Chapter 7 Section 6 Continued Development of Block Printing in Ming Dynasty

In 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty and established the capital in Yingtian (now Nanjing). In 1421, Ming Chengzu moved the capital to Beijing. The Ming Dynasty was a unified and prosperous country in the history of our country and in the world at that time.At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the rulers adopted the policy of Yanwu Xiuwen, and attached great importance to the collection and publication of books. Zhu Yuanzhang once ordered all the Song and Yuan plates of the West Lake Academy in the Yuan Dynasty to be transported to Nanjing and stored in the Guozijian; Zhu Di also sent envoys to visit To buy ancient and modern books, the unprecedented large category of books compiled in 1408 is an example.This kind of book has collected as many as seven or eight thousand kinds of books from the pre-Qin period to the early Ming Dynasty.At the same time, the Ming Dynasty did not have the level-by-level examination and approval procedures for book publishing in the Yuan Dynasty, allowing "everyone can engrave privately", as long as they are rich, anyone can engrave at will; there is also a well-developed stationery industry, rich production of paper and ink, so the book engraving industry is very prosperous .

There were many official engraving departments in the Ming Dynasty.First of all, there is "Neifu", that is, books are engraved in the emperor's court. The institution in charge of engraving books in the Neifu is the Rites Supervisor, and the books engraved are called "Neifuben".Later, the Supervisor of Rites expanded its organization and set up an economic factory, which was like a printing factory, with engraving workers, printing workers, folding workers, bookbinding workers, etc., with a total number of thousands of people.The books engraved by Jingchang are called "Jingchangben".There are about 200 kinds of books engraved by the Neifu Jingchang in the Ming Dynasty. These official engraved editions are exquisitely written and engraved, using top-grade paper and ink, and the frame is wide, the lines are sparse, and the characters are as big as money. They look beautiful, comfortable and pleasing to the eye. Add more sentences to read, easy to read.From the point of view of form alone, it is a fine work of art.However, because the eunuchs who presided over the ceremonial supervisor and the economic factory were all eunuchs with little knowledge, the collation was not detailed, there were many mistakes, and the academic value was not high.Most of the engraved content is the "Four Books" and "Five Classics" as the "standard version" and the Ming government's decrees and government codes, such as the official annals of the Ming Empire "Da Ming Yi Tong Zhi" published in 1461 (Figure 11), and the 1511 publication. Compilation of laws and regulations, "Da Ming Hui Dian", etc.There are also engraved "Emperor Ming Zu Xun" and "Imperial Collection" that promote the words and deeds of the emperor; Reading materials, such as "Thousand Characters", "Book of Filial Piety", "Mencius", "Nv Xun", "Nv Commandments" and so on.However, the institutions with the most engraved books in the central government are the Nanjing and Beijing Guozijian (referred to as Nanjian and Beijian).The two prisons engraved no less than 300 kinds of classics and histories, local chronicles, postscripts, books, and books on medicine, agriculture, and science and technology.Among them, the most important ones are the "Thirteen Classics" and "Twenty-one Histories", which were engraved again and again by the two prisons. The reason why many scriptures and historical books can be widely circulated is due to the contribution of the two prisons.However, the books engraved by the Beijian are inferior to the Nanjian in terms of quantity and quality, and the history books engraved by the Nanjian are mostly based on the old editions of the Song and Yuan Dynasties. The Guozijian punished the students who made mistakes and paid for repairing the engraving. The engraving was extremely sloppy, with missing pages, missing text, and many typos.Beijian often re-engraved according to the Nanjian version, and did not collate it according to other rare books, so that it spread falsehoods and followed falsehoods; moreover, the layout was messy, the fonts were square and round, and the sizes were different. The quality of the printed version was very poor, so it was ridiculed. It is called "disaster".Such printed copies are naturally not valued by bibliophiles, and have aroused the dissatisfaction of edition scholars. Some people can't help but ask: "I don't know what happened to Jijiu (the official in charge of Guozijian) and Siye (the assistant to Jijiu) at that time." As for the vegetarian meal in the place of the corpse!" In addition, the two Beijing ministries (the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of War, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, the Imperial Hospital, and the Qin Tianjian, etc.) also engraved a lot of books.The Ministry of Rites compiled and printed the book "Da Li Ji Yi" about posthumous posthumous titles; the Ministry of War engraved and printed the "Nine Frontier Maps" which discussed the northern frontier defense with map explanations; And draw the acupuncture and moxibustion parts on the bronze figure's body.The taller bronze figure of acupoints [shushu] was newly cast with brass, engraved with acupoints all over the body, as a model for acupuncture practitioners, and it is now stored in the Chinese History Museum; The privilege of engraving the almanac "Datong Calendar" is strictly prohibited, and those who violate it will be "beheaded according to the law"; , book of music songs.

