I. Layout
In terms of layout, most of the woodcuts in the Northern Song Dynasty were white mouths, left and right double columns or left and right double columns, and some of the early woodcuts also used left and right single columns. Darkmouth was popular in the mid-Southern Song Dynasty, and it was more common in Jianben. The book title, volume number, page number, engraver's name and some words are often marked at the center of the edition. The official edition is generally engraved with the title of proofreader at the end, while the square edition has many book ears and cards.
There are many seal engravings handed down in the Song Dynasty that pay attention to pleasing the word Masayuki, such as Zhouyi Annotation, Shangshu Zhengyi, Zhouli Annotation, Book of Rites Righteousness and Chunqiu Zuozhuan Righteousness, all of which are limited to eight behaviors. There are also some densely lined Song engravings. There is a copy of Song and Yuan in Jiangbiao of Qing Dynasty, which can be used as a reference for identification.
Second, the calligraphy font
Handmade calligraphy in the Song Dynasty, which admired the fonts of Ou Yangxun, Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan, was still popular, which also affected the engraving business. European style prevailed in the early Northern Song Dynasty, and gradually evolved into Liu Ti in the later period, but there were differences in book engraving in different regions. The face of the biography is mostly wide-spaced and full-bodied, while the body of Liu, who built the biography, is mostly vigorous and tough. Zhejiang is more European, slender, beautiful and elegant, with slightly thinner fonts; Jiangxi prints have both Liu Ti and European styles. Amin scholar Xie Tiao once said: "There were two kinds of fat and thin in Song Dynasty. Fat people learn beauty and thin people learn Europe. " This is the experience of predecessors.
Third, use paper.
Paper-making was developed in Song Dynasty, and there were many kinds of paper products used for printing, such as bamboo paper and leather paper. Bamboo paper is mostly used in buildings, which is yellow and thin, and will turn black after a long time. Leather paper is commonly used in Zhejiang and Sichuan, that is, paper made of mulberry bark and paper bark, which is white and thick and smooth on both sides. In addition, books are printed on hemp paper in many places. Books printed on the back of official documents also appeared in the Song Dynasty, such as Huang Pilie's Inscription and Postscript of Spiritual Spectrum, the six-year book printed on the avenue by Beishan Xiaoji, and Lu Chuan's ci printed on the grain list. This kind of "official document paper" is rarely circulated, but it is easier to identify.