The woodblock printing technology of the Song Dynasty has reached maturity. Both writing and engraving are quite exquisite, forming distinctive characteristics of the times and being highly praised and imitated by future generations.
1. Format
From the format point of view, most of the Northern Song Dynasty engravings were white-mouthed, with double columns on the left and right or double columns on all sides. There were also some early engravings with single columns on all sides. In the middle of the Southern Song Dynasty, black mouth became popular, mostly in Jianben. The title of the book, volume number, page number and engraver's name are often marked on the center of the plate, and some also indicate the number of words. The official-blocked version usually has the name of the compiler engraved at the end of the volume, while the workshop-blocked version often has bookmarks and tablets.
Many of the Song Dynasty engravings handed down from ancient times pay attention to the large and pleasing characters and clear lines, such as "Commentary on Zhouyi", "Commentary on Shangshu Zhengyi", "Commentary on Zhou Rites", "Commentary on Rites" inscribed by the tea and salt department of Liangzhe East Road in the Southern Song Dynasty. "Recording Zhengyi" and Shaoxing Prefecture's "Chun Qiu Zuo Zhuan Zhengyi" are all limited to eight lines. There are also some Song engraved editions with dense lines. Jiang Biao, a native of the Qing Dynasty, wrote the "Song and Yuan Dynasty Line Table", which can be used as a reference for identification.
2. Calligraphy fonts
Artificial calligraphy in the Song Dynasty admired the fonts of Ouyang Xun, Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan. This trend also affected the engraving industry. In the early Northern Song Dynasty, the European style was popular, and in the later period, Yan style and Liu style were gradually replaced. However, there were differences in calligraphy in different regions. The Sichuan version has mostly Yan style, with wide frames and plump fonts. The Jian version has mostly willow style, with strong strokes and characters as hard as bones. The Zhejiang version has mostly European style, which is slender and elegant, with slightly thinner fonts. The Jiangxi version has both willow style and European style. Xie Zhao, a man of the Ming Dynasty, once said: "In Song Dynasty, there were two types of fat and thin. The fat ones imitated the appearance, and the thin ones imitated the Europeans." This is the experience of the predecessors.
3. Paper
Papermaking technology was relatively developed in the Song Dynasty. There were many types of printing paper, including bamboo paper and leather paper. Bamboo paper was mostly used for building books, and it was yellow and thin. , will turn black over time; Zhejiang and Sichuan mostly use leather paper, which is paper made from mulberry bark and mulberry bark. It is white and thick, with smooth both sides. In addition, many places also use hemp paper to print books. Some of the printed editions in the Song Dynasty were printed on the back of official paper, as recorded in Huang Pilie's "Lingpu Inscriptions and Postscripts", "Beishan Xiaoji" was printed from the records of the sixth year of Qiandao, and "Luchuan Ci" was printed from grain collection records. This kind of "paper official document" is less circulated, but easier to identify.