In addition to the central government agencies, the government engraved books, the thirteen local government envoys, the procuratorial envoys, a few salt transport envoys, and various governments also engraved books.For example, there are 75 kinds of engraved books in Yangzhou government, more than 140 kinds of engraved books in Hangzhou government, and more than 170 kinds of engraved books in Suzhou government, ranking first among all the governments in the country.Among the official engraved books in various places, those who are worthy of a big book are the vassal kings who were entrusted to other places as princes. They are rich in money and idle energy, and they also have the convenience of collecting rare books and organizing engraving.Therefore, the printed version of the Fanwangfu is famous for its best version, excellent engraving, precise collation, and excellent paper and ink.For example, in 1534, Qin Fan Zhu Weizhuo [zhuo Zhuo] engraved "Historical Records Collection Index Justice" in Xi'an; in 1606, Zheng Fan (fief Huaiqing, now Qinyang, Henan) Zhu Zaiyu [yu Yu] engraved his own music The book "Complete Book of Music and Rhythms" (Figure 12) is extremely well engraved and can be said to be a representative work among fan books.Zhu Zaiyu studied astronomy and calendar calculations in his early years, and later devoted himself to the study of rhythm. He collected 15 kinds of music works written by him and compiled them into "Complete Book of Music Rhythm". This invention was more than 50 years earlier than in Europe. Modern keyboard instruments and harps are tuned according to the "twelve equal temperament".So he can be called a famous musician in our country.Furthermore, Zhu Quan of Ning Fan (the feudal land of Nanchang) had the most engraved books, reaching 137 kinds.It is said in history that Zhu Quan "learns about the ancients and loves to learn... all books have secret editions, and they are all published." He also said that "the richest writings in ancient and modern times are the ones dedicated to the king (Zhu Quan)." There are more than 50 titles of his own writings that can be tested. , including history, literature, art of war, geography, music, medicine, Chinese opera, piano score, chess score, etc.Today there are still two kinds of Zaju written by him, "Chongmozi (Huangfushou's No.) Stands Alone in Daluotian" and "Zhuo Wenjun Elopes to Xiangru".He is worthy of being one of the few university scholars in the history of our country who is both civil and military, erudite and talented.In addition, Zhou Fan (the feudal land of Kaifeng) Zhu Wei [su Su] engraved the medical prescription book "Puji Fang" compiled by him and others in 1406. The book records 61,739 medical prescriptions and is the largest prescription study book in ancient my country. , its format and style [zhizhi] all have the legacy of Yuan people.At the same time, he engraved his own botanical work "Famine Relief Materia Medica", which records more than 400 kinds of plants, trees and wild vegetables that can be eaten in times of famine, and illustrates them one by one with drawings, which are extremely meticulous.The printed editions of Fanwangfu are not only high in quality, but also large in number, with a total of 430 types, more than the Northern and Southern Supervisory Editions.Among them, there are quite a few rare engraved books, which are cherished by later generations of bibliophiles.

In addition to the above-mentioned books, the government of the Ming Dynasty also printed the Buddhist classic "Tripitaka".Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, was born as a monk and believed in Buddhism. Immediately after he ascended the throne, he ordered the revision and engraving of the Tripitaka. His successor Ming Chengzu also believed in Buddhism. "Tripitaka".There are three official editions of the Tripitaka in the Ming Dynasty: the earliest one was printed in Nanjing in the fifth year of Hongwu (AD 1372), called "Hongwu Nanzang", which was completed in the 31st year of Hongwu (AD 1398). Including 1600 kinds of Buddhist scriptures, a total of more than 7000 volumes.It is a pity that this scripture was destroyed by fire in 1408, so the only printed copy of the Tripitaka was not found until 1934 in the Shanggu Temple in Chongqing County, Sichuan, but it is already slightly incomplete, and there are still miscellaneous There are some supplementary manuscripts and printed editions.The second officially engraved "Tripitaka" was re-engraved in Nanjing according to "Hongwu Nanzang" during the Yongle period of Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty (AD 1403-1424), and it is called "Yongle Nanzang".The scriptures are hidden in the Dabaoen Temple in Nanjing for printing by monasteries all over the country. On average, about 20 copies are printed every year. Zheng He, the great navigator, printed 10 copies. Therefore, there are many printed copies of this "Tripitaka", but its The writing and carving are not as neat as "Hongwu Nanzang".The third official engraving of the Tripitaka began in Beijing in 1421 and was completed in 1440. It is called "Yongle Beizang".It includes 1621 kinds of Buddhist scriptures, 6361 volumes, divided into 636 letters.After the Tibetan scriptures were printed, they were distributed to major monasteries across the country.Later, in 1584, the mother of Emperor Wanli (Ming Shenzong) continued to engrave 36 kinds of writings of various sects, 410 volumes, called "Continued Canon", and incorporated it into "Yongle Beizang", becoming a fairly complete book. "Tripitaka".Now the Zhejiang Library has a collection.In addition, Ming Chengzu also sent people to Tibet to learn Buddhist scriptures, and in 1410 reprinted the Tibetan "Tripitaka", called "Fan Zang", in order to repay "the kindness of the imperial concubine's birth" and to make "all the people in the lower realms, All have boundless blessings."

