiSheng'smethodsfromShenKuoandprintedhisownworks.Healsomadeasmallchange,changingtheironplatetoacopperplate.Copperplateshavebetterheattransferpropertiesthanironplatesandareeasytomelttheadhesive,butcopperplatesaremoreexpensivethanironplates,whichisnothingtoaduke.

YaoShu(1201~1278)intheYuanDynastyadvocatedmovabletypeprinting.HetaughthischildrenYangGutoprintbookswithmovabletypeplates,whichbecameZhuXi’s"ElementarySchool"and"JinSiLu",andLuZuqian's""DonglaiClassicsandHistory"andotherbooks.However,YangGu'smud-makingmovabletypewasbasedonthetechnologyimprovedbytheSongpeopleafterBiSheng,nottheoriginaltechnologyofBiSheng.

InthesixthyearofEmperorKangxioftheQingDynasty,ZhaiShiqiservedastheofficialofRaozhou.Accordingtoexpertanalysis,theso-calledCeladon(movabletype)maybeatypeofceramictypefiredfromtheclayusedtomakeceladon.

In1718,XuZhi,anativeofTai'an,Shandong,custom-mademovabletypeforpottery,andprinted"SummaryofZhouyi".Hecalcinedtheclayintomovabletypefortypesettingandprinting,stillusingthemethodusedbyBiSheng.

Inthe19thcentury,ZhaiJinshengofJingxianCounty,AnhuiProvince,developedtheideaof​​printingabookwithmudtypeafterreadingtheBiShengmudtypetechniquedescribedinShenKuo's"MengxiBiTan".Hehasworkedhardfor30yearsandmademorethan100,000movabletypesofmud.In1844,itwasprintedasthe"FirstCompilationofClayPlateTrialPrinting".Sincethen,hehasprintedmanymorebooks.Inthe1960sand1970s,thousandsofmovablemudtypecharactersmadebyZhaiJinshengwerealsodiscoveredinJingxianCountyinthe1960sand1970s.Therearefivetypesofthesemovabletype.Withhisownpractice,heprovedthatBiSheng'sinventionisfeasible,andbrokesomepeople'sdoubtsaboutthefeasibilityofmudmovabletype.

Zhai'sclaymovabletypefoundinHuizhou,Anhuiin1962.

WangZhen(1271-1368),acontemporaryofYangGu,createdwoodenmovabletype.WangZhenisanativeofDongping,Shandong.Heisanagronomistandhasservedasacountyofficial.Heleftabooksummarizingtheancientagriculturalproductionexperience-"Nongshu".WangZhen'sengraving,modification,selection,typesetting,printingandothermethodsofwoodtypeareattachedtothisbook.Heinvitedcraftsmentocarvemorethan30,000woodtypeinJingde,Anhui.InthesecondyearofChengzongDadeintheYuanDynasty(1298),hetriedtoprintmorethan60,000wordsof"JingdeCountyChronicles"andprinted100copiesinlessthanamonth.Itcanbeseenthattheefficiencyishigh.Thisisthefirstwood-typeprintonrecord.AnothercontributionofWangZheninprintingtechnologyistheinventionofthewheeltypesettingplate.Alargerouletteismadeoflightwood,aboutsevenfeetindiameter,andtheaxleisthreefeethigh.Therouletteismountedontheaxleandcanrotatefreely.Accordingtotheclassificationofancientrhymebooks,thewoodenmovabletypeisputintothegridsinthedisc.Hemadetwosuchbigroulettes.Thetypewritersatbetweenthetworoulettesandturnedtheroulettetofindthecharacters.ThisiswhatWangZhensaid,"Thewordisfortheperson,andthewordistakenaccordingtotherhyme."Thisnotonlyimprovestheefficiencyoftypesetting,butalsoreducesthemanuallaborofthetypewriter.Itisapioneeringworkintypesettingtechnology.AlthoughtheprintedbookofwoodtypeintheYuanDynastyhasbeenlost,therewerehundredsofwoodtypeinUyghurscriptthathavebeenhandeddownatthattime.

