What factors influence the historical evolution of book form?

First, people's demand for reading information has promoted the evolution of books from the initial form to the form;

Second, people's demand for the change of reading style has promoted the evolution of books in form.

1. The core role of reading mode in the process of book form development from package to folding,

2. The core role of reading mode in the process of book form from folding to album binding,

Third, people's demand for diversified reading defines the future development direction of book form.

In different historical stages, no matter how different the content and format of books are, the mainstream binding forms are unified, and each form can occupy a dominant position for a long time until it is replaced by the following form: simple strategic packaging is replaced by reel packaging, which has developed into cyclone packaging, from cyclone packaging to folding packaging, to butterfly packaging and bag packaging, and finally from thread packaging to today's plastic packaging. So, what is the dominant factor in the development from one form to another? This is a reading demand. Although there are many factors leading to the development of things, the development direction of things is guided by the main aspects of contradictions. The development of book binding forms is no exception-the change of materials, the popularization of books, the emergence of printing and other factors will all contribute to the change and development of book binding forms, but why it develops along such a route and must develop along such a route is determined by people's reading needs. In other words, the presentation of book forms serves people's reading needs. Whether the original form of books changes to formal form or the present form of books develops to the future form, people's reading needs play a vital role in promoting it.

From the historical development of books to the future form of books, people's reading needs play a decisive role. Only the book design oriented to readers' reading needs can be called humanized design and have a broader living space.

Historical evolution of book form

Two of China's four great inventions have played a vital role in the development of book binding, namely papermaking and printing. The invention of paper in the Eastern Han Dynasty determined the material of books, and the invention of block printing in Sui and Tang Dynasties contributed to the formation of books, which continued until modern times. Printing has replaced heavy manual copying, shortened the cycle of writing books, greatly improved the quality and quantity of books, and thus promoted the development of human culture. In this case, the binding form of books has also evolved several times. There have been scrolls, warps, cyclones, butterflies, northern clothing, thread clothing, paperback and hardcover.

(1) reel loading

Ouyang Xiu said in "Returning to the Field": "All the books collected in the Tang Dynasty are scrolls", which shows that before the Tang Dynasty, the original form of paper books still followed the scrolls of silk books. Axles are generally painted thin sticks, and some are made of precious materials, such as ivory, rosewood, jade and coral. The left end of the roll is wound into a shaft, the right end is outside the roll, and a piece of paper or silk is mounted in front of it, which is called a dart. Tie a ribbon on the dart head for binding. Scroll-loaded paper books have been used from the Eastern Han Dynasty to the early Song Dynasty. The application of rolled books makes the text and layout more standardized and orderly. Compared with the simple strategy, the scroll can be stretched freely and can be cut at any time according to the number of words, which is more convenient. After writing a piece of paper, you can add more paper to continue writing, or you can stick several pieces of paper together and call it a roll. Later, people called a complete manuscript a volume. After the Sui and Tang Dynasties, religion prevailed in China and the West. In addition to recording traditional classics and historical records, the scroll contains a large number of religious scriptures. Buddhist scriptures are mainly used in China, and scrolls are also used in the West, with the Bible as the standard. The form of scroll mounting books has not been adopted so far, but it is still used in painting and calligraphy mounting.

(2) after folding.

Folding packaging is transformed from reel packaging. With the development of society and the increase of people's demand for reading books, many disadvantages of scroll loading are gradually exposed, which can no longer meet the new demand. If you are reading the middle and back of the book, you have to open it from the beginning and roll it up after reading it, which is very troublesome. The appearance of folding clothes greatly facilitates reading and taking. The specific method is: fold a long scroll along the interval of the text layout to form a rectangular stack, and paste cardboard or wooden board on the first page and the last page respectively. Its binding form is very different from scroll binding, and its shape is very similar to today's books. It has been used in painting, calligraphy, rubbings and other mounting. Sometimes it looks like it in the second-hand market.

(3) Installation of cyclone separator

The cyclone clothes are also modified on the basis of folding clothes. Although the appearance of folding improves the unfavorable factors of scroll loading, it is difficult to preserve and use books for a long time because folding will break after long-term reading. So people came up with a way to paste the written pages on the whole paper in order, which is similar to the way of pasting the roof. It's convenient to turn pages like this. However, its external shape is not much different from that of reel loading, and it still needs to be rolled up for storage.

