The Yuan Dynasty made outstanding achievements in publishing and printing. For example, the variety of printed books exceeded those of the previous generation; the creation and application of wooden movable type, the promotion and widespread use of two-color ink and red overprinting books and backpack packaging Applications etc.
The imperial court of the Yuan Dynasty attached great importance to the collection, publishing and printing of books. The Compilation Office, Secretary Supervisor and Classics Office were mainly engaged in the publication, printing and collection of books. , Imperial College and other institutions are also engaged in the publishing and printing of books. The imperial court also established a special almanac compilation and printing agency, which published and printed three types of almanacs: the Dali calendar, the small calendar, and the Hijri calendar every year, with a printing volume of more than 3 million copies.
The private printing industry in Beijing, the capital of the Yuan Dynasty, was also very prosperous. At that time, most of the books compiled and printed were operas, scripts, poems and other books.
The binding formats for books published in Dadu, the capital of the Yuan Dynasty, were initially butterfly binding and sutra folding binding. Butterfly binding was mostly used for general books, such as classics and history books compiled and printed by the imperial court. The folded sutras are mostly used for Buddhist sutras. In terms of fonts, the regular script of the famous calligrapher Zhao Mengfu is mostly used. In folk scripts, more simplified characters are used.
Among the butterfly-bound books of the Yuan Dynasty, a form of book binding with a larger format and smaller core appeared, which was rare in previous generations. For example, in the book "Mengxi Bi Tan" engraved during the Dade period of the Yuan Dynasty, there are large blanks on the four sides of the page. A piece of white paper is placed between the two blank sides and adhered to the two white sides, which overcomes the shortcoming of the common butterfly device that requires turning over a blank page when reading. The cover is made of cardboard and framed with fabric. This form of binding was rare in ancient times.
Beginning in the mid-Yuan Dynasty, books were often carried on backpacks. Back packs have many advantages over butterfly packs. First, they are easier to read; second, books are more durable. Backpacking in the Yuan Dynasty is an important stage in the form of book binding. It is closer to the binding form of books today.
The characteristic of the color-back binding is that it reverses the butterfly binding method of folding the pages upside down, and folds the printed pages forward so that the folded edge where the center of the page is located faces left and outward, so that the text faces people. The remaining pages on the left and right sides of the book are folded forward, so they are aligned to the right and integrated into the spine. Dozens of folded pages were arranged in order, then aligned with the folded edge facing the left, and pressed firmly. Then punch holes in the remaining right side, twist and staple it with paper and flatten it. Then cut the remaining edge on the right side, use a whole piece of hard thick paper to test the thickness of the spine, fold it in half with double marks to make a cover, stick it to the spine with paste, and wrap the entire back of the book. Cut the top, bottom, bottom and left side of the cover. A book in a backpack is considered to be bound. This kind of binding is called "back-wrapping" because it mainly wraps the back of the book.
When flipping through the backpack, all you see is the side with words, and you can read it continuously, which enhances the functionality of reading.
In order to prevent the back of the book from being glued firmly, paper twist binding technology is adopted, that is, long strips of tough paper are twisted into paper twist, and holes are punched near the spine of the book back. Twist and stitch, which saves you the trouble of gluing each page. Finally, glue a whole piece of paper around the back of the book to serve as the front and back covers of the book.
The book "Secretary Supervisor" printed by Dadu in the Yuan Dynasty records the batter ingredients recipe of Jiao Qing'an, the watchmaker: yellow wax, gelatin, alum, bletilla striata, quinoa basket, saponin, grassroots, and hyacinth. Incense, white flour, hard firewood, charcoal.
Jiao Qing'an's formula included three major components: adhesives, preservatives and aromatics. It can be seen that the materials used for book binding at that time were very scientific and could preserve books for a long time.
Backpacks appeared around the Southern Song Dynasty, became popular in the Yuan Dynasty, and were popular for hundreds of years until the end of the Qing Dynasty. Backpacking solves the disadvantages of butterfly packaging, which has no words on the reverse side when unrolled and is not tightly bound. However, because this kind of binding is still bound with twisted paper and wrapped around the back of the book, it is only convenient for collection and cannot withstand repeated reading. If you read it frequently, it will still be easily scattered. In order to solve this problem, a new binding method slowly appeared in the Ming and Qing Dynasties and gradually became popular, that is, thread binding. The book illustrations of the Yuan Dynasty are also very exquisite. Painting in the Yuan Dynasty was very developed, with literati paintings prominent, while illustration and printmaking also developed to a certain extent based on the Song and Jin dynasties.
The southern calligraphy industry in the Yuan Dynasty was most developed in Hangzhou, Zhejiang and Jianning, Fujian. At that time, there were such works as "The Documents Kaotong", three historical books of the Song, Liao and Jin dynasties, and the Xixia "Dazang". Sutra, etc., were all engraved in Hangzhou. During this period, engraving books with red ink overprinting also appeared.
