Letterpress

CreativeBackground

Aboutthecreativebackgroundandrelatedconditionsof"MengxiBitan",theauthorShenKuohasaclearerexplanationin"MengxiBitan·Preface":1082(SongYuanFengwu)Yearslater,theauthorwaspoliticallyunwilling.Around1088(Yuanyouthreeyears),helivedinRunzhou,wherehebuiltaMengxiGarden(intheeastofZhenjiang,Jiangsu).Theauthorrarelywentoutandspentlesstimeinhisdailylife.Communicatingwithpeoplemeans"youmustretreatfromtheforest,andyouwillneverbeobedient."

Intermsofcreation,theauthorclaimedthat"ShengMo'sstateaffairsandaffairsareclosetothepalaceandprovinces,andtheydarenotpersonallydiscipline.Asforthescholar-bureaucratswhodespisedthereputationofthatday,hedidnotwanttowrite,andhewasmorethantalkative.It’sjustevil.”Inotherwords,ShenKuodidn’tanddidn’twanttoinvolvehimselfinthepersonalaffairsoftheemperor,thegainsandlossesofthedynasty,thestigmatizationofpersonnel,andevenhispreviouscareerexperience.Therefore,theauthor'screationsareall"nottheinterestsofpeople",andthestartingpointis"shadowinthemountains,talkgimmickly".

Therehavealwaysbeenmanyopinionsaboutthewritingtimeof"MengxiBiTan".HuDaojingputforwardin"MengxiBiTanCorrection·Introduction":"MengxiBiTanwaswrittenin1086-1093(SongYuanyouyears),mostofwhichwerewrittenaftertheysettledinRunzhouin1088(Yuanyouthreeyears)";LiYumin"SeveralQuestionsAboutShenKuo’sWorks"("ShenKuoResearch",ZhejiangPeople’sPublishingHouse,1985)believes:"Writtenin1082(SongYuanfeng5thyear)afterShenKuowasresettledinSuizhou,hemovedtoMengxi,Runzhouatthelatest.Atthebeginningofthegarden,thebookwasfinished."ButnowitisgenerallybelievedthatHuDaojing'sstatementismorereliable,thatis,"MengxiBiTan"waswrittenbetween1086and1093.[6]

Thetitleofthebook"MengxiBiTan"isbecausetheauthorShenKuocompletedtheworkinMengxiGarden(Note:Atleastthemainpartiscompletedandthefinalversionisfinalized.Thereisnoobjectiontothispoint.Thereisnoconflictin"XiBiTan·Preface"),sothenameofthegardenisnamed"MengXi".Writtenconversationsareduetotheconversationswithguestsinthepark.Theauthoroftenrecords"talkerswithguestspeakers"inthebook.Friendsandfriendsgatheranddisperseimpermanentlyforalongtime.Theauthorfeelsasifheis"theonewhotalkswith,onlypenandinkstone."That'sit",sothenameis"pentalk".Thetwoarecalled"MengxiBiTan"intandem.

Contentsummary

ThisarticlespecificallyintroducesthemethodandsuperiorityofmovabletypeprintinginventedbyBiSheng,andpraisesthehighwisdomandcreativespiritoftheancientChinesepeople.

Contentsofthework

Originaltext

Booksprintedonboard(1),whichhasnotyetbeenpromotedbytheTangDynasty(2).TheFiveScriptures(4)werefirstprintedintheFiveDynasties(3),andalltheclassics(6)inthelaterperiod(5)wereallintheformoftheboard(7).