MingDynastyhasmanywoodmovabletypebooks,mostlyusingtraditionalSongandYuantechniques."TangShiLeiYuan"inthe14thyearofWanliReignofMingDynasty(1586),"TheYuLuofShiTemple",and"BishuiQunyingWaitingforQuestionHuiYuan"inJiajingjian(approximately1515~1530),etc.areallprintedinwoodtype..

DuringtheQingDynasty,woodtypetechnologygainedunprecedenteddevelopmentduetothesupportofthegovernment.WoodmovabletypebookswerepopularintheKangxiperiod,andlarge-scaleprintingofbookswithwoodtypebeganwiththepublicationofthe"YingwuPalaceCollectionSeries"intheQianlongperiod.Afterprintingthebook,atotalof253500piecesoflargeandsmalljujubewoodtypewerecarved.Printedinto134typesof"YingwuPalaceJuzhenEditionSeries",2389volumes.Thisisthelargestprintingofwoodtypeinthehistoryofourcountry.

Makingmovabletypewithmetalmaterialsisalsoadevelopmentdirectionofmovabletypeprinting.BeforeWangZhen,tinwasusedasmovabletype.Buttinisnoteasytobeprintedwithink,anditisdifficulttopromote.Duringthe15thand16thcenturiesAD,themovabletypeofbronzewaspopularinWuxi,SuzhouandNanjinginJiangsuProvince.BronzemovabletypeprintingenteredanewclimaxintheQingDynasty.Thelargestprojectistocountthenumberofprintedvolumesof"AncientandModernBookCollection",whichisestimatedtouse1to2millionbronzemovabletype.

DescriptionLetterpressPrinted"Letterpress"

Board-printedbooks,theTangDynastyhasnotyetflourishedForit.TheFiveScriptureswerefirstprintedintheFiveDynasties,andthelaterclassicsareallinslabeditions.ThereisBishengintheQingcalendar,whichisalsoatrap.Method:Usegluetoengrave,asthinasamoneylips,eachwordisaseal,andburntomakeitfirm.Firstsetupanironplate,onwhichrosin,wax,andpaperashareexposed.Ifyouwanttoprint,youuseanironplatetosettheironplate,whichisdenselycoveredwithcharacters.Thefullironplateisaplate.Holdittothefire,andthemedicineisslightlymelted.Ifonlythreeortwocopiesareprinted,itisnoteasy;ifitisprintedtensofhundredsofthousands,itwillbeextremelyfast.Itisoftenusedastwoironplates,oneplateisprinted,andtheotherisself-printed.Afterthisprintingiscompleted,thesecondplateisalreadyavailable.Itismoreinteroperableandcanbequicklyachieved.Eachwordisprintedinnumbers,suchas"之"and"也",andeachwordhasmorethan20prints,incasethereareduplicatesinoneboard.Ifyoudon’tuseit,youwillusepaperposts,eachrhymeisapost,andthewoodengridwillstoreit.Thosewhohavestrangecharactersandareunprepared,rotatethemandburnthemwithgrassfire,andtheycanbecompletedinaflash.Ifitisnotmadeofwood,theliteratureandsciencewillbedense,butitwillbeunevenwhenwet,anditwillsticktothemedicine,whichisnotadvisable;itisnotlikeburntsoil,andthenfiretomeltthemedicine,brushitwithyourhand,andthemarkwillfallbyitself.,Notcontaminated.Risingtodeath,itssealisobtainedbyYuqunCong,andithasbeenpreservedtothisday.

Author:ShenKuo.

Copying

AsearlyastheseventeenthcenturyBC,abookcalled"Phaistosdiscus"usedindividualsymbols,stampedonebyoneintoaspiralshape.Itcanstillbeidentifiedtoday.AnotherimportantprintisaprayerinaPruefeningmonasterynearRegensburg(nowacityinsouthernGermany)inthetwelfthcentury.Itwasprintedusingseparatewoodenblocksthatwearefamiliarwith..

