What are the restrictive factors for the development of book binding?

"Books are the ladder of human progress" and the medium for the accumulation, dissemination and continuation of human wisdom. As the carrier of information, books faithfully record and convey knowledge, thoughts and emotions for people, and people's love for books is eternal. China is an ancient civilization with a long history and splendid culture. These profound cultural connotations are also reflected in the changes of book binding forms, which formed the unique book binding art in ancient China and opened up the cultural classics left by the ancients. The cover is elegant and correct, the paper is soft and delicate, the text is rich and full, the layout is excellent and not gorgeous, but it is well protected; After vicissitudes of life, it is still simple. We can clearly feel a calm and distant style and a lofty artistic conception, which is completely different from the style of western classical books advocating decoration. Even compared with modern books, China's ancient books are not inferior. They pay strict attention to style, follow certain norms, and are natural, which deserves our careful taste and study. What is influencing the evolution of binding forms of ancient books in China? This is a question worth discussing.

The emergence and development of books is one of the symbols of civilization. Books record events, ideas, experiences, theories, skills, knowledge and so on created by people for practical needs in life and production practice. Different forms of books in different times are, to some extent, the reflection of politics, economy and ideas in this era, and also the result of technical conditions. The contents of books reflect the living conditions and ideology of a certain society and period. Similarly, the binding form of books also reflects the living conditions and ideology of a certain society and period, which develops with the development of the times. "Form, as the name implies: form is expression, and the artistic charm of both form and spirit can only be produced by the perfect combination of external beauty and internal beauty of books" [1]. In different historical periods, books have different specific binding modes.

First, the original form of book binding

The original forms of book binding, from weaving and engraving books to drawing documents, pottery documents, Oracle Bone Inscriptions documents, bronze documents, jade documents and stone documents, all came into being and developed according to the pre-preparation of characters. From whether words have been produced to pictures and symbols, to hieroglyphics, to abstract words, to mature words. It can be seen that the changes in the early forms of books are closely related to the development of characters, and this evolution is very long, much longer than from the Qin Dynasty, where regular script prevailed, to the present. Because they are not mature books after all, they just play the role of books, so they are called the original form of books. Without these early forms of books, formal books and mature books would not have been produced, and their important role in history can never be underestimated.

In ancient China, early books were loaded with rope, wood, bamboo, pottery, Oracle Bone Inscriptions, animal bones, bronze, jade and other materials. Pottery is fired, bronze is smelted, and other materials are natural resources, which can be carved or written into books with a little processing. It was also a reflection of the low level of social productivity and technology at that time. Its social progress is very obvious, not only from the formation and development of fonts, from the complexity and profound significance of text content, but also from the shape and quality of carriers, which clearly shows that society is constantly developing and improving, and the technical level is constantly improving. The connotation of mature books is getting bigger and bigger, and the connotation of layout and layout is getting clearer and clearer, which creates conditions for the emergence of regular books.

Second, the normal form of book binding.

After the long development of the original form, book binding has gradually entered a formal form with the progress of society. "Shuo Wen Jie Zi" says: "Writing on bamboo and silk is a book." At all times and in all countries, a large number of scholars believe that the formal form of China's book binding began with Jane Eyre. In the History of Ancient Printing in China, Luo thought: "The real book form in ancient China began with bamboo slips and wooden slips." This paper adopts the opinions of most experts and describes bamboo slips and wooden slips in the first form of paradigm.

Regular books include: bamboo slips, wooden slips, silk books, scroll books, whirlwind books, sticky pages, sewing books and so on. They are basically written with a brush dipped in ink, and handwriting is one of their major characteristics, which has changed the carving method of the original form of books. Regular books are restricted by materials, and different materials lead to different binding methods. Bamboo is the carrier of bamboo slips and wooden slips; The carrier of silk books is silk; The carrier of scroll books is silk books from the beginning, because scroll books are directly developed from silk books. After the invention of paper, a large number of scroll books were made of paper. The carrier of the cyclone suit is paper. As the carrier of books, paper has incomparable advantages over other carriers. Paper has been used as a carrier since books were put on reels.

Judging from the binding forms of several books, they are all restricted by material carriers. Different materials will produce different book binding forms, and of course there are other conditions. Although Jane's strategy book can be rolled up, it is bulky and too heavy; Wooden slips cannot be rolled, and the capacity is too small; Silk materials are limited and expensive; It is not convenient to view the books loaded on the scroll; Cyclone binding books combined the advantages of these books, removed their shortcomings, and made great progress, becoming a more advanced book binding form at that time, but it also had obvious shortcomings.

Judging from the development history of book binding, the so-called formal form of book binding is only a transitional form to album form. Book binding forms will continue to develop and change, because the materials are all paper, and the evolution of its binding forms mainly depends on the production methods.

Third, book binding in the form of photo albums.