IntheQingli(8),thereisCommoner(9)BiSheng,whichisalsoatrap.Method:Usegluetoengrave,thinasamoneylip(10),eachwordisaseal(11),burnittomakeithard(12).Firstsetupanironplate,onwhichrosin,wax,and(13)paperash,etc.areexposed(14).Ifyouwanttoprint,placeanironplate(15)ontheironplate,whichisdenselyprinted.Thefullironplateisaplate,holdingtheHuoyangzhi(16);ifthemedicine(17)isslightlymelted,pressitwithaflatplate.Onthesurface,thewordisasflatasastone(18).Ifonly(19)printthreeortwocopies,itisnoteasy(20);ifprinttensofhundredsofthousands(21)copies,itwillbeextremelyfast.Oftenusedastwoironplates,oneplateisprinted,oneplatehasbeenprintedfrom(22),andthisprintingiscompleted,thenthesecondplatehas(23),anditcanbeusedwitheachother(24),anditcanbeusedinashorttime(25).Eachcharacterisprintedinnumbers,suchas"之","也"andotherwords,eachwithmorethantwentyprints,incasethereareduplicatesinoneboard.Ifyoudon’tuseit,youcanusethepaperpost(26),eachrhymeisapost,andthewoodengridcanstoreit(27).Iftherearestrangecharacters(28)andthosewhoareunprepared,spin(29)toengravethemandburnthemwithgrassfire,whichcanbeachievedinaflash.Thosewhodonotusewood(30),theartsandsciences(31)aredense,thewaterwillbeuneven,and(32)itisstickywithmedicine,whichisnotdesirable(33);ifitisnotburntsoil(34),use讫(35)Re-firetomeltthemedicine,brushitwithyourhand(36),anditssealwillfallbyitself,anditwillnotbecontaminatedby(37).Ascendedtodeath,itssealwasobtainedfrom(38)byYuqunandpreserved.

(Thisarticleiscompiledintothe13thlessonofthesecondvolumeoftheeighthgradeoftheSovieteducationedition.)

(Adaptedfromthe13thlessonofthesecondeditionoftheeighthgradelanguageoftheSovieteducationedition,byWangHaoming)

(From"MengxiBiTan.Skills")

Notes

(1)Plate-printedbooks:Booksareprintedwithengraving.Plateprinting,withengravingprinting.

(2)ShengWeizhi:Dothisonalargescale.Itrefersto"plate-printedbooks".

(3)FiveDynasties:referstothefivedynastiesoftheLaterLiang,LaterTang,LaterJin,LaterHan,andLaterZhouafterTang.

(4)TheFiveClassics:TheclassicsofConfucianism,referringtotheYi,ShangShu,TheBookofSongs,theBookofRites,andtheSpringandAutumnPeriod.AftertheHanDynasty,itwascollectivelycalledthe"FiveClassics".

(5)After:Thatis"after".Already,sameas"to".

(6)Classics:Referstovariousimportant(document)booksingeneral.

(7)Slabbook:Slab-printednotebook.

(8)Qingli:ReignofSongRenzong(1041-1048).

(9)Commoner:civilians.Thisreferstoscholarswhoarenotofficials.Inancienttimes,civiliansworelinenclothes,sotheywerecalledcommoners.

(10)Moneylips:theedgeofcoppercoins.

(11)Seal:impression.

(12)Makehard:makehard.

(13)and(huò):mixed.

(14)Take:Mongolia,cover.

(15)Fan:Frame.

(16)Holditonthefire(yáng):Takeittothefireandroastit.Justcomeclose.Yang,roast.

(17)Medicine:referstotherosin,waxandothersubstancesmentionedabove.

(18)Thecharactersareasflatas砥(dǐ):Thecharactersareprintedasflatasawhetstone.

(19)Only:Only.

(20)Noteasy:noteasy.

(21)Dozensandhundredsofthousands:tensorevenhundredsandthousands.

(22)Self:Don’tself,inaddition.

(23)Tool:Getready.

(24)More(gēng)mutual:alternatingandtakingturns.

(25)Just:complete.

(26)Postitwithpaper:Markitwithpaper.Posts,markedwithlabels.

(27)Eachrhymeisanote,andwoodengridstorage(zhù):eachwordintherhymepartismadealabel,andawoodengridisusedtostoreit.Rhymereferstotherhymedepartment.IntheTangandSongDynasties,peopledividedChinesecharactersinto206rhymesaccordingtotherhymingrulesofpoems,whichwerelatermergedinto106rhymes.

