Evolution of binding forms of ancient books

The publication of books in China has a long history, and the binding forms of books are constantly evolving with the development of book production technology and materials used.

It is generally believed that the earliest books in China are tortoise shells or animal bones engraved with words in Shang Dynasty, which has been more than 3,000 years. At that time, in order to facilitate the preservation, several pieces of Oracle Bone Inscriptions related to the content were connected in series with ropes, which was the binding form of early books.

From the late Shang Dynasty, bronze inscriptions appeared, and rulers cast important documents on bronze wares. Especially in the Western Zhou Dynasty, inscriptions can accommodate more characters. Mao's inscription in the Western Zhou Dynasty reached 500 words. Because people often regard this inscription on ancient bronzes as one of the ancient "original books", most book historians think it is also a form of ancient book binding.

Before the invention of paper, bamboo slips were the most representative form of books. According to the length of the article, it can arbitrarily determine the number of abbreviations, one short book and one line, and finally string them together with two ropes and wrap them up for preservation. There are also two kinds of reeds and silk, which are sewn into bags by tasters. Bamboo slips originated in the late Western Zhou Dynasty and continued to be used in the 4th century. Bamboo slips are not only made of bamboo, but also called wooden slips by people who use wood. Parallel to the bamboo slips are wooden slips, which are made into rectangular pieces of wood for writing short articles.

Silk book is a kind of book form slightly later than bamboo slips. Written on silk fabrics, its binding form is to sew the edges and store them in rolls. Because the materials are expensive, they are mostly used by rulers to write official documents or draw pictures, and ordinary books are rarely used. The Book of Songs is also a form of ancient books. The most representative is the Stone Story of Xiping, which was carved in the fourth year of Xiping in the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 175). The seven Confucian classics were carved on 46 stone tablets, with a total word count of more than 200,000 words. It stands in front of Luoyang Imperial College for people to read, copy and correct, and its function exceeds that of ordinary books. Its shape is double-sided lettering, the characters are read vertically, the ranks are neat, and the monuments are arranged in a U shape. Others, such as the Buddhist scriptures of Yunju Temple in Fangshan, were carved in the Sui Dynasty, which was later than the stone carvings in Xiping, but it had great influence and high value.

After the invention of paper, a form of rubbing appeared. You can copy all kinds of stone inscriptions on paper, and it is easy to save and read after being mounted into a roll. Later, this method was applied to bronze inscriptions and rubbings of Wen Tao. From the Southern and Northern Dynasties to the Sui Dynasty, various rubbings are an important category in court books.

Paper was invented in the second century BC; Since the second century, paper has been widely used for writing. In the second century, the use of paper became more common and became the main material of book carrier. Many changes have taken place in the binding form of paper books. The earliest books were written in the form of simple raiders and silk books, that is, scroll loading. In the early Tang Dynasty, another kind of whirlwind clothing appeared on the basis of scroll clothing. In the past, there were different views on the shape of cyclone clothing because there were only records that had not seen the real thing. In the Song Dynasty, Zhang Bangji called this kind of binding "flying page by page, spreading to the end, and still merging into a volume"; In the Qing Dynasty, Ye Dehui called it "the product of scales". Some people think that the warp folded clothes are connected end to end, which is the whirlwind clothes. Later, I found Tang Yun's manuscripts in the Tang Dynasty. The written pages were staggered from page to page and pasted on the bottom paper of the scroll. When I read it, I opened it and turned it page by page. After reading it, it is still rolled into a shaft, and its appearance is the same as that of a scroll, which proves that the first two statements are correct.

Origami originated in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Its shape is that the written pages are pasted together in sequence, folded one by one, and then sealed before and after.

Before the invention of printing, there were only the above forms of book binding. After the invention of printing, scroll packaging and warp folding packaging are still in use, but there are still new developments in the use of materials, the size of the format and the decoration technology. Moreover, with the development of printing technology, new book binding forms are constantly emerging, including butterfly binding, Bao Beizhuang binding, line binding and so on.