As for "Tao Cang", Ming Chengzu ordered it to be edited at the beginning of his accession to the throne, but it was not completed until Ming Yingzong Zhengtong ten years (AD 1445). As an imperial gift, it was distributed to various Taoist temples across the country.Later, due to insufficient search and visit of "Orthodox Daozang" and many omissions, 180 volumes and 32 letters of "Xu Daozang" were engraved in 1607.After that, it was combined into "Zheng and Xu Daozang".This version of the scriptures was handed down to the Qing Dynasty, and it has been missing a lot.When the Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded Beijing, they were all destroyed, and there are not many printed copies handed down. Today, Shanghai Library and Beijing Library have collections. Daozang is of great reference value to the study of Chinese philosophy, medicine, literature, history and geography.The emperors of the Ming Dynasty did not hesitate to spend huge sums of money to print Buddhist and Taoist classics in order to achieve the goal of "Huaxia returns to benevolence, Siyi guests obey, the state is consolidated, and the clan and society are established." However, the Ming Dynasty only ruled for more than 270 years. It was submerged by the torrent of the magnificent peasant war in the late Ming Dynasty, which shows that no religion can maintain feudal rule, and the wheel of history will advance according to the law of social and historical development.

There were also many private engravings in the Ming Dynasty, especially after Jiajing (1522-1566 A.D.), it was very popular.At that time, many literati and bureaucrats were proud of engraving books, some engraved secrets of ancient books, some engraved famous poems, and some engraved family collections promoting Zude.For example, the "Historical Records" engraved by Wang Yanzhe of Jiangsu in 1525 is based on the engraved version of Huang Shanfu in the Song Dynasty. In 1533 and 1535, Yuan Yu (jiong Jiong) in Suzhou reproduced the ancient etiquette collection "Da Dai Li Ji" and ancient novels in Song Dynasty, which are also exquisite and famous in the world.During the Wanli period, the engraving industry became more prosperous. For example, Cheng Rong in She (sheshe) County, Anhui engraved 38 kinds of "Han Wei Series" compiled by himself, most of which were lost histories, novels and fables; Weixin engraved and printed 12 kinds of "Two Beijing Relics" edited by himself, including 10 kinds of philosophers in the Han Dynasty, Wei Liushao's "Character History", Liang Liuxie (xiexie), and he believed that "the two capitals are all here."Most of these books are copied from Song editions, and they are famous rare books engraved by private individuals.The most famous book engraver and bibliophile was Mao Jin during the Chongzhen period.

Mao Jin (1599-1659 A.D.), a native of Changshu, Jiangsu, liked to read and collect books.Specializing in purchasing rare books engraved in the Song and Yuan Dynasties, he once posted an advertisement on his door: For those who came from the Song Dynasty, the owner of the door counted the leaves as money, and each leaf paid two hundred.For those who arrive in old manuscripts, forty per leaf.For those who come from the current rare books, the other family will give 1,000, and the master will give 1,200. In this way, the book sellers in Huzhou area, loaded with a boatload of ancient books, sent them to Mao Jin's doorstep.At that time, there was a popular proverb in Changshu: "Three hundred and sixty lines of business are not as good as getting books from the Mao family." Mao Jin has a collection of 84,000 books, known as "the first book collection in China".He built Jigu Pavilion and Mugeng Building, and hid books in them, most of which were block editions of the Song Dynasty, which created conditions for him to collate and publish books on a large scale.