The classics and books of the Yuan Dynasty such as "Zhou Li", "Notes", "Book of Music", "The Analects of Confucius", "The Classic of Filial Piety", "Xunzi", "Tao Te Ching", "Nanhua Jing" " and so on, were either reprinted in the Song Dynasty edition or reprinted, which was quite impressive at the time. There is a "Xinkan Quan Xiangcheng Zhai Xiao Jing Direct Interpretation", which is illustrated in the form of the picture above.
Some copies of "Xinkan Quan Xiangcheng Zhai Xiao Jing Direct Interpretation" have been circulated in Japan. The end of it is inscribed with "When the Great Reform of the Yuan Dynasty came, General Xuanwu hoped that the Lianghuai Wanhu Prefecture, Daru Huachi, Xiaoyunshi, and the North Court of the Sea Cliff, would become a fasting place." This inscription is very important. The first is that the book was published in the first year of the Great Rebellion, that is, 1308; the second is that the owner of the engraving is Guan Yunshi, a Uighur; the third is that the book was published in Yongzhou, Huguang.
The "Xinkan Quan Xiangcheng Zhai Filial Piety Sutra Direct Interpretation" has 18 chapters and 15 pages, and 15 illustrations. The entire content explains the conduct of filial piety, saying that common people must have filial piety, and the emperor must practice filial piety. The painting is exquisite, but the lines are clumsy. The meaning of the picture is consistent with the text. Although it is a Yuan carving, all the paintings are Han costumes.
"Shi Lin Guang Ji" was published in 1340, with 10 episodes. It was written by Chen Yuanliang and was engraved by Zheng's Jicheng Hall in Jianyang, Fujian Province. The original title was "Compilation and New Group Books Important Shi Lin Guang Ji" . The Peking University Library has a copy. "Shilin Guangji" is rich in content, including "Pictures of Farming and Harvest", which describes farmers farming and women bringing tea with their children. Another example is "Martial Arts Picture", which depicts the wonderful performances of buskers. There is also a picture of "Double Land", which depicts two officials performing the "Double Land" play, with two waiters beside them. A black dog comes out from the back of the central hall with its tail raised, adding to the lively atmosphere of the picture.
During the reign of Emperor Yingzong of the Yuan Dynasty, Yu's "Five Kinds of Quanxiang Pinghua" of Jian'an was published. It is the earliest historical script that can be seen today. These five kinds of Pinghua are: "New Quanxiang Three Kingdoms Zhi Pinghua", "Quanxiang Wu Wang's Conquest of Zhou Pinghua", "Le Yi Tu Qi Qi Seven Kingdoms Spring and Autumn Period", "Quan Xiang Qin Bing Liu Guo Pinghua" and "Quan Xiang Xu Qian Han Shu" "Pinghua". Known carvers include Wu Junfu, Huang Shuan, etc.
This set of Pinghua has pictures above and below. On one side, the text accounts for nearly two-thirds, and the pictures account for slightly more than one-third. There are subtitles in the pictures, and the names of the characters in the pictures are mostly noted. This is a popular version, and the later "little people's books" in our country originated from this method.
This set of Pinghua, due to its large number of illustrations, can be described as a collection of illustrations. There are 228 pictures in 5 kinds of Pinghua. The scenes painted are relatively large and can highlight the main characters. The plot is summarized, clearly, and focuses on "explanatory".
For example, the "Battle of Red Cliff" in "New Quanxiang Three Kingdoms", this illustration is displayed on the opposite page, made of a horizontal banner, and divided into three sections. The first part shows Kong Ming borrowing the east wind and holding a sword. In order to illustrate the arrival of the wind, not only the figures' clothes are fluttering, but also the leaves of the two big trees are "whirring" to the west; in the middle section, Huang Gai leads his troops on a boat to conduct a fire attack. The wind is strong and the fire is fierce, blowing to the west; in the last section It is a painting of Cao Cao, who fled in embarrassment because he could not bear to be burned by fire. The three main characters in the three sections, such as Kong Ming, Huang Gai, and Cao Cao, are all introduced one by one, which is clear at a glance.
Another example is "Le Yi Pictures of the Spring and Autumn Period of the Seven Kingdoms", which depicts the grandson talking about Le Yi. In the painting, the two people are having a conversation, and their expressions are clear at a glance. Such patterns are unified, matched, neat and clear with the text. These characteristics have a great influence on subsequent print illustrations. Some people call it "the originator of ancient Chinese historical novels".
Buddhism was still flourishing in the Yuan Dynasty. At that time, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism coexisted, and Christianity was also practiced. The Hangzhou engravings "Puning Zang", "Hexi Zi Da Zang" and "Liang Huang Bao Confessions" were all very neatly carved during this period, and the "Diamond Sutra Commentary" by an unknown monk engraved in 1340 actually had ink ink. of overprinting. They are very meaningful in terms of engraving printing technology and illustration requirements.