Second, the book binding in Beijing in Liao and Jin Dynasties

The invention of printing marks that the publication of books has entered a new era. Due to the change of production mode, books can be produced in large quantities quickly, so that more people have the opportunity to read; The increasing demand for books has promoted the prosperity and development of the publishing and printing industry. Publishers pay more and more attention to the binding form of books, which embodies the complete art of ancient book binding from the choice of layout, the size of the core, font lines, binding form and the materials used in the cover.

Printing was invented in the late Sui and early Tang Dynasties. The earliest printed matter in existence is the Pure and Bright Dharani Sutra carved around 704 AD and the Diamond Sutra discovered in Dunhuang. In 868 AD, they were all scrolls. Therefore, reel binding is the most commonly used binding form in early printing. The earliest printed encyclopaedia is Tang Yun, and its binding form may be whirlwind, which was printed in the late Tang Dynasty.

From the Tang Dynasty to the Five Dynasties, printing was not popular. Only Xi 'an, Sichuan, Huainan, Bianjing and wuyue recorded printing. It was not until the Song Dynasty that the publishing and printing industry gradually became popular. Government printing, folk printing, school printing and temple printing all developed, and the area for printing books was wider. At the same time, the publishing and printing industry appeared in Beijing.

In the past, most of the books printed in Beijing in Liao Dynasty were only records, but few were handed down in kind. For example, the Hand Mirror of Longdong compiled by Yanjing monks in the 15th and 15th years of Liaotong (AD 997), and the medical books Back in Time and Kloc-0/1~110, which were engraved in the years of Gantong. 1974, a batch of Liao dynasty prints were found on the chest of the Buddha statue on the fourth floor of the wooden pagoda in Yingxian County, Shanxi Province, most of which were carved by Beijing. Among them, the earliest time to engrave the book was the Original Classics and Texts printed in the eighth year of Yangjia in Yangshan Temple in Yanjing (AD 990), and the latest time was in the Tianqing period (AD 165438+). Other books include The Khitan Collection and 47 inscriptions and postscript books in Liao Dynasty, 8 inscriptions and postscript books in Liao Dynasty, and 6 painted Buddha statues, with the engraving date of 990 ~11. From these printed inscriptions, we also know a number of engraving units in Nanjing, Liaoning Province (now Beijing), including "Yangjia in front of Yangshan Temple in Yanjing", "Xianzhongfang in Tanzhou Street in Yanjing lives in Fengjia in the south cheek", "Fuhui married downstairs in Dawu Temple", "Benjamin Loyalty Temple in Yanjing" and "Shengjiou Temple in Yanjing". It can be seen that the printing industry in Beijing in Liao Dynasty was very prosperous.

The earliest prints in the Northern Song Dynasty were Shangshu and Classic Interpretation in the fifth year of Kaibao (972 AD), while Kaibao was printed in the fourth noon of Kaibao from 97 1 AD to the eighth year of Taiping Xingguo (983 AD). The earliest printed books in Beijing were only 18 years later than the Northern Song Dynasty, which shows that Beijing has a very long history of publishing and printing.

Judging from these Liao Dynasty printed materials in Beijing, most of them are scroll binding, butterfly binding and folding binding. Some books are also dyed to prevent insects. Among them, The Collection of Qidan is the most representative Beijing print in Liao Dynasty, with exquisite paper and ink engraving and binding. Each volume has a map of the capital, which represents the fine tradition of attaching importance to illustrations in ancient books in China. Judging from the engraving and binding level of existing Liao books, it seems that the history of Beijing book publishing and printing should go further.

In Yingxian wooden pagoda, several carved Buddha statues were also found, which were printed with line outlines by engraving method and then painted with colors by hand. This is the earliest printed and painted wall chart found so far.