(28)Oddcharacters:Speciallywritten,uncommonorunusualcharacters.

(29)Xuan:Immediately,quickly.

(30)Thosewhodon'tusewood:thereasonwhywoodisnotusedtoengravemovabletype.

(31)ArtsandSciences:texture,texture.

(32)Jian:Again.

(33)Undesirable:Can’ttakeitoff.

(34)燔(fán)soil:Referstotheclaywordprintthathasbeenburnedbyfire.Burnt:Burn.

(35)讫(qì):It'sover,it'sover.

(36)Brush(fú):Wipe,dustoff.

(37)No:Notatall.

(38)Quncong(zòng):cousinandnephewgeneration.

Translation

Printingbookswithengraving,thepeopleoftheTangDynastyhavenotdonethisonalargescale.TheFiveClassicswereonlyprinted(usingengraving)intheFiveDynasties,andlaterclassicdocumentsareallprintedbooks.

DuringtheQingliyears,aciviliannamedBiShenginventedletterpressprinting.Itsmethodis:usetheclaytoengravetheimpression,(thecharactersontheimpression)areasthinastheedgeofacoin,andeachcharacterisengravedwithaseal,(aftertheengraving),itishardenedwithfire.Firstsetupanironplate,andcoveritwithpineresin,waxandpaperash.Ifyouwanttoprint,youputanironframeontopoftheironplate,andthendenselyarrangethefontsintheironframe.Whentheironframeisfilled,itbecomesaprintingplate.Holditclosetothefireandroastit,andwaitfortheironplate.Themedicinemeltedslightly,soIusedatablettopressitonthetypeface,sotheprintingwasasflatasawhetstone.Ifyouonlyprinttwoorthreecopies,itisnoteasy;ifyouprintdozensorevenhundredsofthousandsofcopies,itwillbeextremelyfast.Usuallytwoironplatesaremade,oneisbeingprinted,andtheotherisalreadybeingtypeset.Thisprintingisfinished,andthesecondplateisready.Thetwoplatesareusedalternatelyandcanbecompletedinashorttime..Eachcharacterhasseveralimpressions,suchas"之"and"也".Eachcharacterhasmorethan20impressions,whichareusedtopreparerepeatedcharactersonthesameboard.Whennotinuse,useanotetomarkthem,(accordingtotherhymepartoftheword),makealabelforeachrhymepart,andstoreitwithawoodenlattice.Whenencounteringrarecharactersthatarenotusuallyprepared,makethemimmediatelyandbakethemwithgrassfire.Afterawhile,theywillbesuccessful.Thereasonwhywedon’tusewoodtomakethetypefaceisbecausethetextureofthewoodisdenseandsparse,itwillbecomeunevenwhenitgetswet,andthewood-cutwordswillstickwiththemedicine(turpentine,wax,etc.),(unloadingtheversion)Itcan’tbetakenoff;it’snotlikethetypefacesmadewithglue.Afterprinting,bakethemwithfiretomeltthemedicine.Ifyoulightlydustthemwithyourhands,thetypefaceswillnaturallyfalloff,andtheywillnotbestainedbythemedicineatall.

AfterthedeathofBiSheng,hisfontwasacquiredbymycousins​​andnephews,anditisstillpreciousandpreserved.

ClassicalChinesePhenomenon

Tongjiazi

1.BoardPrintedbookboard,through"plate",nounasadverbial,useengraving.

2.Alreadyallthelaterclassicsareintheformofacopyofthebook,with"Yi".

3.Ifyoustoptoprintthethree-twoeditiononly:"only",adverb.

Flexibleuseofpartsofspeech

⒈BoardPrintedbooks:"Board",wherenounsactasverbsandrepresenttools."Useengraving."

