Chapter 18 4. Book system after the invention of engraving and printing

The widespread use of printing has brought about major changes in the book system.From the end of Tang Dynasty to the beginning of Song Dynasty, printed books gradually replaced written books, and album books gradually replaced scroll books.The form of a printed book is accumulated and bound into a book by many single pages, which is the so-called book page system.This system is still the common form of printed books in the world today. The widespread use of printing has brought about major changes in the book system.From the end of Tang Dynasty to the beginning of Song Dynasty, printed books gradually replaced written books, and album books gradually replaced scroll books.The form of a printed book is accumulated and bound into a book by many single pages, which is the so-called book page system.This system is still the common form of printed books in the world today.

In order to understand this new system, we must first understand the various parts of the block book layout, and then understand the way the pages are stacked into volumes. The area occupied by a plate is called the layout, also called Kuangbu.There are column lines, boundary lines and version hearts on the layout.Column line refers to the black line around the layout, also known as "frame" or "sidebar".Those printed with single lines around are called "one side around" or "single side column"; those printed with double lines around them are called "double sides around" or "double side column".The double lines are generally one thick and one thin (outside thick and inside thin), so it is also called "civil and military sidebar".The boundary line is the straight line of the branch line in the layout, also called "edge standard".But there are also "Baiwen" that do not divide lines.The center of the plate is also called the middle seam. Folding from the center of the plate becomes the top and bottom of a double leaf.

About a quarter of the distance from the top of the center of the plate is engraved with a fishtail-like figure called "fishtail".Sometimes fishtails are also engraved on the symmetrical place between the lower part and the upper part of the core.Those engraved with only one fishtail pattern are called "single fishtails", and those with two fishtails are called "double fishtails".The fishtail divides the core into three parts, the middle part is generally used to inscribe the title, volume, and page number; the upper part was originally used to print the page number, but later the middle title was moved here, and some publishers were also printed here Name; the name of the engraver was originally printed on the bottom, and the name of the publisher or the total name of the series is more recorded later.

The so-called elephant trunk refers to the part between the fish tail in the center of the plate and the plate frame.Elephant trunks with ink lines printed on them are called "black mouths", those with thick black lines or all black lines are called "thick black mouths" (or big black mouths), and those with thinner black lines are called "thin black mouths" (or small black mouths). mouth).Elephants without black lines and characters in their trunks are called "white mouths".The black line and fishtail in the center of the block are the labels of the folded pages, because block-block books are printed on one side, and the pages need to be folded when binding.

In the upper corner outside the sidebars on both sides of the version frame, there is sometimes a small square called "book ears" or "ears".The titles (subtitles) of many books on the ears are equivalent to the "middle seam" of the vertical version of modern printed books and the "head" of the horizontal version. The development of printing has changed the history that ancient books have no pages, and the pages are bound into volumes to become books.Its structure refers to its external form and the various components of its content. Book jacket, that is, the front and back covers of the book.It is usually made of stiffer colored paper to protect the book.A bookmark is a paper mark pasted on a book jacket to inscribe the title of a book.Because it is pasted on the book jacket, it is also called "floating label", which is different from the "hanging label" of the scroll book.At the same time, adding a blank backing paper to protect the pages of the book is called a guard page, also known as "secondary page" and "title page".The first page after the guard is the cover, which is now the title page, also called "inner cover" or "inner title".There is a book title on it, which is usually written by a famous artist.On the back of the title page, the publication date, location, publisher's name, hall number, etc. are engraved, and this content is also engraved after the preface or at the end of the volume.

The content structure of a book generally includes the text, which is the subject text.The preface and postscript are words used to explain the writing or publication intention, arrangement style or author's situation of the book.The ones placed in front of the book are called prefaces, those written by the author himself are called "self-prefaces", and those written by others are called "other prefaces"; those placed at the back of the book are postscripts, also called "post-prefaces", which are equivalent to the "preface" of modern books. and "Postscript".In addition, there are fan cases, which are words used to explain the content and compilation style of the work, also known as "example words" or "fafan", which are generally placed before the main text.The table of contents refers to the table of contents of the book, which is a collection of the content headings of a book, placed before the main text, and after the preface and examples.Annotations are texts that explain and explain the text, usually in the form of clipping notes, and are noted in the text in two lines of small print.The end of the volume is the text of the appendix in addition to the main text. Generally, more attachments are arranged together and attached to the back of the book, which is called "the end of the volume".

When printed books first appeared, the printing and binding forms all imitated the scroll system, and the folding and whirlwind bindings that appeared in the late Tang Dynasty were also used for book binding.In particular, many Buddhist scriptures printed in later generations are still folded.However, it is easy to break after being folded, and after breaking, it becomes a loose page, and the area is exactly one page.Therefore, between the Five Dynasties and the Northern Song Dynasty, there was a system of one page per page, bound into a book with loose pages, that is, the book page system. "Five Dynasties Huiyao" records that in 953 AD, Guozijian completed the engraving and printing of the Nine Classics, and Tian Min "introduced the printed version of the Nine Classics, with two volumes of 'Five Classics' and 'Nine Classics', 130 volumes", which is the album system. the best proof.The earliest album system in our country is the butterfly package.The so-called butterfly binding, also known as "butterfly binding", is named after the pages of the book are unfolded like a butterfly. The binding method is to fold each printed page in half from the mouth of the book inward, that is, the paper with the words is folded, and later The method of thread binding and folding in half is just the opposite, and then the middle seam on the back of each page is glued to a piece of backing paper, and then hard paper (sometimes backed with cloth or silk brocade) is installed as a cover to form a book. bookbinding form.The feature is that the center of the page faces inward, and one side faces outward, which is convenient for protecting the center of the book, and the stains on the corners can be cut off without affecting the content of the text.

Butterfly suits were popular in the Song and Liao dynasties, and back-packed suits appeared in the Southern Song Dynasty. It folded the pages of the book back-to-back, with the text facing outward, using the mouth of the page as the mouth, and glued the two sides of the pages to the back. Twisted and bound with paper, and wrapped with a book jacket around the back.Although this binding method is basically the same as the butterfly binding, after the pages are folded forward and the center of the page faces outward, the text on each page is connected for easy reading.In the Ming Dynasty, it developed into a thread-bound book.After mechanized printing was introduced to China, books gradually changed into paperback and hardcover books. This is the several changes that my country's album system has experienced.

The album system is a result of the invention of printing.