The development of printing:
In China, around the Jin Dynasty in the 3rd century AD, with the emergence of paper and ink, seals also became popular.
In the 4th century, Taoists enlarged the seal to print spells with slightly more text. This is actually a method of printing text in the form of a stamp.
At the same time, rubbings on stone tablets are also developing. They combine seals and rubbings, then expand the seal into a layout, dip it in ink, imitate the rubbing, and spread the paper to the block for printing. That is woodblock printing.
Considering that there must have been a long period of development from the invention to the perfect application of woodblock printing, from its popularity among the people to the attention and records of the ruling class and intellectual class, experts believe that woodblock printing The birth of printing was probably in the early years of the Tang Dynasty in the early 7th century AD. This is the earliest printing technology in the world.
Setting color printing is the earliest color printing in the world. It is a complex, high-precision printing technology developed on the basis of woodblock printing.
It uses the color separation method to overprint multiple colors on one piece of paper. The specific operating procedure is: according to the color of the original manuscript, it is carved into plates of the same specifications, and then printed one by one according to the order of color. The specifications and dimensions of the plate must be accurately fixed in the appropriate position to ensure that there is no movement at all during the printing process.
In the absence of precision measuring tools and fixtures in ancient times, it was necessary to rely on skilled craftsmanship to complete the work. The printed finished product was called an overprint. In the early days of the invention of overprinting, it was generally only possible to print overprints in two colors: red and ink, which were called red and ink copies, or double printing. Later, as the technology became more and more perfect, it developed into overprinting with four or five colors, called four-color books, five-color books, etc.
Setting color printing was born in my country, but there is still no clear conclusion as to when it was invented. According to historical records, during the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), copperplate printing of "Jiaozi" in three colors of green, blue and red appeared, but no actual object has been found. It seems that the invention of registration color printing technology was no later than this, and the exact age has yet to be discovered and studied by archaeologists.
Most of the process color prints that can be seen today date from the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. This period was the development period of process color printing in our country, and many of the printed materials are extremely exquisite. By the Qing Dynasty, the technology of four-color overprinting, five-color overprinting and even more multi-color overprinting had matured and reached a new level.
Movable type printing: In movable type printing, the production technology of movable type is the key. Ancient Chinese people made many attempts using clay, wood, copper, tin, lead and other raw materials, and some of them were successful. The basic principle of clay movable type printing invented by Bi Sheng is similar to the modern typesetting and printing.
He used clay to make individual pieces of movable type, hardened them with fire, and placed them on a framed iron plate covered with soil mixed with rosin, wax and paper ash. He heated it with fire until the soil was mixed. Once melted, flatten it with a flat plate. Similar to iron plates, multiple sets can be prepared, one for printing and one for typesetting, to increase the printing speed.
Multiple sets of movable type are usually fired, and there are often dozens of commonly used characters to ensure that there is no shortage of characters. The words Sheng, Cold and Rare are easy to use and burn, which is extremely convenient. Bi Sheng not only invented clay movable type, but also printed books using this method.
After Bi Sheng invented movable type printing, many movable types made of other materials appeared in China, including wood movable type, tin movable type, copper movable type, lead movable type, etc. But only wooden movable type has been handed down. As for the introduction of modern Western lead movable type printing.
Extended information:
In order to promote exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, strengthen inter-library exchanges and cooperation, and promote the contribution of China’s printing invention to promoting the process of world civilization, the delegation from the China Printing Museum was invited to participate Participated in the series of activities of the Zhizhi Cultural Tourism Festival held in South Korea.
At the seminar on the protection and dissemination of printing culture held on October 2, more than 40 printing museums and related institutions around the world, including the China Printing Museum, focused on the issue of the future development direction of printing culture. Discussions and exchanges were held.
At the seminar, 8 representatives from 6 countries gave keynote speeches.
For example, "Yi's Letters, Printing and Paper in Early Joseon" by scholars from the Korean Language Museum in South Korea, and "Printing and Knowledge Development in Egypt and the Arab World in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries" by scholars from the Library of Alexandria in Egypt. "Some Thoughts on Printing: Who Prints?" by a scholar from the Klingsboer Museum in Germany. What is printing? Why Print”.
"Korea's Efforts to Promote and Preserve Print Culture" by scholars from the National Museum of Science and Technology of Korea, etc. Li Ying, a researcher at the China Printing Museum, delivered an English speech "Printing Enlightens World Civilization". In his speech, Li Ying elaborated on the invention and development of Chinese printing. “Technical inventions, mainly paper and ink, engraving, and movable type, have greatly promoted the process of human civilization.
The invention of Chinese printing , led and inspired the development of printing in other parts of the world, and played a huge role in promoting the unity of human destiny." At the same time, Li Ying pondered the modern significance of ancient civilizations. Li Ying said: “In the hometown of printing, institutions and individuals represented by the China Printing Museum are working hard to promote the exchange and development of printing culture.
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It is understood that under the guiding ideology of “specialization + popularization” and “knowledge + interest”, the China Printing Museum has brought excellent printing culture into campuses, military camps and communities, and has made great achievements in society. It has received good response. The "Light of Chinese Printing" tour organized by the museum has been exhibited in more than 20 countries and regions including the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
In addition, the China Printing Museum is planning to establish. "World Printing Culture" magazine established a typography-related research group to build a printing cultural heritage protection laboratory. In June this year, 16 domestic printing museum-related units jointly established the "National Printing Museum Exhibition Alliance" led by the China Printing Museum.
People's Daily Online-The development of Chinese printing has world significance