⒉IntheFiveDynasties,PrintTheFiveClassics:Nounasaverb:"Print"printing

3.FireBurningtheJian:"Fire",anounusedasanadverbial,means"fire".

4.Thenfiretomakethemedicinemelt:"fire"isroastedwithfire,andnounsareusedasverbs

5.MugeStorage:"Woodlattice",nounsareusedasadverbials,thewayofexpression,"usewoodenlattice".

6.Thenusethenounsofthepaperpostastheverb,"markwithtags"

ancientandmoderndifferences

⒈Itismadeofrosin,waxandpaperashes.(Cross:smearing,applying.Today'scommonmeaningsare:outwardpenetration,pretense,pretending,etc.)

⒉Oneboardhasbeenself-distributed(From:Inaddition.Today’scommonlyusedmeaningsare:self,Cong,etc.)

⒊Scienceandsciencearedense(texture:thetextureofwood.Thisreferstotheorganizationofarticlecontent,words,etc.)

⒋Themedicineisslightlymelted(Medicine:theancientmeaningreferstothepineresin,waxandothersubstancesmentionedinthetext;thepresentmeaningreferstothemedicineforcuringdiseases)

⒌ThereisBuyiBishengintheQingcalendar(Buyi:AncientmeaningReferstocivilians;thepresentmeaningreferstoakindofclothing)

Thewordispolysemous

⒈Board

(1)Plate-printedbooks,whichtheTangpeoplehavenotyetbecome.Usecarvedboards(nounsasadverbials)

(2)Thelaterclassicsareallwrittenonslabs.Engraving(noun)

⒉print

(1)Ifyoustopprintingthreeortwocopies.(Printing,verb.Thesameappliesto"printing"inthefollowing"plate-printedbooks","FiveScriptureswerefirstprintedintheFiveDynasties","Wishtoprint","Ifyouprintdozensofhundredsofthousandsofcopies","Thisprintwillonlybecompleted")

(2)Eachwordisastamp.(Thewordseal,seal,noun.Thefollowing"isdenselyprinted","eachbytehasanumberofprints","eachwordhasmorethantwentyseals","itssealsareself-falling","itsprintsareobtainedfromthegroup"Thesameappliesto"India"inChina)

⒊Fire

(1)Holdontofire.Usefire(verb)

(2)FiretomakeJianjian.Usefire(nounasadverbial)

(3)Fireagaintomeltthemedicine.Burnwithfire(nounsareusedasverbs)

(4)Burnwithgrassfire.Burningthefire

⒋Yes

(1)Itcanbedoneinaninstant.Yes(canwishverb)

(2)GaoKeistwomillennials.Approximately(adverb)

⒌If

(1)Ifonlythreeortwocopiesareprinted.If(conjunction)

(2)Notlikeburntearth.Like(verb)

⒍post

(1)istopostitonpaper.Throughstickers,usetagstomark(verb)tiě

(2)Eachrhymeisapost.Class,label(noun)tiě

⒎just

(1)Holdontothefire.Close(verb)

(2)Itismoreinteroperable,anditcanbequicklyachieved.Complete(verb)

⒏With

(1)incasethereareduplicatesintheboard.Conjunction,whichconnectstwoclauses,expressesthepurpose,andistranslatedas"usedto".

(2)Prepositionswithpaperposts/burningwithgrass/notwood/prepositionswithhandbrushing,use

(3)withrosin,waxandpaperash/Useaflatplatetopressitssurface/usegrassfire/notusewoodforit/brushitwithyourhand/pastetheprepositiononpaper,use,take

(4)SettheironplatewithanironplateOnthepreposition,put

⒐as

(1)TangpeoplehavenotyetShengweizhi/Eachrhymeisapost(do,verb.)