He has been in the publishing industry since he was about 30 years old, and until his death, he has engraved more than 600 kinds of books in more than 40 years, with more than 109,000 book editions, which is the crown of privately engraved books in all dynasties.Most of the books he engraved use the Song Dynasty as the base, and each book has a postscript written by him, introducing the author and editor of the book, explaining which versions were circulated in the past, which version he used, and what advantages it has.Therefore, his engraved books are very popular, not only popular in the north and south of the Yangtze River, but also purchased from far away in Yunnan.The "Thirteen Classics" and "Seventeen Histories" he proofread and engraved began in 1628. After famines and wars in the middle, the book editions were "water, fire, insects, ten wounds, two or three", and he kept "collecting what was lost and making up for it." "Death" was not completed until 1656 in the early Qing Dynasty, and it took nearly 30 years.In this process, due to the exhaustion of funds, he had to "donate clothes and cut food" and "abandon three hundred acres of Guotian to make up for it"; It is extremely difficult to hide the book editions in "by the lake, by the rock, and in thatched cottages in Mao (Mao)".He also engraved a large series of books edited by himself, "Secretary of Jincatch", with 15 episodes and more than 140 kinds of books.He also reprinted "Shuowen Jiezi" according to the Northern Song Dynasty, so that the almost lost book that had not been published in the Yuan and Ming dynasties could be circulated to the world, thus making a great contribution to the study of linguistics and philology.Others, such as the poetry collections of Tang and Song dynasties, are also meticulously collated and exquisitely carved.The paper he used for printing is specially made by Jiangxi Paper Mill. The thick one is called "Maobian" and the thin one is called "Maotai". Today we still use the term "Maobian paper".

Not only did he engrave books, but whenever he came across a rare Song and Yuan book that no one else had, he would borrow it from calligraphers and make good use of the paper and ink.Today's Palace Museum has Mao's copy, which is very exquisite, even better than the original engraved copy.In the "Book Collection Minutes" written by Sun Qingzeng in the Qing Dynasty, it is said: "Jigu Pavilion's shadow copying of Song Dynasty is a masterpiece of ancient and modern times." Because Mao Jin pioneered the shadow copying method, later generations followed suit, so that a large number of rare books of Song and Yuan Dynasties were preserved. The true appearance creates conditions for research work.

Mao Jin painstakingly managed the publishing business for 40 years. He himself said: "I don't know the heat in summer, I don't know the cold in winter, I don't know how to go out during the day, and I don't know how to cover my doors at night. So far, my head is like snow, my eyes are like fog, and I still don't know it. Dry] endlessly." Therefore, it is known as "the loyal minister of classics printing".Many block-printed books of the Song Dynasty have been handed down by his re-engraving, and he has made great contributions to the preservation and dissemination of ancient culture.

Not only that, but he is also a person who likes to accumulate virtue and do good deeds. "Most of the waterways and bridges in his hometown are built by himself; when he is hungry, he even carries rice in boats and distributes it to poor families nearby."Therefore, he won the praise of "Xing Ye Tian everyone thanks for the relief", which shows that he is a very sympathetic and enthusiastic person who helps others. Although there were many high-quality private engraved books in the Ming Dynasty, there were also many shoddy ones. The "shupaben" is the most prominent example. In the Southern Song Dynasty, the custom of sending books was prevalent in the officialdom. When local officials or staff left their posts, they would always give the two books, the historical records of the Six Dynasties "Jiankang Shilu" and the collection of Ci poems "Huajian Ji" as gifts. In fact, this has formed a rule, which can be said to be the forerunner of the "Book Paben" in the Ming Dynasty. Bribery was very popular in official circles in the Ming Dynasty. When offering bribes, a newly engraved book and a handkerchief must be used as a foil.For example, when Beijing officials are envoys on a business trip, they must engrave a book when they return to Beijing, and give a book and a handkerchief as gifts, so that they look more elegant.The preface of the new book stated grandly, "Donate your salary to embroider catalpa, spread it widely".In fact, the newly engraved books use public funds, so there is no "donation"; the engraved books are small, poorly engraved, and poorly collated; "Use wide spread".It is these books that are called "shupaben".Shupa is regarded as a gift for entertainment, the engraver does not pay attention to it, and the recipient does not pay attention, so there is no good copy. Although there are many official and family engraved books mentioned above, most of them are classics and