Book binding has experienced the initial form and formal form, and entered the picture album form, which is the mature form. From the mounting of Van Gogh's books, through folding books, butterfly books, Bao Beizhuang books and thread-bound books, most of these books are printed by block printing, and the materials (carriers) used are all paper. Therefore, in the period of book binding form, the way of making books and social needs determine the form of book binding.

Regarding the form of book binding, some scholars believe that it begins with folding books. Some scholars think that we should start with the butterfly book, while others think that we should start with Bao Beizhuang's book. The author thinks we should start with Van Gogh's book. There are two reasons: first, Van Gogh's books have been separated from scroll books and started to use single pages; Second, the Vatican policy book has become a form of photo album book. Van Gogh's book binding and book folding can be regarded as the original form of book binding, while Butterfly's book binding is a transition. The appearance of Bao Beizhuang marks the increasingly mature book binding form in China, and thread-bound book is the most mature book binding form in China.

From the book binding of Van Gogh in Tang Dynasty to the book binding of Qing Dynasty, its binding form has experienced a process of development and change, with a time span of about 1200 years, in which the quality of paper and ink has been greatly improved and the variety has increased, which provides the necessary material conditions for the development of book binding. Paper is the main carrier of photo album books, which makes books lighter and lighter, more convenient to use and more perfect in binding. Thread-bound books have become the most perfect traditional binding form and developed to perfection. Because the materials of album books are all paper, the binding form of album books is determined by its production method and the needs of society.

Books in the form of picture albums, pages and binding are all rolled pages: Van Gogh's books are single-page and threaded; Folded books are continuous hinges, glued with paste; Butterfly book is a single page folded and glued; Bao Beizhuang's book is a page folded, and the paper is sticky; Thread-bound books are also single-page folded thread-bound. Folding is an important process of photo album books, and it is also a factor in the development of book binding forms. Although folding is a simple action, it greatly changes the binding form of books. Modern books still need to be folded, which contains profound philosophical thoughts.

Album books are basically block printed, but there are also a few handwritten books and some movable type printed books. Engraving printing plays an important role in album pages. Books can't be written without block printing. Most of the early books were carved books, such as carved books, pottery books, Oracle Bone Inscriptions books, gold books, stone books and jade books. But they didn't print, every moment is a book; Formal books are written by hand, and each book is also a book. Although albums and books in the form of binding are also engraved, because they are printed, many books can be published at a time. This is the characteristic of books in the form of picture albums and binding, and it is also the development of carving technology.

The above summarizes the evolution process of ancient Chinese book forms and the characteristics of each period. What are the reasons that determine and restrict the development of ancient book forms in China?

First of all, from the social background, the invention and development of any technology need a certain social environment. The form of ancient books in China is also directly related to the level of papermaking, inking, printing and binding. According to legend, people learned to make ink in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and Cai Lun in the Eastern Han Dynasty invented papermaking. After the invention of paper, it was changed into a "folded book" based on a rectangular piece of paper. Later, inspired by India's Bhagavan Sutra, I glued the written words together and folded them in order. Because most of them are written in scriptures, they are called "folds". Bi Sheng in the Northern Song Dynasty invented movable type printing. At the beginning of the Five Dynasties, the binding of books gradually turned to "book edition", and was replaced by "thread-bound" books after the middle of the Ming Dynasty. The earliest invention of these technologies in China played a decisive role in the germination and development of ancient books.

Secondly, from the cultural background, the binding form of books changes with the development of materials, methods, socio-economic conditions and culture. Among them, the influence of culture on the formation and development of the binding pattern of ancient books is profound and subtle, and the layout, arrangement structure and binding method of ancient books are all influenced by the traditional culture of "harmony between man and nature" in China. From a cultural point of view, China's cultural atmosphere and ideological system since ancient times are largely mapped to the form and artistic style of China's ancient books. In particular, as the core of China culture, the "harmony between man and nature" is the basic proposition of China's philosophy, which is highly respected by Confucianism and Taoism. Confucianism takes people as the center, emphasizes the learning of life, and thinks that good nature comes from destiny. The so-called "nature of destiny" regards heaven as the ultimate guarantee of human nature and has supreme authority. In fact, it is the combination of human nature and heaven, and the universe becomes the source of human nature. Taoism regards heaven as nature, and man is only the product of natural development. Man can't be divorced from nature, but can only conform to and imitate nature, that is, "man follows nature, land follows heaven, heaven follows Tao, and Tao follows nature".

The formation and evolution of the binding forms of ancient books in China is the development of China culture. This just shows that its development history is the development history of culture, full of philosophy, aesthetics and so on. Books are not only spiritual products, but also material products with extremely rich connotations. Paying attention to the principle of "appropriateness and elegance" still plays an active role in the art of modern book binding. The binding of ancient books in China is a knowledge and a cultural heritage worth cherishing. We should absorb nutrition from the ancient book binding in China and form a modern book binding art with China characteristics and "nationality".