(2)Allareboardbooks.Yes(verb)

(3)Itsimprintisobtainedfromthegroup.Being(preposition)

(4)Itisextremelyfast(verb)

(5)Itisalsoatrap(verb,invention)

(6)EveryThewordisaseal(verb,engraved)

(7)Whatisnotmadeofwood(verb,engraved)

(8)ManTiefanisaboard(verb,Become)

(9)isnoteasy.Yes

⒑its

(1)Itslegalpronounsrefertomovabletypeprinting

(2)Itisprintedwithresin,waxandpaperash.Thepronounsrefertotheironplate

(3)Thepronounsarearrangedaccordingtothepronounsonaflatplate.

(4)Theimprintedpronouns,those

p>

(5)HissealisapronounobtainedbyYuquncong,his

⒒之

(1)TangDynastyhasnotyetprosperedtoreferto"plateprintedbooks"

(2)Usepronounssuchasrosin,waxandpaperash"this"

(3)Taketheword/holditonthefire/moreinterchangeablyreferto"iron"Board"

(4)Usepaperpost/woodgridstoragetorefertounusedfonts

(5)Rotaryengravingrefersto“oddcharacters”

(6)Thosewhodonotusewoodtorefertomovablefonts

(7)Tousehandbrushtorefertofonts

⒓Already

(1)Theclassicsafterthepastareallslabscripts(sameas"Yi",preposition)

(2)Thefirstboardhasbeenprintedbyitself(already,adverb.Inthefollowing"thesecondboardhasalreadyhad",thesameas"已"This)

⒔From

(1)Oneboardhasbeenprintedbyitself(inaddition,adverb)

(2)Itsprintedbyitself(self,pronoun))

Influenceofworks

Engravingprintingcanprinthundredsoreventhousandsofbooksononepage,whichhasplayedagreatroleinthespreadofculture,butitistime-consumingandlabor-intensive.Somebooksoftentakeseveralyears,andthestorageofplatestakesupalotofspace,andisoftendamagedduetodeformation,moth-eaten,andcorrosion.Forabookwithasmallprintvolumethatdoesnotrequirereprinting,theplatebecomeswaste.Inaddition,iftyposarefoundintheengraving,itisverydifficulttocorrectit,anditisoftennecessarytore-engravetheentireplate.

Themovabletypeplatemakingjustavoidstheinsufficiencyofengraving.Aslongasenoughsinglemovabletypeispreparedinadvance,theplatecanbemadeatanytime,whichgreatlyspeedsuptheplatemakingtime.Afterprinting,themovabletypecanbedisassembled,themovabletypecanbereused,andthemovabletypeoccupieslessspacethantheengraving,andiseasytostoreandkeep.Inthisway,thesuperiorityofmovabletypeisdemonstrated.

Theideaof​​printingwithmovabletypehasbeenaroundforalongtime.QinShihuangunifiedthenationwideweightsandmeasures,andtheedictofthefourcrosseswasprintedonpotterywithwoodenstamps.Archaeologistsbelieve,"ThisisChinesemovabletype.Thebeginningoftypography,butalthoughhehasinventedit,ithasnotbeenwidelyused."Ancientsealsalsohaveacertainenlighteningeffectonmovabletypeprinting.Therecordofmovabletypeprintingwasfirstseenin"MengxiBiTan"byShenKuo,afamousscientistintheSongDynasty.From1041to1048AD,BiSheng,whowasbornasacommoner,usedclaytomakecharacters.Onecharacterwasaseal,whichwashardenedwithfiretomakeitceramic.Whentypesetting,prepareapieceofironplate,relaxthemixtureofincense,wax,paperash,etc.ontheironplate.Thereisanironframearoundtheironplate,andtheironframeisfilledwiththecharacterstobeprinted.Thenbakeitwithfiretomeltthemixtureandintegrateitwiththemovabletypeblock,andpressitonthemovabletypewithaflatplatewhileitishottomaketheliteralsurfaceflat.Canbeprinted.Inthisway,printingtwoorthreecopiesisnotveryefficient.Ifthenumberofcopiesislarge,fromdozenstothousandsofcopies,theefficiencyisveryhigh.Inordertoimproveefficiency,twoironplatesarecommonlyused,oneforprintingandtheotherfortypesetting.Afterprintingonepiece,theotherpieceislinedupagain.Itisveryefficienttousealternatelyinthisway.Commonlyusedwordssuchas"之","也"andotherwords,eachwordismadeintomorethan20words,incasetherearerepetitionsinaversion.Unpreparedrarecharactersarecarvedouttemporarilyandburnedimmediatelywithvegetationandfire.Thecharactersremovedfromtheprintingplateareputintothesmallwoodengridofthesamecharacter,andlabelsclassifiedbyrhymeareaffixedontheoutsideforretrieval.Atfirst,BiShengusedwoodasmovabletype.Theexperimentfoundthatthewoodgrainsarenotuniform,anditiseasytoswellanddeformwhenexposedtowater,anditisnoteasytoremoveafterbeingsolidifiedwithadhesive,soheswitchedtocement.