historical classics and famous poems, while the folk reading materials such as novels, operas, literacy textbooks, handbooks for the world, and encyclopedias are needed by the people. But there are not many, so the printed editions make up for this deficiency. Bookstores in the Ming Dynasty were mostly concentrated in Nanjing, Jianyang, Hangzhou, Beijing, Huizhou and other places. There are more than 90 bookstores in Nanjing, ranking first in the country.They engraved a large number of operas, novels, legends and folk application books.Among them, there are said to be as many as a hundred kinds of operas engraved in the Fuchun Hall of Duixi in the Tang Dynasty, such as "The Story of Three Visits to the Caolu", "The Story of Yue Fei Breaking the East Window", "The Story of Wang Zhaojun's Exit of the Fortress and the Rong", "Guan (Zhong) Bao (Shu Ya) Fenjin Ji", "Newly Engraved Xiangyin Zhuhualan Nandiao West Chamber", "Newly Engraved Xiangyin Zhuhualan Han Xin's Thousand Gold Story" (writing the story of the Chu-Han War), etc. There are decorative patterns around the frame, called "flower fence", which breaks the traditional monotony of one side and two sides since the Song and Yuan Dynasties, and increases the beauty of books.Chen Dalai’s Jizhizhai also has more than 10 kinds of operas, such as "The Dream of Huangliang" written by Yuan people, "Jade Hairpin" written by Ming people (the story of Pan Bizheng and Chen Jiaolian, a scholar in the Southern Song Dynasty, fighting for the freedom of marriage) and "Qingting Ji" (A story about Dong Guoguo, an official at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty who was unwilling to be an official for the Jin people, and his wife Yinniang went to the Southern Song Dynasty one after another), etc.The total number of books engraved by each bookstore may be two to three hundred.The novels engraved in each bookstore include "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", "Sui Yangdi Yanli", etc.; the applied books engraved include "Acupuncture and Moxibustion", "Medical Prescriptions", "Chidu Daquan" and the literacy textbook "Four Characters". Miscellaneous characters, etc.Most of these books had illustrations and sold well, playing a certain role in invigorating the cultural life of the people at that time. In addition, Huaiyin Hall of Wang’s family in Jinling also engraved the book “San Cai Tu Hui”, which was compiled by Wang Qi (qi Qi) and his son Wang Siyi in the Ming Dynasty. It is divided into astronomy, geography, characters, etc 14, is an important work of graphology.He also engraved the word book "Zihui" compiled by Mei Yingzuo in the Ming Dynasty. The book contained 33,179 characters. It was the first time to simplify the radicals created in "Shuowen Jiezi", and to arrange the characters with the same radicals in the order of strokes for the first time. Each character has a phonetic notation, and the explanation of the meaning is also easy to understand. Its compilation style has a great influence on later generations. Jianyang Bookstore (all claiming to be "Shulin"), there are more than 80 church names that can be tested.Many bookstores have a long history and many engraved books.These bookstores can compile and print various types of books according to the different requirements of readers: one is the collection of poetry and essays.That is, the different annotations of each family are compiled together and carved into a book, which makes it very convenient for readers to use, without having to read many engraved editions with different annotations.The second is popular books.In order to enable readers to obtain a wealth of knowledge with just one book, the editors collected a wide range of books, categorized them by content, and engraved a large number of popular books for daily reference, such as "Shi Lin Guang Ji" and "Must Use at Home" and so on.The third is an illustrated book.In order to make readers understand the content of the text and arouse their interest in reading, many books with illustrations have been engraved, such as "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", "The Biography of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl", etc. "" and "Tang Poetry of the Actor" are the poems above the picture.These comic books are all bestsellers popular among readers.However, before Wanli, most of the engraved books were classics and history; it was not until the Wanli period (1573-1619 A.D.) that more and more folk books were engraved. The three surnames Yu, Liu, and Xiong have the most bookstores in Jianyang, and there are nearly 40 bookstores opened by the three surnames.In addition to engraving scriptures, histories, anthologies, medical books, and related books, they also wrote and printed many novels by themselves.For example, Yu Xiangdou, the owner of Shuangfeng Hall, has edited and published novels such as "Four Journeys", "Biography of Various Kingdoms", "Priorical Commentary on Biography of Three Kingdoms", "Romance of Eastern and Western Jin", "Biography of King Xingyue in the Great Song Dynasty", etc. .Xiong Damu, the owner of Zhongzhengtang, also edited and published "Quan Han Zhi Zhuan", "Popular Romance of Tang Shu Zhi