Thesis on book binding
You can write about the development process of book binding at home and abroad, as well as between different nationalities, from a historical perspective, a cultural perspective.
1. Understanding and design ideas for the binding of classical literature books
The design of the binding of classical literature books requires an understanding and refinement of the content of the bound books. Although the thread-bound books among my country's classical books look relatively simple and casual, overall inspection shows that they are not done randomly, but are carefully thought out and carefully designed. From the color scheme to the application of materials, they all contain a profound cultural foundation. rhyme. Modern binding design, due to the use of new technologies and new materials, can inevitably achieve this effect. So, how can we achieve this taste in the binding design of classical books now? Blindly pursuing the classics will make the entire design lack modern aesthetic appeal; blindly pursuing modernity will make the binding of classical literature books lack the taste of classical literature. "Qiyun" will also deviate from modern people's needs for the beauty of the binding of classical literary works. Today's binding design of classical literature books should fully absorb the essence of book binding design at home and abroad, both ancient and modern, so that the profound charm of Chinese classical literature can be organically integrated with modern aesthetic requirements. The overall design not only retains the connotation and artistic conception of Chinese classical literary works, but also integrates modern people's aesthetic requirements for book binding. The unification of ancient and modern binding aesthetics is the contemporary need for binding design of Chinese classical literature books.
Since the birth of human civilization, books have increasingly played their role as a mass media communication tool. From the earliest records carved on bones and bamboos to modern printing technology and book binding, humans have accumulated rich experience and wisdom in long-term practice, and formed specialized disciplines. A country's level of book binding, the number of book varieties, and the size of its publishing and circulation have become a symbol of social progress and development. Book binding has gone through a long and tortuous road. With the development and progress of human civilization, it has evolved from simple to complex, from simple book processing to today's artistic creation. Nowadays, book binding is no longer just a simple binding of pages, but a secondary artistic creation of books by the binding designer, which is the crystallization of the binding artist's thoughts and wisdom. Book binding design has developed so far and has become a comprehensive art category. It is a comprehensive application of painting, photography, calligraphy, epigraphy and other art forms. It requires designers to have knowledge of literature, art, philosophy, history, technology, etc., and have High literary accomplishment and good aesthetic taste. The binding design of books, in today's highly developed market economy, should also be given a commercial nature. Books are placed on bookshelves. While they are for display, they should also have the function of attracting readers. Therefore, while it has appreciation value, it must also stimulate readers to read the book.
2. Several forms and evolution processes of ancient Chinese book binding
1. Rope connection
China's book publishing has a long history, and the binding of books The shape is also constantly evolving with the development and changes of book production techniques and materials used.
It is generally believed that the earliest books in China are tortoise shells or animal bones inscribed with characters in the Shang Dynasty, which are more than 3,000 years old. At that time, in order to facilitate preservation, several pieces of oracle bones with related contents were connected with ropes. This was the binding form of early books.
Bronze inscriptions began to appear in the late Shang Dynasty, and rulers cast important documents on bronze vessels. Especially in the Western Zhou Dynasty, inscriptions could contain more text. The inscription on the Mao Gong Tripod of the Western Zhou Dynasty reaches 500 words. Because people often regard the inscriptions on this ancient bronze vessel as one of the forms of ancient "original books", most calligraphy historians believe that it is also a form of ancient book binding.
2. Bamboo slips
Bamboo slips were the most representative form of books before the invention of paper. It can be arbitrarily determined according to the length of the article, with one simplified Chinese character per line. Finally, it is strung together with upper and lower ropes, rolled and bundled for storage. There are also two types: reed braiding and silk braiding. Those who are sophisticated can use fabrics to sew bags. enter. Bamboo simplicity originated in the late Western Zhou Dynasty and was used until the 4th century AD. In addition to being made of bamboo, bamboo slips are also called wooden slips made of wood. Parallel to the bamboo slips
there are wooden slips, which are made into rectangular pieces of wood and used to write short articles.
3. Silk book
Silk book is a form of book slightly later than bamboo slips. It is written on silk fabrics. Its binding shape is sewn and stored in rolls. Because The materials are expensive and are mostly used by rulers to write official documents or for painting. They are rarely used in general books.
4. Stone Scripture (stone tablet)
The Stone Scripture is also a form of ancient books. The most representative one is the "Xiping Stone Classic", which was engraved in the fourth year of Xiping in the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 175). The seven Confucian classics were engraved on 46 stone tablets, with a total of more than 200,000 words. It stands in front of the Imperial Academy in Luoyang for people to read, copy and correct. Its function exceeds that of ordinary books. Its shape is double-sided with inscriptions, the characters are read vertically in neat rows, and the stele is arranged in a U shape. Others, such as the Buddhist Stone Sutra of Yunju Temple in Fangshan, were engraved in the Sui Dynasty. Although it is later than the Xiping Stone Sutra, its influence is greater and its value is also high.
5. Rubbing (Scroll)
After the invention of paper, a form of rubbing appeared. It can copy various stone inscriptions on paper and mount them into volumes for easy storage and reading. Later, this method was used for the rubbing of bronze inscriptions and the rubbing of pottery inscriptions. Various rubbings are an important category in the palace collections from the Northern and Southern Dynasties to the Sui Dynasty.
