Printing is one of the four great inventions in ancient China, and it is also a dazzling flower contributed by the Chinese nation to the World Cultural Palace. According to documents and archaeological remains, block printing appeared at the beginning of the Tang Dynasty at the latest and was applied to block printing of books. After the development and perfection of the Five Dynasties, the Song Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty, it reached its peak in the Ming Dynasty. In the meantime, no matter the scale, quantity and content, it is far more than the previous generation. This paper briefly describes the evolution of Ming dynasty printmaking, and puts forward some suggestions to correct the mistakes.
First, the historical background and social reasons for the great development of printmaking in Ming Dynasty.
Needless to say, the heyday of China's ancient book engraving history appeared in the Ming Dynasty not by accident, but as a result of the interaction of social, political, economic, cultural and other factors, which is the necessity of social needs. Specifically, there are four reasons:
1, the need of cultural policy in Ming dynasty
In A.D. 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang led the crowd to expel the ruler of the Yuan Dynasty to Mobei, and proclaimed himself emperor in Jinling (now Nanjing), changed to Hongwu, and founded Daming as Ming Taizu.
Ming Taizu was born in a peasant family, but he had no academic experience. However, in the long-term political struggle, he knew well the way of governing the country and leveling the world in feudal society. In the second year of Hongwu (1369), when the state affairs were decided, he wrote a letter to Zhongshu Province: "I always put the country first and education first. The way of education is based on schools. " Teaching and educating people can be said to be a basic national policy here. It goes without saying that books play an extremely important role in achieving this. Therefore, in the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, books such as Four Books, Five Classics, Mirror Mirror and Shuoyuan were repeatedly distributed to schools. Zhu Yuanzhang can only say that he has a good knowledge of literature and pen and ink, but he has written many books that help maintain feudal ethics and hopes that the Ming Dynasty can "prolong the emperor forever". For example, in the sixth year of Hongwu (1373), he wrote "Zuxun Lu", boasting that future generations said, "If future generations keep it, they will always keep it. If you are smart, you will use the old chapter indiscriminately, which is contrary to the ancestral teachings. You will die in a day! " Here, books have become an important means to educate future generations to abide by the law of ancestral inheritance, so that the throne can be replaced.
In fact, long before the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang showed great interest in the book industry. According to Zhu Guozhen's Great Political Records of Ming Dynasty, in the 24th year of Yuan Dynasty (1364), Zhu Yuanzhang sent troops to destroy Chen Youliang, and ordered people to come to see the suicide note. Wang Mingshizhen's "Life will be Crushed" says: "Xu Da entered Beijing and sealed his treasury." It can be seen that attaching importance to books and their educational functions is a consistent policy of Ming Taizu and an important part of its major policies.
In addition, from the perspective of social and historical development, the Yuan Dynasty ruled China with northern nomads for nearly a hundred years, and its cultural undertakings were relatively backward, as was the book industry. According to statistics, there are no more than six or seven hundred old engravings in the Yuan Dynasty, and only half of them are left in the Song Dynasty, which can explain this situation. This is not only the need of Ming Taizu's ruling policy, but also an arduous task before the Ming Dynasty, that is, the prosperity of the book industry in the Ming Dynasty has deeper social reasons.
At the beginning of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, some important measures were taken that were beneficial to the development of the book industry, that is, the concretization of the above policies. According to "Ming Yao Hui" Volume 26: "In August of the first year of Hongwu, the book tax was excluded." At the same time, there are also books, pens, ink and other means of production and agricultural equipment tax-free. It can be seen that in Ming Taizu's mind, the book industry, as an important part of cultural undertakings, is in the same position as restoring agricultural production and solving people's livelihood problems. In the winter of the twenty-third year, "the Ministry of Rites was ordered to send envoys to buy a rare" suicide note "and order it to be published by the bookstore." (See also Ming) The former stimulates the development of the book industry by benefiting the people, while the latter is a top-down large-scale book engraving activity organized by the central government. From the point of view that the government buys books for People's Daily, it smacks of private government assistance. The Ming Dynasty attached great importance to the book industry and spared no effort. Ming enjoyed the country for more than 270 years, from Hongwu to Chongzhen, during which there was no lack of fatuity. Even Alakazam, the Emperor Hu Tiandi, basically adopted the policy of protecting and supporting the book industry, which was also an important guarantee for the development and prosperity of the book industry in Ming Dynasty.
