What was the paper like in the Ming Dynasty?

Xuan paper Xuan paper is a traditional paper for painting and calligraphy in China, and it is one of the traditional paper-making processes of Han nationality. It originated in Jingxian County, Xuancheng, Anhui Province, and was named "Xuan Paper" after the government ruled Xuancheng. This kind of paper is also produced near Jingxian County. On September 30, 2009, Xuan Paper was recognized by UNESCO and included in the list of intangible cultural heritage of mankind. Xuan paper originated in the Tang Dynasty, which lasted for generations. Because Xuan paper has the characteristics of easy storage, durability and colorfastness, it has the reputation of "paper lives for thousands of years". Xuan paper is divided into base paper and processed paper according to processing methods. According to the inking degree of paper, it is divided into raw publicity, semi-cooked publicity and cooked publicity. The promotion of calligraphy and freehand brushwork, and the promotion of meticulous painting. There are records about Xuan paper in the Records of Famous Paintings in Past Dynasties and the Book of New Tang Dynasty. It began in the Tang Dynasty and was handed down from generation to generation. The origin of rice paper is Jingxian County, Anhui Province. In addition, this kind of paper is also produced in Xuancheng and Taiping (now huangshan district, Huangshan City) near Jingxian County. In the Song Dynasty, the paper industry in Huizhou, Chizhou and Xuancheng gradually moved to Jingxian. At that time, all these areas were under the jurisdiction of Ningguofu (Xuancheng), and Xuancheng was the distribution center of Xuan paper, so the paper produced here was called "Xuan paper" under the name of Fu paper, and some people called it Jingxian paper. Because Xuan paper has the characteristics of easy storage, durability and colorfastness, it has the reputation of "paper lives for thousands of years". According to folklore, after the death of Cai Lun, a paper-making master in the first year of Jianguang in the Eastern Han Dynasty (12 1), Kong Dan, a disciple of the Eastern Han Dynasty, took papermaking as his profession in southern Anhui, hoping to make the best paper in the world and compose music for the portrait of the master to show his memory. But it is hard to get what you want year after year. One day, Kong Dan happened to see an old rosewood tree lying by the stream. Due to years of sun and rain, the bark has rotted and turned white, revealing wisps of fine and clean fibers. Kong Dan used it to make paper, and after repeated experiments, he finally made a kind of paper with excellent texture, which became the famous Xuan paper. There is a kind of rice paper called "Four Feet Dan" to commemorate Kong Dan, which has been passed down to this day. According to the preface to Xiao's Genealogy, which was rebuilt during the reign of Qianlong in Qing Dynasty, "At the end of the Song Dynasty, when there were disputes, there were different ghosts and gods, so there was no hurry. Cao Sun, the younger generation of Duke VIII of Cao Shizhong, moved from Qiuchuan to Xiaoling and was divided into thirteen schools. This is a mountainous area, and the fields are scarce, so it is impossible to cultivate. Because of Cai Lun's skills, I make a living. " Cao Dasan inherited the paper-making technology of predecessors, improved it step by step through practice, and finally made good white and pure paper. Because the distribution center of paper is mostly in Xuancheng, which is under the jurisdiction of the state, it is named Xuan paper. The fame of Xuan paper began in the Tang Dynasty. The Famous Paintings of Past Dynasties written by Zhang Yanyuan, a critic of calligraphy and painting in the Tang Dynasty, said, "A good man should buy hundreds of Xuan paper and wax it to copy it." This shows that Xuan paper has been used in calligraphy and painting in the Tang Dynasty. According to Old Tang Book, in the second year of Tianbao (743), there were paper tributes in Jiangxi, Sichuan, southern Anhui and eastern Zhejiang, especially in Xuancheng County. It can be seen that rice paper had been crowned everywhere at that time. The "Chengxintang" paper produced by Li Yu, the queen of the Southern Tang Dynasty, is a treasure in rice paper. Skin is like an egg membrane, clean as jade, thin and smooth, and crowned for a while. Xuan paper has the characteristics of "tough and moist, smooth but not slippery, white and dense, pure texture, lossless rubbing and strong ink wetting", and has unique permeability and lubricity. Writing is both a bone and a spirit, while painting is full of spirit, and it has become the calligraphy and painting paper that best reflects China's artistic style. The so-called "five colors of ink" refers to one stroke, with deep texture, distinct Mo Yun and distinct layers. This is the artist's artistic effect of controlling the proportion of ink and wash by using the moisture of rice paper. Plus anti-aging and no discoloration. Worms eat less and live longer, so they have the reputation of "the king of paper, the paper with a thousand years of life". /kloc-won the gold medal in Panama International Paper Competition in the 20th century. Besides painting poems, Xuan paper is also the best paper for writing diplomatic notes and preserving high-level archives and historical materials. China handed down a large number of rare ancient books and the ink of famous painters and calligraphers, most of which are preserved on Xuan paper, and still remain the same today.