Paper was invented in the second century BC. From the second century AD, paper was more commonly used for writing. In the second century AD, the use of paper became more common and became the main material for book carriers. Paper There are many changes in the binding format of manuscript books. The earliest manuscripts continued to use the form of Jian Ce and silk books, that is, scroll binding. In the early Tang Dynasty, a kind of whirlwind suit appeared on the basis of the scroll suit. In the past, because there were only records but no actual objects, there were different opinions on the shape of the whirlwind suit. Zhang Bangji in the Song Dynasty called this kind of binding "page by page, unfolding to the end, and still combined into one volume"; Ye Dehui in the Qing Dynasty called this kind of binding "series upon row"; some people think that it is folded sutras bound end to end. Tornado outfit. Later, a Tang Dynasty manuscript of "Tang Yun" was discovered. The pages were staggered one by one and pasted on the bottom paper of the scroll. When reading, the pages were opened and read one by one. After reading, it was still rolled into a scroll. Its appearance was the same as that of the scroll, thus proving The first two statements are correct.
6. Jingzhe binding, whirlwind binding and butterfly binding (book binding in the early days of the invention of printing, Liao and Jin dynasties)
Jingzhe binding originated in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and its shape is the The pages of the writing book are pasted together in order, then folded continuously, front and back, and then mounted to cover the front and back.
Before the invention of printing, there were generally only the above types of book binding styles. After the invention of printing, scroll binding and folding binding continued to be used, but there were still new developments in the materials used, the size of the format, and the decoration technology. And with the development of printing technology, new book binding forms are constantly emerging, including butterfly binding, back binding, thread binding, etc.
The invention of printing marked a new era in book publishing. Due to changes in production methods, books can be produced quickly and in large quantities, allowing more people to have the opportunity to read; the increase in demand for books has also promoted the prosperity and development of the publishing and printing industry. Publishers pay more and more attention to the binding form of books. From the selection of format, the size of the core, font and row format, binding form, cover materials, etc., they all reflect the complete art of ancient book binding.
Printing was invented in the late Sui Dynasty and early Tang Dynasty. The earliest extant printed matter is the Great Dharani Sutra of Immaculate Pure Light, which was engraved around 704 AD, and the Diamond Sutra discovered in Dunhuang. Engraved in AD 868, they are all in scroll form. It can be seen that scroll binding was the most commonly used binding form in the early days of the invention of printing. The earliest printed general book was "Tang Yun", its binding style may be a whirlwind binding, and it was printed around the late Tang Dynasty.
From the Tang Dynasty to the Five Dynasties, printing was not yet popular. Only Xi'an, Sichuan, Huainan, Bianjing, Wuyue and other places have printing records. By the Song Dynasty, the publishing and printing industry gradually became popular. Government printing, private printing, school printing, and temple printing all developed, and the printing area became wider. At the same time, a publishing and printing industry also emerged in Beijing. In the past, most of the books printed in Beijing during the Liao Dynasty were only recorded, and very few of them were preserved in kind. For example: "Dragon Shrine Hand Mirror" compiled by Yanjing monk Xingjun in the 15th year of Liao Tonghe (997 AD), and the medical book "Shi" engraved in the Qiantong year (1101-1110 AD) "The Rear Area", "One Hundred Fangs", and the "Khitan Collection", a comprehensive collection of Buddhist scriptures with a huge printing project in the Liao Dynasty.
In 1974, a batch of Liao Dynasty prints were discovered in the chest of a four-story wooden pagoda in Ying County, Shanxi Province. Most of them were engraved in Beijing. The earliest one was the "Yang Family Seal in front of Yangshan Temple in Yanjing" in the eighth year of Emperor Tonghe's reign in Liao Dynasty (AD 990). There is a volume of "Tu Sheng Jing Shu Ke Wen" made", and the latest one is the "Bodhisattva Ordination Altar Slips" engraved in the Tianqing year (1111-1121 AD). Other books include the Khitan Collection and 47 scriptures engraved in the Liao Dynasty, 8 books engraved in the Liao Dynasty, and 6 colorful Buddha statues, which were carved between 990 and 1121 AD. From the inscriptions on these printed matter, we also know a number of engraving units in Nanjing, Liao Dynasty (today's Beijing), including "Yang Family in front of Yangshan Temple in Yanjing", "Feng Family Living on the South Side of Xianzhong Square, Tanzhou Street in Yanjing", "Fuhui got married downstairs in Dawutian Temple", "Yanjing Minzhong Temple", "Yanjing Shengshou Temple", etc. It can be seen from this that the printing industry in Beijing was very prosperous in the Liao Dynasty.
The earliest engraved books in the Northern Song Dynasty were "Shangshu" and "Classic Interpretations" in the fifth year of Kaibao (972 AD). "Kaibao" was engraved from the fourth day of Kaibao (971 AD) to Taiping The eighth year of the Xingguo reign (983 AD). The earliest books printed in Beijing were only 18 years later than the Northern Song Dynasty. This shows that the history of publishing and printing in Beijing is also very long.