1 127 years, Jin destroyed Liao, with its capital in Yanjing (now Beijing), and became the political and cultural center of the north. In the first year of Zhenyuan (A.D. 1 153), the Jin government set up the secretary supervisor and imperial academy, which were specialized in the collection, publication and printing of books. After Jin Jun occupied Bianjing, a large number of books and printing plates there were transported to Beijing, and a group of Bianjing book engraving, printing and binding craftsmen also came to Beijing, further expanding Beijing's book engraving power. Due to the attention of the Jin government, the types of books published in Beijing greatly exceeded those in Liao Dynasty. According to statistics, there is a historical subset of books printed in Beijing in the Jin Dynasty. There are more than 200 kinds of medicine, Taoism and Buddhism.

Book binding in Beijing in the Jin Dynasty was similar to that in the Southern Song Dynasty. Scroll binding in Beijing printed materials is rarely used. Buddhist and Taoist books are mostly folded books, and most books are butterfly dresses.

Butterfly costume is a new book binding form after the invention of printing. It is inferred that Feng Dao organized sutras and used butterfly costumes in the Five Dynasties, but it has not been handed down in kind, which is still difficult to determine. In the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, the printed classics and historical works were all butterfly dresses, which soon became popular all over the country. From the Liao Dynasty, Beijing also began to use butterfly costumes, and the technology was roughly the same as that of the Central Plains.

The application of butterfly clothing is a major reform in book binding. It is the change of books from scrolls and warps to album pages that determines the basic binding form of books that continues to this day.

Third, the book binding in Beijing in Yuan Dynasty

In A.D. 1264, Kublai Khan of Yuan Shizu moved the capital to Yanjing and changed its name to Dadu. Since then, Beijing has become the national political and cultural center for nearly a hundred years. The Yuan Dynasty made outstanding achievements in publishing and printing, for example, the types of printed books exceeded those of the previous generation; The initiative and application of wooden movable type, and the implementation and wide application of two-color overprinter and northern package of Zhu Mo books.

The Yuan government attached great importance to the collection, publication and printing of books. Editorial department, secretarial office and classic room are mainly engaged in the publishing, printing and collection of books, while Xingwen Department, Arts and Culture Bureau, Guangcheng Bureau and imperial academy are also engaged in the publishing and printing of books. The government has also set up a special yearbook editing agency to publish and print three kinds of yearbooks, mini yearbooks and Hui Hui Yearbooks every year, with a print run of over 3 million copies. Due to the government's advocacy, Beijing's private printing industry is also very prosperous. Most of the books they print are operas, plays, poems and so on.

The binding forms of books published in Beijing in Yuan Dynasty were mainly butterfly clothes and folding clothes, and butterfly clothes were mostly used in general books, such as official books on classics and history. Folding clothes is mostly used in Buddhist scriptures. In terms of fonts, Zhao Ti is often chosen, and simplified characters are often used in folk characters.

In the butterfly books of the Yuan Dynasty, there appeared a book binding form of large format and small core, which was rare in the previous generation. For example, the book Meng Qian Bi Tan engraved by Yuan Dade has a folio height of 4 16mm and a width of 280 mm, while the size of the whole page block is only 152mm high and 200 mm wide, leaving a lot of blanks on the four sides of the page. Put a piece of white paper between two blank faces and stick it on them, which overcomes the shortcoming that a blank page needs to be turned when reading butterfly clothes in factories. The cover is lined with fabric on hard paper. This binding method was rare in ancient times. Since the mid-Yuan Dynasty, Bao Beizhuang has been widely used in books. The technological characteristics of color afterloading are as follows: the words sewed in this page are folded outward, butted together, the stitches are on the blank edge of the page, the paper is twisted and tied flat, the stitches are cut outside, the back of the book is brushed, and the upper and lower book ends are cut after the cover is attached. Generally, books are wrapped in thick paper, while books used in court are wrapped in yellow silk. In the book "Si Ji" printed in Beijing in Yuan Dynasty, the recipe for making batter by watchmaker Jiao Qing 'an was recorded: yellow wax, gelatin, alum, bletilla striata, quinoa basket, Gleditsia sinensis, Maoxiang, Pogostemon cablin, white flour, firewood and charcoal. This formula includes three parts: adhesive, preservative and perfume. It can be seen that the materials used in book binding at that time were very scientific and could preserve books for a long time. Baobeizhuang has many advantages over butterflies. First, it is easy to read. Second, books are more durable. It is also an important stage of book binding form, which is closer to today's book binding form.