Later,theRomanMilitaryDistrictalsousedaseparatewoodlettering;todaywecanstillfindtheirdriedofficialsealsofclay.Intheearlydays,theletterswerenotonlycoveredindampsoil;butalsothesteelsealcarvedonhardmetalwasverysimilartoGu'sstyleinmanyrespects.

Inadditiontotheseforms,therearestillstampsmadeofclay,woodormetal,andtherearealsomanyexamplesofcastcharacters:almostallthecharactersonthebellarecastinasinglewoodenmold.Atthesametime,therearealsomanycoinsandmedalsmadebycasting.

(1)Inventionofthemovabletypeplate

Asearlyas1409,thefirstdocumentprintedwithmovabletypewasprintedbythemunicipalprintingcompany,whichcostquiteabitBig.InSeoulandChinainSouthKorea,evenearlierthantheGufamily,inthecenturiesbeforeprintinginSouthKorea,therearerecordsofseparatefontprinting.

AncientChineseliteraturepointedoutthatduetothecomplexstructureofChineseglyphs,woodengravingworkhasbeenveryslowandtime-consuming.In1041(SongRenzongQingcalendaryear),HangzhoumetallurgicalforgerBiShenginventedtheuseofclay.Movabletype,thenbakedwithfiretoformasolidtypeofcement,arrangedinaprintingplate,thisisoneofChina'sfourgreatinventions.

However,nosuchfragilerelicsofmovabletypehavebeenpreservedsofar.Undoubtedly,theuseofmovabletypeprintinginChinaandSouthKoreawasindeedlongbeforetheGufamily.

Between1430and1440,WesternEuropeangoldandsilversmithswereveryproficientinengravingtechniques,andJ.Gutenberg,originallyfromMainz,Germany,solvedtheproblemofmetalThecastingtechnologyofmovabletype.By1450,hehadsuccessfullyused83%lead,15%antimony,and2%tintomeltintoanalloytocastindividualmovabletype.Afterinspectionandtypesetting,aprintingplateofconsistentheightcouldbeobtained.Useitrepeatedly,savingtimeandeffort.Inordertosolvetheprintingproblem,healsobuiltthefirstpracticalprintingpress.

J.Gutenberg(J.Gutenberg)integratedtheneedsofWesternEurope'smetallurgy,goldart,engraving,metalproductmanufacturingandletterpressprintinghouses,andcleverlyarrangedittosolvethetype,ink,paperandprintingThevarioustechnicalissuesofthemachinearecombinedintoacomprehensiveprocess.

Hisinventioncoincidedwiththetime,whichenabledthefourteenthandfifteenthcenturiestoenhancethebroaddevelopmentofknowledge,andattractedalargenumberofreadersintowns,universities,Renaissanceandscholars.Sincethe14thcentury,Europeanpaperproductionhasgenerallyincreasedanditcanbefullysupplied,whichsatisfactorilysolvedthepaperproblem.Comparedwithparchment,itismuchcheaper.Movabletype

(2)Gutenberg'sinspectionandrowingtechnique

AfterGutenberg(J.Gutenberg)inventedthetypecasting,untiltheinventionoftheautomaticcastingmachine,Inthehistoryoftypesetting,therehasnotbeenmuchchangeformorethanfourhundredyears.Duringthisperiod,printinghousesusedmanualmethodsforcasting,checking,andtypesetting.Fromamodernperspective,itsspeedisreallyslow.Thisarticlespecificallydescribesthevariousoperatingconditionsatthattimeasfollows:

Coppermold-Beforemakingacoppermold,firstengraveasteelrodwithafile,chisel,andothertoolstocreateareversepattern.Useachiseltochiselofftheconcavepartofthewordmold,andthissteelrodbecomesaconvexlettermold.Punchitintoacopperblockwithiron,andthenuseafiletogrindtheextrudedcopperblankcarefullytoformacoppermold.