Zhuan", "Popular Romance of Song Zhongxing", etc.Liu Longtian, the owner of Qiaoshantang, engraved 22 books such as "Thousands of Surnames", "Difficult Words in the World", etc.Liu Hong’s Shenduzhai engraved most of the history books, collections of poems and essays, medical books, and related books, such as 30 volumes of "Preparation for Emergencies and Essential Prescriptions" by Sun Simiao in the Tang Dynasty; "Compendium of Zizhi Tongjian" written by Zhu Xi in the Southern Song Dynasty 90 volumes; 273 volumes of "Seventeen History Festivals" compiled by Lu Zuqian in the Southern Song Dynasty; 150 volumes of "Song Wenjian", a collection of poems and essays in the Northern Song Dynasty; Zhi" has 90 volumes, etc., with a total of more than 30 kinds.Such a voluminous book came from a private bookstore, which shows that Shendu Zhai is not small.Most of the books he engraved are in secret and small characters, with a unique style.Moreover, he is serious about collation and has fewer mistakes. For example, he has corrected 245 wrong words in "Historical Records" and corrected as many as 11,221 wrong words in "Wen Tong Kao", which shows that he is very serious about engraving books.Therefore, some people say that the "books with small characters" carved by him are "far better than the huge volumes with large characters that people in Yuan Dynasty used to carve".In addition, the most prosperous ones at that time were the bookstores in Chonghua and Masha in Jianyang, where the books engraved were popular all over the world.The Shufang Street in Chonghuali had four or five thousand households at that time. According to the "Jianyang County Chronicle": "There are books everywhere in this place, merchants from all over the world, and vendors like weaving. They gather on the first or sixth day of each month." That is to say, it is not only a place where engraved books are concentrated, but also has developed into a book market for buying and selling books.This kind of book market dedicated to selling books six days a month is not found in other places in China, so it attracts booksellers from all over the world to come here to wholesale books.Masha Town, located 70 miles west of Jianyang City, is also a concentrated place for engraved book sellers.Hang Shijun, a scholar in the early Qing Dynasty, wrote a poem: "The bookshelf is greedy for engravings everywhere, and the vulgar books are everywhere in the school."Because there are many engraved books, there are also many booksellers who come here to sell books. Qufu, Shandong once sent people to buy books from thousands of miles away.It is said that the largest number of Jiangxi people who come here to sell books has never stopped since the Song Dynasty. For this reason, a Jiangxi Guild Hall with fine brick carvings and tall doors and walls was built in the town to receive Jiangxi booksellers.The poet Cha [zha Zha] in the early Qing Dynasty carefully wrote poems praising: It can be seen that the engraving industry in Chonghua and Masha is prosperous.In short, the prosperity of Jianyang Bookstore is comparable to that of Nanjing. In 1545 alone, there were as many as 451 kinds of books carved, especially novels, miscellaneous books, and medical books, which surpassed Nanjing Bookstore.However, Jianben still has the old problem of only seeking quantity, not quality, and poor collation, which has caused the government to intervene and order the "Five Classics" and "Four Books" to be used for imperial examinations only in accordance with the "official version issued by the emperor". It is not allowed to re-engraved according to the style, otherwise "it will be a felony, chase after the edition and destroy it, and it will never be lightly loaned." But the flaws do not conceal the advantages, and the founding of the book contributes to the popularization of culture. As for the bookstores in Hangzhou and Beijing, the number is much smaller.There are 24 bookstores in Hangzhou, and Hu Wenhuan’s Wenhuitang has the most engraved books. There are 450 kinds of engraved books, among which there are 20 or 30 kinds of books written by him: "Poetry Rhyme", "Ci Yun", "Qin Pu", "Province "Shen Motto", "Gezhi Series", etc., the latter contains 300 kinds of ancient writings, most of which are books on textual research on famous things, and is named after "Gewuzhizhi" in "University".There is also Rongyutang Bookstore in Hangzhou, which engraved many legendary opera novels, most of which were titled "Li Zhuowu's Commentary", such as "Mr. Li Zhuowu's Commentary on Loyalty and the Outlaws of the Marsh", etc., the engravings are very exquisite. There are only 13 bookstores in Beijing that can be tested, and they are distributed in Zhengyangmen, Xuanwumen, Longfu Temple, Huguo Temple, etc.The famous ones are Yongshun Hall and Wang's Bookstore.In recent years, the former found 11 kinds of librettos and the play "White Rabbit", which is the earliest surviving printed version of opera; Among them are history books, anthologies, poetry collections, medical books, and an important reference book on qin studies, "The Encyclopedia of Ancient Music".Most of the books he engraved were reprints of Song and Yuan rare books.There is also