Fourth, the book binding in Beijing in the Ming Dynasty

The Ming Dynasty was the most glorious era of publishing and printing industry in ancient China. Only in the Ming Dynasty did Beijing truly become the center of publishing and printing in China.

In the Ming Dynasty, many central institutions were engaged in publishing and printing books, and the contents of printed books were different according to their different functions. Imperial academy in Beijing mainly prints educational books (such as classics and history books), Qin mainly prints almanac, and the Ritual Department is responsible for the printing of local governments. In addition, Duchayuan, Taiyuan, History Museum, Ministry of War, Ministry of Industry, Shuntianfu and other institutions are also engaged in book printing. Some departments also have printing houses.

Li Si Jingjing Factory, built in the Ming Dynasty, is the largest printing factory in history, with a total population of 65,438+0,200. Among them, there are more than 700 craftsmen engaged in book binding.

The folk printing industry in Beijing in the Ming Dynasty was also very prosperous, with more than a dozen printing workshops distributed in the capital. Book binding in Beijing in the Ming Dynasty is a master of all previous dynasties. The format and proportion of books are varied, and the binding forms of books in past dynasties have been adopted, and the technology is more exquisite.

In the Ming Dynasty, the book binding form printed in Beijing was the most representative one. It printed books on classics and history, with good typesetting, regular script, big Darkmouth, double fishtail, double-line small print for comments, and mostly Bao Beizhuang. Bibliography is often called "the best in the world". The calendar printed by the factory has two binding forms, one is wrapped in the north, the other is folded in half, and there are two kinds of ink printing and blue printing. There are several different grades of cover materials for various books printed by the factory, most of which are wrapped in yellow silk for the court; Those who wear plain silk are mostly used by officials; Those wrapped in thick paper can be used by ordinary officials or sold to ordinary people. The Tripitaka (Northern Tibet) printed by this factory is folded and about one foot long. The cover is covered with yellow silk and silk of various colors, and its decoration is very beautiful. In the Ming Dynasty, the book Yongle Dadian was written in Beijing by raising iron, with a volume of *** 1 1095. This book is one foot seven inches high and one foot wide. It is the largest book of all ages, similar to the golden ratio. This book, Bao Beizhuang and yellow silk cover, is the most spectacular book binding in all previous dynasties.

Thread binding is a new book binding form that rose in Ming Dynasty, and it is also the most perfect book binding form in ancient China. The processing flow of thread-bound books is: folding, matching, bumping, binding and twisting paper, cover, three-sided cutting, punching, threading, Bao Shu corner and so on. The covers of thread-bound books in Ming dynasty were mostly paper, made of thick paper or made of several layers of paper rolls. More elegant book covers, cloth, twill, brocade, silk and other fabrics are rolled on thick paper, and the corner wrapping is to stick filaments on the upper and lower corners of the book binding, which is beautiful and firm. Some books also have roots, that is, write down the title and volume number at the lower incision near the opening book, so as to find it easily when reading. Threaded joints are used for threading. According to the size and design requirements of books, there are four eyes, six eyes and eight eyes. When sewing, use white silk thread to thread two times, press the book tightly and tighten the thread. Sun Congtian in the Ming Dynasty said in the Book Collection Summary: "Books should be bound with clear water and white silk thread, and the books should be tied firmly before they are tight."