2. Academic development, rich writings and relatively loose publishing policy.
The constant disaster of literature is a major feature of China's ancient cultural history and book history. Similar incidents occurred from time to time in the Ming Dynasty. However, in the investigation of historical records, except for the "mixed world" theory of Cheng, Zhou, Zhang and Zhu Zhixue, or the historical materials burned by the writings directly related to political struggle, such as the Ming Imperial edict, the Ming government did not interfere with the general academic and creative activities of the people. Therefore, there was a sharp increase in writings in the Ming Dynasty, and the editing of series and books was also very active. There are 15725 kinds of works of Ming Dynasty recorded in the Bibliography of Qianqingtang by Yu Ji in Qing Dynasty, while only 3000 kinds of works of Yuan Dynasty are recorded in the bibliographies of various schools. Apart from the long history of the founding of the People's Republic of China in the Ming Dynasty, it was also related to the strict prohibition of books in the Yuan Dynasty. "Yuan history? Criminal law records: "great evil, all kinds of false songs and words, ... it is forbidden for anyone to slander or confuse people with heresy, and offenders are felony." "There is no such ban in Daming Law. During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, courtier Feng Qi used the opportunity of burning Li Zhi's works to publish "Learning from the Times" and suggested: "All the new theories of workshops were burned by local officials. "Make ends meet, so that the ancestral fire, not seen in the Ming dynasty. It can also be seen that the literary ban in Ming Dynasty was far less severe than that in Yuan Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty. The increase of books and the activeness of book editors have made the book industry a living water; It provides a relatively broad space for the development of the book industry.
Compared with the Yuan Dynasty, the book publishing policy in Ming Dynasty was quite loose. According to Cai Cheng's "Phoenix Window Conghua" in Qing Dynasty, "It was extremely difficult for people in Yuan Dynasty to carve books. If someone in a certain place has a book, the gentleman there will present a speech to the scholar, who thinks it is essential. If possible, learn to prepare for the literature consultation department. If the department thinks it is possible, then board the board and stop if it is impossible. " This was not the case in the Ming Dynasty. Not only does there not exist such a book publishing system of red tape, layers of checks and layers of review, but even there is basically no review system before publication. No matter the government, private houses, workshops, planners or senior officials, scholars and eunuchs, they can engrave books as long as they have the financial resources. As a result, "if a scholar can win the list for decades, there must be a manuscript;" Tuguzi has no time, so there must be an epitaph. Fortunately, these books will be destroyed soon. If they last forever, they will not be stored even if the earth is used as a shelf! " Excessive abuse is a drawback, but it also reflects the prosperity of calligraphy and engraving in Ming Dynasty. According to statistics, there are no fewer than 20,000 kinds of books carved by Ming people, more than half of which were written by Ming people. Without an active academic atmosphere and a relaxed publishing policy, it was impossible at that time.
3. Developed economy and active book consumption market.
Born in a peasant family, Ming Taizu understood the sufferings of the lower classes. After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, a series of policies were adopted to resume production, develop the economy and reduce taxes. As he said, "the way to keep your name is to make good use of it." By the eighteenth year of Hongwu (1385), the grain output was twice that of Yuan Dynasty. In Yongle, the economy developed faster. "Shi Yu is very rich, with surplus and jealousy. Millie chestnut was lost to millions of tons in the capital, and the granary of the national treasury was too red and rotten to eat. " "Sifang Department Store is twice as old as before." Only by ensuring the survival needs can we talk about higher-level book consumption.
After the middle of Ming Dynasty, capitalism sprouted, commodity currency economy developed, craftsmen and citizens expanded, and general trade became active, which became a catalyst to stimulate the development of book industry. Its influence on the book industry is obvious in at least the following four aspects:
First, the expansion of artisans and citizens has made book consumption groups more extensive. Relatively speaking, these people are relatively wealthy and have enough money to buy books. The rise and increase of industrial and commercial towns have provided a relatively concentrated and stable distribution center for books.
Second, books are commodities. The development of commodity currency economy provides it with convenient trading means, and the book trade is also more active. Ming Jiajing's "Jianyang County Records" states: "Fang Shu Street is in Chonghua, and books are better than houses. There are many merchants in the world, and they get together on the first or sixth day of each month. " Explain that there were vendors specializing in selling and trading in the book industry at that time. In addition to selling their own books, these stores have also started wholesale business. The vendors of Confucianism, similar to booksellers today, play an important role in book circulation.
