Basic knowledge of ancient books What are ancient books? Ancient books are simplified versions of China's ancient books.

Ancient books, the abbreviation of ancient books in China, mainly refer to books written or printed in the form of China classical binding before 19 12.

First, the layout of ancient books

The layout of ancient books refers to the style of ancient book engraving. Including layout, title, frame (also called sidebar), boundary line, head, foot, board center, line paragraph, word number, fishtail, trunk, book ear, book label, annotation, sentence reading, illustration and so on. The concept of layout appeared after the world of block printing, but it obviously retained the characteristics of layout forms such as simple strategy and handwritten silk before block printing.

Layout of ancient books

1。 Frame: Also called sidebar, it refers to the four peripheral lines of the text in the inner frame of each version. The upper column is called "upper column", the lower column is called "lower column", and the left and right columns are on both sides. A single line is called "unilateral" or "single line", and a double line is called "bilateral" or "double line". Generally, it is thick and black, giving people a sense of stability. Only a thick black border is printed around it, which is called one-sided perimeter. Carve a thin black line on the inner side of the thick black line around it, which is called double-sided enclosure. If there is only a thin black line in the left and right thick black lines, it is called left and right bilateral. It not only has the function of standardizing layout, but also retains the legacy of simple strategies and silk books.

2。 Boundary: Also called boundary. A straight line separating lines on a page. The bar between two lines is called grid, which is the charm of bamboo slips and wooden slips. When recognizing records, people are used to calculating by half period, which is called "half period × line× character", and some are called "line× character". If there are two lines of words in each line (usually notes in large characters), it is called "two lines in small characters, each line is × words". If double-line words are the same as single-line words, they will not be marked. This way of description and explanation is called line form, also called line width.

3。 Sky head: the top of the white paper in the outer space of the picture frame is called the sky head.

4。 Feet: The bottom of the white paper in the outer space of the picture frame is called feet.

5。 Edition heart: also known as "leaf heart" or "heart" for short, it refers to a line between the two halves of an ancient book without words. In order to fold neatly, the plate heart is often engraved with fishtail and mouth line. And for the convenience of retrieval, it is often memorized by words such as title, number of volumes, page number, title of each volume, name of engraver, etc. Because this line is in the middle of the two editions, it is called the center of the edition. There are usually black lines and fishtail patterns in the center of the board, which are used as folding standards.

6。 Book mouth: also known as board mouth, or simply mouth. Refers to the end face of a book after binding, with white mouth and black mouth. As far as the book version is concerned, it is the core of the version. For books packed in the north or in thread, this part is the opening for reading books, so it is called the book opening.

7。 Fishbone: the figure in the middle of the plate, named after it looks like a fishtail. Carved about a quarter from the top of the plate. Sometimes there are fishtails at the top and bottom of the version. One fishtail is a single fishtail, two fishtails are called double fishtails, and some have three fishtails. The fish's tail is engraved with patterns. The function of fishtail is to mark the middle seam as the standard for folding leaves.

8。 Elephant trunk: There is a line from the fishtail to the frame, which is called elephant trunk. Trunks with thin black lines are called thin Darkmouth or small black mouth, trunks with thick black lines are called thick Darkmouth or big Darkmouth, and trunks without trunks are called white mouth.

9。 Book ear: the space in the upper left corner outside the frame, with a simple title engraved on it. Because it looks like an ear, it is called a book ear. The ear titles of books are called ear titles and ear notes.

10。 Ink nail: also known as ink, etc. Refers to a black ink block the size of a letter and shaped like a nail cap. It appears because the unidentified words in the manuscript are written and printed after proofreading.

1 1。 Book brand: also known as brand name, similar to the current copyright page, which is often engraved with the title, author, engraver, collector, publication date, publication place and so on. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the function of documentary evidence was mostly to express characteristics and ownership. Before the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it was more about engraving books, talking about the origin of engraving books, choosing original books, school-based, and even more or less advertising.

12。 Headline: refers to the title of a book.

13。 Small problem: refers to the titles of the volumes of a book.

14。 Line payment: also known as "line", refers to the number of lines and words in the text. Generally calculated in half a day. Different versions of the same book in different periods often have different lines. Therefore, bank payment is one of the basis for identifying the version.

15。 Vermilion blue: Lines and columns printed in red are called vermilion, and those printed in black are called blue. Mainly seen in books written before the Tang Dynasty. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, workshops specialized in printing stationery of various colors, and ancient books copied on stationery of different colors were usually directly recorded as red squares, Haig squares, blue squares, green squares and so on.

Second, the binding format of ancient books

A single leaf bound into a book becomes an ancient book. Most of the existing ancient books are wired. The structure of ancient books refers to the various components of the external form and content of specific ancient books, which gradually gained a specific name in the process of circulation.

Structure diagram of ancient books

1。 Bookmark: a rectangular piece of paper used to write the title of an ancient book, usually attached to the upper left corner of the cover of an ancient book. Sometimes there are volumes and the author's name.

2。 Book cover: the cover added before and after the book to protect the book, also known as the cover. The material of the book cover is generally hard paper, and the book cover is inscribed with the title.

3。 Title page: a page with a title behind the cover, also known as cover, cover, front leaf and inner page. Usually, a piece of white paper is added to the back of the title page, which is called the protection page or the title page.

4。 Book brain: when binding, the place where the cone eye is aligned is called book brain.

5。 Spine: Also known as the back of a book, the binding side of a book, like the back of a book, is called the spine.

6。 Book head: the top of the spine, called book head, also called book head.

7。 Footprint: Footprint is the bottom of a book, and some book collectors will write down the title of the book for easy search, reading or preservation.

8。 Root: the part of the footer that simply records the volume ~