Thevalueofmovabletype

TheoriginalmovabletypeofancientbooksisaclassicofChineseprinting.Therecordof"BuyiBisheng"inventingmovabletypeprintingin"MengxiBiTan"oftheNorthernSongDynastybyShenKuoispartoftheelementaryschooltextbooks.Whynotcollectthemovabletypeancientbooksofthepastdynastiesasaspecialcollection?Sorry?Theremustbesomeforesighttocollectaline,andthisearlyhalf-stepcomprehensionmustcomefromprofoundknowledgeofeditions.Thecollectionofancientmovabletypeeditionsofpastdynastiesasaspecialtopicdidnotbeginwithtoday.Mr.ZhaoYuanfang,formerCounselorofthePeople'sBankofChinaanddeputymanageroftheSoutheastBankofChina,hasaccumulatedalifetimeofhugesumsofmoneytocollectancientbooksofMingDynastyandearlyQingDynasty,andhehasbecomeabibliophile.Inhislateryears,Mr.ZhouShu,theformerdeputymayorofTianjinandaredindustrialist,alsodevotedhimselftothecollectionofancientbooksinmovabletypeduringtheMingandQingDynasties.Whenhedied,hemadeawilltodonatemorethan400typesofancientbooksinmovabletypetoTianjinLibrary.Today'sTianjinLibraryislistedamongtheworld'sfamousmuseumsforitsrarebookssuchasmovabletypeeditionsofancientbooksandlocalchronicles.Mr.ZhouShu'sdonationisadedicationtohistory.In1981,theTianjinMunicipalLibrarycompiledandprintedthe"Collectionofmovabletypebooks"inthecollectionofmovabletypeancientbooksinitscollection,whichbecameamonographforthestudyofmovabletypeancientbooks.Unfortunately,thisbibliographycontainingmorethan700typesofancientbooksinmovabletypeismimeographedandthread-bound.Only200copiesareprinted.Itisextremelydifficulttoseeonthemarket.Ithasbeenauctionedthreetimesandsoldforthousandsofyuan,whichshowsthatitischerished.

Movabletypeprinting,oneofChina's"FourGreatInventions",hasagreatinfluenceonworldculture,andJapanandancientKoreawerethefirsttoimitateChinesemovabletypeprinting.AncientJoseonwasrichinfinecopper,andtheancientKoreanroyalfamilyregardedtheprintingofChineseclassicsasaculturalevent.TheKoreanversionofChinesebookshasalwaysbeenvaluedbydomesticscholars.Notonlyisitscharacterspleasingtotheeye,butitisespeciallyvaluableinthatithasfewererrorsandisclosetotheoriginalappearanceoftheancientversion.Therefore,thepriceofKoryocoppermovabletypebookshasincreasedevenmoreinrecentyears.ThemovabletypebooksthatcanbeseenonthemarketaremostlyprintedinthereignofEmperorQianlong,andmovabletypebooksareespeciallyrareintheearlyQingDynasty.InthereignofEmperorYongzhengintheQingDynasty,thebook"CompilationofAncientandModernBooksbytheKing'sOrder"inbronzemovabletypeinthereignofEmperorYongzhengintheQingDynastywasagloriouspeakinthehistoryofChina'spublishingandprinting.Theaveragepriceofeachvolumeofthemovabletypebook"TheCollectionofAncientandModernBooksbytheKingJames"was500to800yuanpervolumebefore2000.Inrecentyears,ithasgraduallyrisento2,000to3,000yuanpervolume.After2005,thistypeofbooksintheinternalgovernmenthasatrendofreaching5,000yuanavolume.EmperorQianlongoftheQingDynastychangeditsnameto"JuzhenEdition"becauseoftheindecenttitleof"movabletype",andsetupaprintingandpublishingorganizationinthe"WuyingHall"inthepalace,whichbecameamiracleinthehistoryofChineseprinting.However,shortlyafterthe"WuyingHallJuzhenEdition"wasreleasedintheQingDynastyintheQianlongreignoftheQingDynasty,therewerepeoplewhocopiedthisbookwithmovablewoodtype,andfanshadtoguardagainstit.

Itisobviousthatthevalueofhistoricalevidencefarexceedsthevalueofhistoricaldataiftheancientmovabletypeeditionsofthepastdynastiesarecollectedasaspecialtopic.

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