Third, the expansion of the civic class has promoted the vigorous development of civic culture. After Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty, novels, operas and other popular literature, which can also be called "citizen literature", surged and became one of the most important varieties in the book industry, which was based on the needs of ordinary people. Before Jiajing, such books were rarely published, and of course there were market rules at work.
Lu Rong's Miscellaneous Notes on Mingyuan said: "The first edition of the country is only available in imperial academy, but not in other counties. Throughout Song Qianshan's preface to seeing Ma Sheng off to Yang, we can see that books between Xuande and Orthodox were not widely printed. Today's version is getting more and more beneficial, and the correct text image in the world is longer than before! " Lu Rong was a scholar of Chenghua in the Ming Dynasty. It should be credible to keep track of current events with people in the Ming Dynasty. If the early stage is the recovery period of the book industry, the period from Xuande to Zhengde is the development period, and Jiajing and Wanli are the prosperous periods, among which Jiajing and Wanli are the most prosperous. Undoubtedly, the emergence and slow growth of capitalism after the middle of Ming Dynasty had a positive impact on the development of the book industry.
4. The progress of book-making materials provides a good material foundation for the book industry.
Sharp tools make good work. The "tools" mentioned here refer to paper, ink, pens, inkstones and other material materials related to the rise and fall of the book industry, and are also one of the most basic conditions for the development of the book industry. For example, Jianning produced the most old paintings of the Yuan Dynasty, and the rich raw materials and large output of paper were the important reasons. Moreover, the production of paper, ink, pens and inkstones in the Yuan Dynasty was far less than that in the Song Dynasty, so it is reasonable that the book industry was in recession. As the saying goes, "A clever woman can't cook without rice." Of course, the book-related materials manufacturing industry and the book industry complement each other. The development of material industry can meet the demand of book industry, and the prosperity of book industry will stimulate the progress of material industry. In the Ming dynasty, the two interacted in such a virtuous circle.
In the Ming Dynasty, the production of paper, ink, pens and inkstones entered an unprecedented period of prosperity, regardless of the large quantity, exquisite production and rich varieties. As far as the pen is concerned, when the Ming pen is changed to Yuan, the writing brush is soft and loose, and the hard pen becomes fashionable. In the Ming Dynasty, Chen Jiru's "Clay Ancient Record" said: "The pen has four virtues, sharp, neat, round and healthy", which emphasized that the pen should be vigorous and elastic. At the end of Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of Ming Dynasty, Zhao (Meng Ke) style prevailed, especially after the middle of Yuan Dynasty, and some of them were Zhao Ti. After the middle of the Ming Dynasty, imitation of the Song Dynasty became a common practice, and most of the characters were European and Yan. Zhao Ti is delicate, and the pen should be soft; Ou Yan is vigorous and powerful, and the pen should be hard. It can be seen that the reform of pen-making technology is actually a reflection of calligraphy style at that time, and of course it also affects the use of characters in engraving books.
The expansion of production scale, wide geographical distribution, and the new name of pen came from behind, which is another feature of pen-making industry in Ming Dynasty. At that time, Hubi, which rose in the Yuan Dynasty, was in full swing, and the prosperity of Xiangbi was almost neck and neck with Hubi. At the same time, pen-making in Beijing has sprung up and become the backbone of the pen-making industry in the north. It is called "there are lake pens in the south and Beijing pens in the north". Famous pens increased, and calligraphers copied manuscripts. According to the needs of fonts, pens have more choices. In the Ming Dynasty, especially at the end of the Ming Dynasty, there were many exquisite block prints handed down, which was inseparable from the progress of the pen-making industry.
