迈向文明传播的坦途

以纸为媒

Papermedia

活字印刷术

Movable typeprinting

钦定武英殿聚珍版程式

Pattern of the imperial Wuying Palace precious collection edition

“庆历中有布衣毕昇又为活板。其法用胶泥刻字，薄如钱唇，每字为一印，火烧令坚。……乃密布字印，满铁范为一板。……常作二铁板，一板印刷，一板已自布字，此印者才毕，则第二板已具，更互用之，瞬息可就。” ——《梦溪笔谈》卷十八During the reign of Chingli[1041－1048 A.D.Song Dynasty],Bi Sheng made movable type.His method was as follows:he took sticky clay and cut in it characters as thin as the edge of a coin.Each character formed,as it were,a single type.He baked them in the fire to make them hard.…When he wished to print,he took an iron frame and set it on the iron plate.In this he placed the types,set close together.When the frame was full,the whole made one solid block of type.…He had prepared two iron plates.One was for printing and the other was for typesetting.When the printing was finished,the typesetting was also completed and the exchange was held alternatively.——The Dream Pool Essays,Vol.18

秦代推行文字标准化为中华文明的传承与发展奠定了基础，数百年间，记录文字的载体由殷商时代的甲骨、钟鼎及于碑石、简帛。汉代蔡伦发明造纸术、东晋末年桓楚政权诏令以黄纸代替竹简，开启了中华民族以纸为媒的出版传播方式。与此相随，延至佛教兴盛与科举制推行的隋唐，图文复制方法也结出了硕果——人们藉由雕版印刷逐渐摆脱了书、拓石与抄写的劳顿……

Through standardization of Chinese characters,Qin Dynasty had laid the foundation for the heritage and development of Chinese civilization.During hundreds of years,the media of Chinese characters evolved from oracle and tripod of Shang Dynasty to bamboo monuments and silk.During Han Dynasty,Cai Lun invented the technology of papermaking.The Huanchu regime of Jin Dynasty published notification in paper media in place of bamboo,which marked the beginning of paper media in history.With the rise of Buddhism and Civil Examinations in Sui Dynasty and TangDynasty,Chinese peoplemade great progress in technology of graphic copy.By woodblock printing,people gradually extricated themselves from the tedious labor of transcribing.

龟甲卜辞

东汉石刻

汉初木犊简册

Subsequently in Song Dynasty,Bi Sheng accelerated the dissemination of publication technology.Based on the previous experiences,he invented the technology of movable type printing.According to the Dream Pool Essays written by Shen Kuo,the technology of movable type printing included the technology of making,composing,pressing,decomposition and storage of the types.Compared with woodblock printing,movable type printing had successfully applied standardization methods and principles,such as:standardized items,interchangeable items,decomposition and combination,as well as reuse.It boasted flexibility,convenience and simplicity,which had greatly enhanced the utilization of the single characters type.

中国印刷博物馆展出的转轮排字盘模型

泥活字

虽然手工活字印刷是极具现代印刷术特点的高效传媒，但它却远远超出传统中国社会的消化能力——其固定字体与国人对书法和色彩的审美追逐背道而驰，动辄数十万刻制字模使民间投资力不从心，需求不足又造成规模效益无法彰显。因此延至清代雍正乾隆年间中国才出现了《古今图书集成》、《武英殿聚珍版丛书》等铜活字、木活字大规模官方出版活动，而这一时期颁布的《钦定武英殿聚珍版程式》也成为木活字印刷技术标准的典范。

However,despite being highly efficient and modernized,movable type printing went beyond the traditional Chinese society’s value that time because of the opposite of aesthetic of traditional calligraphy.High cost discouraged the private investment and it was hard to form the economies of scale because of lack of demand.Many years later,official publications had become widespread in Qing Dynasty,including Collection of Ancient and Modern Books,Wuying Palace Precious Collection Series.Pattern of the imperial Wuying Palace precious collection edition had been the model of wood movable type printing technology at that time.

钦定武英殿聚珍版程式图

中国传统活字印刷术的兴衰与中华民族的命运息息相关，它最终在近代殖民炮火的硝烟中，让位于更具先进性的西方机械铅活字印刷。尽管就以上两种印刷技术之间是否存在承袭关系，学术界至今仍有争议，但确切无疑的是中国早于西方四百年发明了活字印刷术，树立了标准化发展史上的里程碑，大大推进了手工业时代技术进步。活字印刷术与造纸术的双剑合璧，开创了人类文化传播史新纪元。

The rise and fall of the traditional Chinese movable type printing had been closely related to the destiny of Chinese nation.Eventually,the traditional Chinese typography technology was replaced by Western machinery type printing during the colonial era.In spite of dispute in academia over the inherited relationship between the two kinds of printing,it is certain that Chinese people invented movable type printing four centuries earlier than westerners,which set the milestone in the history of standardization and boosted the technical progress in the handicraft industry era.The combination of typography and papermaking technology created a new era of human history of cultural communication.