The cover text of a thread-bound book is called a book note, which only prints or writes the title and volume number on a piece of paper and sticks it on the upper left corner of the cover. The title page contains detailed contents, such as the title of the book, the names of publishers and printers and the year of publication. More detailed publications are printed at the back of the book. Some books published by the government also have seals on the first page or cover. The most representative is the "Calendar" printed by the factory, which is not only stamped with the official seal of the government, but also has a government statement, which cannot be reproduced without permission.

The book binding in Beijing in the Ming Dynasty also included the cover of the letter, so as to package all the volumes of a book into a whole. The cover of the letter is mostly made of thick cardboard and blue cloth (or brocade), which is made according to the size and thickness of the book. There are two forms of function sets. One is wrapped all around, exposing the upper and lower mouths of the book, which is called semi-wrapped; The other is to wrap all six sides of the book, which is called full package. In addition to the thick paper cover, there are two kinds of outer packaging: plywood and wooden cases. The splint type is to use two pieces of wood the same size as the book, clip them on the top and bottom of the book, and then tie them tightly with a cloth belt. A transaction box is made according to the size of a book, and the book is put in it.

In the Beijing edition of the Ming Dynasty, there was also the binding form of page lining paper, which was mostly used for thinner paper. There is a kind of ribbed paper, which is as thin as cicada's wings and has serious through printing. After lining paper, it not only overcomes the phenomenon of through printing, but also increases the strength of the page. Due to the development of block printing technology, it provides good conditions for book binding art, including layout art, font art, illustration art and multi-color printing of words. Before the Ming Dynasty, the calligraphy styles of famous artists such as Yan, Ou and Zhao were mostly selected. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the traditional writing method of books was changed to the horizontal, vertical and light and heavy craftsman fonts commonly used in books. Songti sprouted in the Song Dynasty, but it has not matured to the extent of popularization. During the Chenghua period, imperial academy and Beijing merchants began to use Song Style in their editions, which quickly spread throughout the country. There are also several styles of fonts: bold, medium thick and thin. The wide application of this special printing font marks the new development of ancient book binding art. The art of illustration of ancient books in China has a fine tradition. There were frontispiece paintings in the printing of Buddhist scriptures in Tang Dynasty, and more books with illustrations in Song Dynasty. By the Ming Dynasty, the illustration art of books had reached a high level, and more exquisite carved illustrations were used in folk engraved operas and scripts. There are also many illustrations in official science and technology books, medical books and local chronicles, especially in the enlightenment books used by the court, there are short color printed illustrations. Due to the great increase in the output of books, people in the middle and lower classes of society also have the opportunity to study. Judging from the binding form of books, they are also divided into different grades. Even the books in the factory are divided into different binding grades, including luxury books of the upper class and ordinary books of the middle and lower classes. The printed books of folk workshops mainly meet the needs of the general public, and they are simple, practical and low-cost from engraving to binding. In terms of format, there are both large format and small format. Sun Congtian in the Ming Dynasty said in "Collection Summary": "The binding of books does not lie in gorgeous decoration, but in proper protection, quaint style, appropriate thickness, exquisite and correct, which is the first. This represents the general requirements of the Ming dynasty for book binding.

Five, the book binding in Beijing in Qing Dynasty

1644, the Qing government established Beijing, and it is still the political and cultural center of the whole country. The Qing government attached great importance to the publishing and printing of books, and set up an institution specializing in book publishing and printing-Wuyingtang.

During the reign of Kangxi, a group of intellectuals gathered to compile The Collection of Ancient and Modern Books, produced 250,000 kinds of movable type and printed this voluminous series. During the Qianlong period, Wu Yingdian, under the auspices of Jin Jian, carved a pair of jujube movable type, each with a size of 253,500. Emperor Qianlong personally named the movable type edition "Juzhen Edition". In addition to printing the Wuyingdian Juzhen Edition Series with this set of wooden movable type, other books were also printed. The Qing government not only printed books in Huo Yu edition, but also printed many books in block printing, among which Plough Weaving Map and Southern Tour Map were of the highest quality.