The ink-making industry in Ming Dynasty swept away the decline of Yuan Dynasty, and many famous ink-making artists appeared, with many schools, excellent ink quality and novel ink style. Some people compare this to the heyday of Tang poetry and Song poetry, which is no exaggeration. China's representative ancient Mohism monographs, such as Mo Yuan, Fang Mo Pu, Mo Pu, Wan Shou-qi's Mo Zhi, were all written in the Ming Dynasty, which fully demonstrated the prosperity of Mohism at that time. As far as the printed version of the late Ming Dynasty is concerned, it has been more than three and a half centuries, and many original inks handed down from generation to generation are still bright and shiny, just like new paintings, showing the excellent ink quality. The inkstone industry in Ming Dynasty was also quite developed. After entering the Ming Dynasty, traditional famous inkstones, such as Duanyan and Chengni inkstones, made a comeback in spring, and some newly developed inkstones also enjoyed a high reputation, such as Tanzhe Zishi inkstone in Beijing, Songhua inkstone in Changbai Mountain in Northeast China and Jialing Gorge inkstone in Sichuan. There are all kinds of names and colors, there is no need to list them one by one
The reason why a book is a book depends on paper as a carrier. The development of paper industry in Ming Dynasty is unprecedented. The Records of Shangrao County written by Kangxi in Qing Dynasty records that "there are more than 20 paper mills in Shitang Town, Shangrao County, Jiangxi Province, and each paper mill has more than 10 or 20 helpers." In other words, there are as many as 300 to 600 employees in a local paper mill, which has spread to the whole country. It is conceivable that the scale of the paper industry is large.
In the Ming dynasty, not only folk papermaking, but also imperial papermaking. According to the book "Da Ming Hui Dian" in Wanli, there are 62 people who supervise the manufacture of paper in Li Si. The names and colors of the paper products are Xuande Paper, Dayu Board Paper, Big White Board Paper, Big Open Paper and Wool Edge Paper.
The great development of the paper industry in the Ming Dynasty made great contributions to the prosperity of the book industry. The amount of paper used in Liu Ruoyu's Collection of Buddhist Scriptures in the Forbidden City in Ming Dynasty: * * 45,023 pieces of white paper, 570 pieces of yellow fringed paper and 0/0395 pieces of white oil paper. People in the Ming Dynasty liked to compile large-scale series, books and anthologies, with hundreds of volumes in a book. Some large-scale works produced in the Ming Dynasty, such as Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Water Margin, The Journey to the West, Jin Ping Mei Hua Ci and other vernacular novels; Medical and agricultural works such as Compendium of Materia Medica and Encyclopedia of Agricultural Administration; Military works, such as the compilation of nautical charts, are a masterpiece with thousands of pages. Without mass production of paper, it is inconceivable that such books would be handed down from generation to generation.
People in the Ming Dynasty did a lot of research on printing paper, or it was because of the prosperity of the book industry that scholars paid attention to it. Hu Yinglin, a great scholar in the Ming Dynasty, wrote in the Collection of Shaoshi Mountain House? "Jingji Huitong" said: "Where books are printed, Yongfeng cotton paper is the top, Changshan Cambodian paper is the bottom, Shunchang book paper is the bottom, and Fujian bamboo paper is the bottom." "Minzhong paper is short, narrow, crisp and engraved, with the lowest quality and the cheapest value." There are many names and colors of paper in the Ming Dynasty, about 100, but there are mainly two kinds of paper, cotton paper and bamboo paper, except for a small amount of yellow and white hemp paper in Seo Woo in the early Ming Dynasty. Tissue paper is mainly made of mulberry bark, while bamboo paper is made of bamboo fiber.
In the early Ming Dynasty, white and yellow tissue paper was widely used for book carving, and there were many white tissue paper and a few bamboo paper prints between Jiajing and Qin Long. In the late Ming Dynasty, bamboo paper was widely used. Generally speaking, before Jiajing, the cotton paper was good, the paper was bright and clean, and there were jade plates with good toughness; After Qin Long, the system was relatively thick. Bamboo paper is thin and easy to age, but it is rarely eaten by insects. Xie Ming Zhao Zhe said, "In the early days of the People's Republic of China, people used thin paper. If it is made in Chu and Yunnan, its color will be superior to that of Yuan Pisong. " From Cheng Hehong, it gradually became simple, and today it is ugly to the extreme! "The so-called' ugly' refers to bamboo paper. Compared with tissue paper, bamboo paper is inferior in quality and low in price. After the middle of Ming dynasty, the shortage of national use, the decline of people's livelihood and the easy use of bamboo are precisely the reflection of the material difficulties of the book industry. After Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty, block-printed books became popular all over the world, and reducing the cost with bamboo paper was the inevitable result of book commercialization. Xie discusses books with books and papers with papers, which is a bit extreme.