Yue's Bookstore located in Zhengyangmen, which engraved "The New Issue of Wonderful Holographic Notes on the West Chamber" in 1498. There are 150 plots with illustrations, and some plots use eight illustrations in a row. This is now handed down. The earliest illustrated edition of the book has been included in the large series of rare opera books "Guben Xiqu Series" edited by Zheng Zhenduo. Huizhou (where the government is located in today’s Shexian County) is rich in paper, ink and good materials for engraving. It is said that even in the Qing Dynasty, the Huizhou book editions were still intact, and the printed books were still very clear and delicate, unlike Jianshu editions. , the quality is too soft to withstand printing; Qiuqiu Village in Shexian County has superb engraving skills, and many people are good at calligraphy and painting, and are good at engraving. It has not declined for more than 200 years; at the same time, it advocates the style of writing, and there are many scholars, so the demand for books is increasing day by day.Therefore, after the mid-Ming Dynasty, Huizhou became popular in engraving books. There were no less than 10 bookstores. Among them, the famous Shiguzhai, a native of Shexian County, Wu Minxue, successively engraved more than 100 kinds of scriptures and history subsets. He is the first person in Huizhou to engrave so many books. .Regarding Wu Min learning to engrave books, there is such a story recorded in "Yi'an Oubi": Wu Minxue of Shexian County, whose dream was recorded by the Underworld Division, kowtowed to survive.A judge next to him said: "Wu Shengyang's life is not over." Wu Lian kowtowed and said, "I would like to do a good deed." For the sake of revision, reprint it." Ming Si said: "Carve a geometric book?" Wu said: "Engrave it for your own personal use." Ming Si said, "How much is your family's private property?" Wu said: "Thirty thousand." Ming Si can release it Of.Wu Mengxing engraved medical books widely and made a profit. He searched for ancient and modern classics and made them for catalpa. This story is very absurd and unbelievable, but it reflects Wu Minxue's dedication to the book engraving business.There are indeed many books he engraved. The famous medical book "Hejian Six Books" has 27 volumes in eight categories; "Jinsilu" compiled by Lu Zuqian, as well as classics, histories, poetry collections, anthologies, novels, etc.There are "Five Classics", "Four Books", "Twenty-two Sons" and other books that have been handed down to the present.With the low cost of paper in the Ming Dynasty, the engraving fee reached 100,000, which can be called the first bookstore in Huizhou.There is also the "Six Classics Map" engraved by Wu Jishi's Xichuntang. It is said that "the images are exquisite, the characters and paper are beautiful, and the school magazine is correct according to the Song edition." The words "Wu Jishi Examination School" were cut out and pretended to be the Song version, which shows the exquisite engraving. In addition, Suzhou, Changshu, and Yangzhou in Jiangsu, Fuzhou in Jiangxi, and Zhangzhou in Fujian all have bookstores, and the engraving industry is also quite prosperous. Looking at woodblock printing in the Ming Dynasty, its area was wider than that of the Song and Yuan Dynasties. It has expanded from the mainland to remote areas such as the Northeast, Northwest, and Southwest, and even spread to Taiwan.The total number of engraved books may reach tens of thousands.The subject matter is also very extensive, which is beyond the reach of the Song and Yuan Dynasties.Especially in the Ming Dynasty, the art of printmaking shined brightly, surpassing the previous dynasties both in quantity and skill, and reached the highest level in history.Like the above-mentioned illustrations carved by the Yue family, the conception is exquisite and moving, the carvings are meticulous, and the characters are vivid and lifelike. It is really pleasing to the eye and fascinating.Just like what the publisher said on the title page: "The large-character Kuiben, sung together with the pictures, makes you live in a guest house, travel in a boat, take a leisurely tour and sit on a guest, get a glimpse of it, and sing all the time. It is clear and refreshing." What needs a big book is the innovation of overprinting technology, which developed from the two colors of red and ink in the Yuan Dynasty to the five-color overprint of purple and yellow in red ink and black.The development of my country's color overprinting technology first adopts a version of color separation overprinting, which can not only overprint text books, but also overprint color prints.The earliest known overprint of the Ming Dynasty is "Gujin Nufan" (also known as "Nvfan Bian" or "Guifan"), which was engraved from 1602 to 1607 AD. Edited, painted by Cheng Qilong, engraved by Huang Yingrui and Huang Yingtai.The women recorded in the book, from the Zhou Qin Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, each set up a biography and drew a picture, a total of 200 illustrations. The famous modern writer Zheng Zhenduo praised the illustrations in the book and said: "The lines are as thin as hair and as soft as silk. It is the