A major feature of Beijing printing in Qing Dynasty was the prosperity of folk printing workshops. According to statistics, there are more than 120 people at most, concentrated in Longfu Temple and Liulichang. In these workshops, there are also people who specialize in book binding and calligraphy and painting mounting.

The most common book binding forms in Qing Dynasty were wired binding, scroll binding, warp folding, butterfly binding, Bao Beizhuang and so on. Scroll mounting was mostly used to mount calligraphy and painting in Qing dynasty, and the mounting technology was very exquisite. The bottom surface is mostly high-grade rice paper, the core is inlaid with plain silk on all sides, and the outer side of the shaft is inlaid with brocade. The materials used for the shaft head are divided into different grades. Folding is not only used for Buddhist scriptures and copybooks, but also for general books, farming and weaving maps printed by the imperial court, and southern tour maps. , well carved. Its binding is folded in half, except that the folio is about one foot square, and the cover is mounted with cardboard and yellow silk. There were 720 volumes of Long Yin carved during the reign of Kangxi and Yongzheng, all of which were folded, and the book cover was wrapped in yellow silk, with a volume of 10, which was huge. Books printed by the court also use butterflies. I once read a butterfly book in the middle of Qing dynasty, which was printed on high-grade rice paper with a large margin. The cover is wrapped in yellow silk with cardboard, and the front and rear ring pages are installed on the inside of the cover, which is flat and neatly cut, and belongs to the top grade of court book binding. In the Qing Dynasty, northern clothing was also widely used. A set of ***363 15 volumes "Sikuquanshu" compiled during the Qianlong period is a famous manuscript. * * * has copied seven volumes and 254,205 volumes, all of which are Bao Beizhuang. The cover of the book is covered with thick paper and the four warehouses are covered with different colors. The warp bin is made of green silk, the historical bin is made of HongLing, the sub-bin is made of blue silk, and the collection bin is made of gray silk. Finally, the book is full of wooden letters. Thread binding is the main form of book binding in Qing Dynasty. General thread-bound books not only have special requirements for the binding materials of imperial books, but also strive for four elements: "proper protection, simple style, appropriate thickness, exquisite and correct". There are two kinds of covers: paper cover and market cover. There is a bookmark on the cover, and the book is very thin. A book is put in the letter case. There are one or two white pages in front of the thread-bound book in Qing dynasty, followed by the title page, which has the title, the name of the signer, the year and the place. The function sets are mostly semi-packaged, with the root of the book at the bottom, the title, volume number and so on.

Judging from the size of folio, the Qing Dynasty is diverse. Government publications have a large format, while most folk publications are small and medium-sized. One is called the entrainment folio, which is the smallest folio in the past, equivalent to today's 128 folio. The font is small, but the printing and binding are exquisite.

In the Qing Dynasty, a series of publications appeared. One was Jin, and the other was Jin, a quarterly magazine with a list of central and local officials, called a red book with a red paper cover. Beijing Daily is equivalent to today's newspaper, but it is also bound in volumes, with two or three pages or six or seven pages in each issue. The cover has white paper and yellow paper, and the words "Beijing Edition" are written on the cover in red, with engraving and wooden movable type. Due to time constraints, the printing is very rough. But as a serial publication, it also occupies an important position in the history of publishing. From the beginning of18th century, western printing technology was gradually introduced into China, and modern publishing and printing industry began to rise. With the application of new printing technology, the binding form of books has also changed greatly. However, the basic forms used today, such as album binding and rectangular folio, originated in the Song Dynasty in China and gradually spread to the west in the14th century. Although the materials and process methods have been improved step by step, its basic form is still initiated by China in ancient times.