BiShenginventedmovabletypeprintingtoimprovetheefficiencyofprinting.However,hisinventionwasnotvaluedbytherulersandsocietyatthetime.Afterhisdeath,movabletypeprintingwasstillnotpromoted.Thegluetypehecreatedwasnotpreservedeither.Butthemovabletypeprintingtechnologyheinventedhasbeenpasseddown.

Thepublication"BuddhaSutrasandViewsofImmeasurableLifeSutra"discoveredintheWhiteElephantPagodainWenzhou,ZhejiangProvincein1965wasidentifiedasamovabletypebookfromYuanfutoChongning(1100~1103)intheNorthernSongDynasty.ThisistheearliesthistoricaltestimonyofBiSheng'smovabletypeprintingtechnology.

Abouttheauthor

ShenKuo(1031～1095),ascientistandpoliticianintheNorthernSongDynasty.BorninHangzhouQiantang(nowHangzhou,Zhejiang),JiayouJinshi.XiningzhongparticipatedintheWangAnshiReform.In1072(thefifthyearofXining),heraisedtheSiTianjian,discussedthearmillarysphere,floatingleak,andscenerytable,andrecommendedWeiPuxiu's"FengyuanCalendar".

Thefollowingyear,hewenttostudywaterconservancyandmilitaryserviceinZhejiangandZhejiang.In1075(theeighthyearofXining),theLiaoDynastyreprimandedhimforarguing.Healsoillustratedthesituationofthemountainsandrivers,andthecustomsandcustoms,whichwaswrittenfor"UsingKhitantoCopy".Inthefollowingyear,heservedasabachelorofHanlin,thethirddirectorofpower,andrectifiedthesaltadministrationofShaanxi.Advocatereducingthemoneyforhouseholdservice.Later,welearnedaboutYanzhou(nowYan'an,Shaanxi)andstrengthenedthedefenseagainstXixia.In1082(thefifthyearofYuanfeng),XuXilostthecityofYongle(nowMizhi,Shaanxi),andwasdegraded.Inhislateryears,helivedinRunzhouandbuiltMengxiGarden(intheeastofZhenjiang,Jiangsu).

Hehasalotofknowledgeandhasstudiedastronomy,geography,history,music,medicine,etc.Regardingthesituationofscientificdevelopmentandproductiontechnologyatthattime,suchassuperbhydraulicengineering,YuHaocarpenter,BiShengwhoinventedmovabletypeprinting,andmethodsofsteelmakingandcoppersmelting,thereisnounclearrecord.Healsostudiedmedicinalplantsandmedicineintenvolumesof"GoodPrescriptions"(thebiographyisattachedtoSuShi’smedicineandrenamed"SuShenLiangPrescriptions").Thereisstill"ChangxingCollection"thathasbeenhandeddowntotheworld.The"InvitationforEnteringtheCountry"and"TheRecordofEnteringtheCountry"writtenbytheLiaoInstitutearestillpartlypreservedinthe"ContinuedZiZhiTongJianChangBian".