best of the Hui school prints." At the same time, in 1605, a color overprint "Cheng's Ink Garden" was published, which was engraved by the drawing of Zilantang of Chengyue (Junfang), a Mo family in Shexian County. Nearly 50 pieces were overprinted in four or five colors, and there was a picture of Tianmu Confronting the Court, with yellow and red phoenixes and green bamboos on it, which was overprinted in one version.At this time, Huang Yiming, another master engraving master in Shexian County, published a color overprint "The Picture of Fengliujuechang". "Mo Yuan" is more mature and better.Later, Min Qiji and Ling Yingchu of Huzhou, Zhejiang Province (Wuxing where the government is located) hired Huizhou engraving workers and used overprinting technology to engrave more than 130 books, including pre-Qin scholars, history books, poetry collections, and operas. There are also three-color, four-color, and five-color ones, and their printed copies are popular all over the country.What they have adopted is the overprint method of separation and color separation.At the end of the Ming Dynasty, on this basis, it developed into a printing method combining multi-color overprinting of the 饾 (dou bean) plate watermark and arch flower technology.The operation method of the plate is: before engraving, the color and plate are separated according to the color depth of the color drawing and the difference between Yin and Yang.There is one version for each color, and there are as many as dozens of small versions for large pictures.Then use transparent goose skin paper to cover the sketch and outline it, stick it on the wood block, and carve it into large and small printing plates.Then overprint or overprint color by color from light to dark, and more than sixty or seventy times.The printed picture is not only colorful, but also can show the level of tone and yin and yang; the printed flowers, birds and insects are so lifelike that they are almost realistic.Because this printing method is made of piecemeal woodblocks, which look like woodblocks, people in the Ming Dynasty called them 饾blocks.It's just that for this kind of color printing, every time the plate is registered, it must be exactly the same as the first plate, otherwise, there will be a slight difference, and the difference will cause the various colors on the screen to be confused and messy.Therefore, the more color registration, the more troublesome engraving and printing. Without skilled, highly precise and accurate technology, it is difficult to engage in this kind of printing method with national artistic characteristics. The printing of 饾blocks began in the sixth year of Tianqi at the end of Ming Dynasty (AD 1626), and Wu Faxiang (named Luoxuan) engraved it in Nanjing.Later, Hu Zhengyan, who lived in Nanjing, compiled and printed the He, all using the printing method of 饾block, which is excellent in engraving, painting and printing.All kinds of flowers and animals in the book are vivid in color and lifelike. They are really "Cui-petal Danzi [fu Fu] (referring to the calyx), the analysis of the stamens of the flower, the love of the flower, the posture of the bamboo and the flying and wriggling state of the birds and insects, and the strange stones and clouds. The breath, the exhibition book is dripping, as if in the eye."Therefore, the second book played a role model for future color prints.Immediately after its publication, it was welcomed by people from all over the country. Those who are beginners in painting regard it as a model for copying, and it has also played a great role in painting education.Hu Zhengyan is a man of extraordinary intelligence and versatility. He is good at seal cutting and painting, calligraphy, likes engraving books, and can make high-quality paper and ink. He is also proficient in medical skills and takes medicine as his career. , really one person through the ages."He planted more than 10 poles of bamboo in his courtyard, so he named his room "Ten Bamboo Studio" and called himself "Master of Ten Bamboos". The above two also adopted the "arch flower" (also known as arch version) printing method. "Arch flower" is to emboss the engraving block on the paper, just like the steel stamp is used now, and press the white paper into a raised pattern; or put the paper between the embossed and concave plates to extrude the arched pattern.Use it to set off the rolling clouds in the sky, the ripples in the river, the veins of flowers and leaves and the feathers of birds in the painting.This kind of colorless printing shows the elegance and generosity of the work even more. It complements the colorful pictures, and it looks wonderful and full of changes.It was the middle of the 18th century that Germany, Europe, adopted the arch flower technique for the first time, more than 100 years later than China. The invention of the printing technology of 饾门 and arched pattern pushed the printing technology to a new peak, which was a big leap in the history of Chinese printing, and also created a new era in the history of printing in the world.It can be seen that woodblock printing in the Ming Dynasty had reached its peak.

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