Seals existed in the pre-Qin period, generally only a few words, indicating names, official positions or institutions. All seals are engraved and reflected, and there is a difference between yin and yang. Before paper appeared, official documents or letters were written on bamboo slips. After writing, tie it with a rope, put sticky mud on the ligation place to seal the knot, and cover the seal on the mud, which is called mud seal. Mud seal was printed on mud, which was a secret means at that time. After the appearance of paper, mud seal evolved into paper seal, which was covered at the joint of several official documents or the sealing of official documents paper bags. According to records, during the Northern Qi Dynasty (550~577 AD), someone made a big seal for stamping official documents, much like a small engraving.
Printed in 1 and the Warring States Period (475 BC-22 BC1year).
2. Ge Hong, a famous alchemist in Jin Dynasty (AD 284-363), mentioned in his book Bao Puzi that Taoism used to be four inches square (13.5× 13.5) and had a big wooden seal 120. This is already a small block.
3. In order to make Buddhist scriptures more vivid, Buddhists often print Buddha statues on the frontispiece of Buddhist scriptures, which is much more convenient than hand painting.
4. Inscription technology is very enlightening to the invention of engraving printing technology. The invention of stone carving has a long history. Ten-sided stone drums were discovered in Fengxiang, Shaanxi Province in the early Tang Dynasty. They are the stone carvings of Qin in the Spring and Autumn Period of the 8th century BC. Qin Shihuang went on patrol and carved stones in important places seven times. After the Eastern Han Dynasty, stone tablets prevailed. In the fourth year of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty (AD 175), Cai Yong suggested that the imperial court set up seven Confucian classic stone tablets, including The Book of Songs, Shangshu, Zhouyi, Book of Rites, Spring and Autumn Annals, Biography of the Ram and The Analects of Confucius, with 209,000 words, which were engraved on 46 stone tablets. It took eight years to carve it all. Become a classic of scholars at that time. Many people compete to copy. Later, especially during the Wei, Jin and Six Dynasties, some people took advantage of being unprepared or unattended to print the scriptures on paper for their own use or sale. The results were widely circulated.
5. Rubbing is one of the important conditions for the production of printing technology. The ancients found that a slightly wet piece of paper was covered on the stone tablet and tapped with a soft mallet to make the paper fall into the concave part of the stone tablet. When the paper is dry, it is wrapped in cotton, dipped in ink, and tapped lightly on the paper, leaving the same black and white characters on the paper as the stone tablet. This method is simpler and more reliable than manual copying. So rubbing appeared.
6. Printing and dyeing technology also has great enlightenment to block printing. Printing and dyeing is to engrave the pattern on the board and print it on the cloth with dye. China's printing plates are divided into relief and hollowed-out versions. 1972 two pieces of printed yarn (about 165 BC) unearthed from the Han tomb at Mawangdui No.1 in Changsha, Hunan Province were printed by block printing. This technology may be earlier than Qin and Han Dynasties, but it can be traced back to the Warring States Period. After the invention of paper, this technology may be used in printing. As long as the cloth is turned into paper and the dye is turned into ink, the printed thing becomes block printing. In the stone chambers of Dunhuang, there are Buddha statues printed with convex plates and hollow plates in the Tang Dynasty.
7. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties (around the 7th century), block printing appeared. Early printing activities were mainly carried out among the people, mostly used to print Buddha statues, Buddhist scriptures, vows and almanac. In the early years of the Tang Dynasty, Xuanzang printed the image of Pu Xian on the back paper and gave it to monks and nuns.
8. During the Northern Song Dynasty (about 1 1 century), Bi Sheng invented movable type printing, which was a revolution in the printing industry and had a far-reaching impact on the cultural development of China, Europe and even the world. Especially after it was introduced into Europe, it effectively promoted its Renaissance and religious reform.