(4) Butterfly clothing

During the Tang and Five Dynasties, block printing had become popular and the number of prints was quite large, so the previous book binding form was difficult to adapt to the rapid development of printing industry. After repeated research, people invented the form of butterfly clothing. Butterfly dress is to fold the printed paper in half, then align all the page numbers with the middle seam, stick them on another package of back paper, and then cut them into a book. A book with butterfly costumes is called "butterfly costumes" because it looks like the wings of a butterfly flying. Butterfly skirt only uses paste, no thread, but it is very strong. It can be seen that the ancients were good at learning from the experience of predecessors in the selection of materials and methods of book binding, actively exploring and improving, and accumulated rich experience. Today, we should think about the future development of book binding from the perspective of development, learn from the experience of predecessors, improve and create modern forms.

(5) Baobeizhuang

The society is developing and things are progressing, so book binding will inevitably follow the pace of social development and constantly reform and innovate. Although butterflies are equipped with many conveniences, they are not perfect. Because the text faces inward, you have to turn two blank pages every two pages. Zhang Geng Fu said in The Origin of Book Binding in China: "Butterfly binding is beautiful, but the pages are like lines. If you turn it too much, it will eventually fall down. Baobeizhuang runs through the book and is much stronger. " Therefore, in the Yuan Dynasty, Bao Bei costume replaced the butterfly costume. The main difference between a baby costume and a butterfly costume is that the folded words face outwards and turn their backs on each other. The hinge of the two-page version is at the mouth of the book. All the folded pages are stacked together and stamped with discounted stamps. The remaining pages in the version are twisted together with paper. Stick a piece of paper slightly larger than the number of pages on the back of the book, from the front cover to the spine and back cover, and then trim off the remaining edges, thus binding a book. Bao Beizhuang's book is similar to today's book except that the text pages are printed on one side and every two pages are connected at the mouth.

(6) Line fitting

Thread binding is the last form of ancient book binding. The binding method of the inside pages of the book is the same as that of the bag, but the difference lies in the protective sleeve, and two pieces of paper are attached to the front cover and the back cover respectively to expose the spine and lock line. Sewing is divided into four stitches, six stitches and eight stitches. Some rare books need special protection, so they are wrapped in brocade at the two corners of the spine, which is called "corner wrapping". Line binding is the basic form of printing books in China, and it is also the most representative stage of the development of ancient book binding technology. Thread-bound books originated in the late Tang and early Song Dynasties and prevailed in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. So far, there are many rare books of ancient books.

(7) Simplified version

Paperback book, also known as "paperback", is a widely used binding form of post-modern books printed by movable type. The inside pages of paperback books are printed on both sides. After folding the big paper, stamp each printed page on the spine. After riding a horse and locking the thread, you can finish the book by cutting all three sides except the book. This method is called "thread locking nail". Because sewing thread is bulky and expensive, but strong, it is suitable for thick or important books, such as dictionaries. At present, the methods of repairing the spine, gluing and not locking the thread are mostly adopted. This method is called "wireless glue nail". The economy is fast, but not very solid, suitable for thin or ordinary books. From the twenties and thirties to the fifties and sixties, many books were in the form of iron wire double nails. In addition, some thinner booklets, the inside pages and the cover are folded together, and the iron wire is directly pierced at the folded spine, which is called "saddle binding". However, iron wire is easy to rust and should not be stored for a long time.

(8) Hardcover

Hardcover books appeared in Qing dynasty, which was introduced from the west. Later, many western books, such as Bible and Code, were mostly hardcover. The New Testament published by Meihua Bookstore in the 20th year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty is a hardcover book. The cover is inlaid with gold characters, which is very gorgeous. The biggest advantage of hardcover books is that they are firmly sealed, which plays a role in protecting the inner pages and makes the books durable. Like the paperback, the inner pages of hardcover books are mostly stitched, and a strip of cloth should be pasted at the spine to strengthen the connection and protection. The cover material is thick and hard. The cover and back cover are attached to the front and back of the book respectively, and the spine of the cover is not attached to the spine of the page, so that the inner page is not always affected when turning pages, which is more flexible. The spine of books can be divided into flat spine and round spine. The flat spine is mostly lined with cardboard and has a flat shape. The round ridge is often lined with tough materials such as kraft paper and leather to form an arc. There are also grooves and ridges between the cover and the spine to open the cover. Hardcover books are beautifully printed, not easy to be damaged, convenient for long-term use and preservation, with special design requirements, complex material selection and technology, and there are many places worth studying.

In addition, there are Van Gogh's binding which was popular in the Tang and Five Dynasties (imitating the binding form of India's Bayeux Sutra, which is still in use today) and wool binding (grass binding, rough binding and bulk binding) after the Song and Ming Dynasties. The binding form is not unique and will not be repeated here.

The origin and evolution of China's book binding has a history of more than two thousand years. In the long-term evolution process, it has gradually formed a simple, concise, elegant and practical unique oriental form, which plays an important role in the history of book binding and design in the world.