Chapter 254

Li forgot that books in the early Tang Dynasty were still hand copied.

Woodblock printing did appear in the Tang Dynasty, but now it is only two years in Zhenguan. Where is there any woodblock printing.

Li forgets to worry about remembering that the earliest record of using block printing is that after the death of empress Chang sun, Li Er ordered someone to use block printing to print the nvze written by Empress Chang sun.

But that was ten years after Zhenguan.

There are many poor scholars in the Tang Dynasty who earn a meager income to support their families by helping people copy books. Because of this, the dissemination of books is quite difficult.

The great political power and influence of aristocratic families is also related to the rarity of books.

Books represent knowledge, and the aristocratic family that monopolizes knowledge can naturally get many benefits from it.

The reason why aristocratic families disappeared in the long river of history at the end of the Tang Dynasty is not only related to the prosperity of the imperial examination and the large-scale slaughter of aristocratic families by the Huangchao uprising, but also because books became cheaper and cheaper with the development of printing.

The large-scale dissemination of knowledge has made the aristocratic family lose its monopoly position.

Nowadays, those bookstores in the Tang Dynasty should actually be called copy bookstores.

The owner employs poor scholars to copy books for sale. The price of these manually copied books is very expensive.

Of course, there was also printing, but at that time, printing mainly referred to rubbing, that is, carving steles with stones and then rubbing.

It is precisely because printing is not yet popular, so at this time in the Tang Dynasty, there are no bound books, but popular scrolls. Reading is like reading pictures, which needs to be carried out slowly.

Every time Li forgets to worry about watching TV in later generations, such as Guan Yu in the Three Kingdoms reading a book with a thread bound version, he can't help but want to spit at the director.

Did you cross the past, too? Where did the thread bound books come from during the Three Kingdoms period?

Before the invention of papermaking in the Han Dynasty, bamboo slips went hand in hand with books and silk; From the Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, there are scroll books. After the invention of block printing in the Tang Dynasty, thread bound books began to appear, that is, the book style used by later generations.

Niu Wu went to Huxian's bookstore and naturally returned in vain.

In this regard, Li forget worry is also painful. This is forcing him to make inventions again. However, in any case, the emergence of block printing is only a few years ago, and I just slightly advanced the historical process.

Li forget worry can only go to the county bookstore with Niu Wu again.

The owner of Huxian bookstore, surnamed sun, is in his fifties. Although he is a merchant, he is also a scholar. Seeing the Huxian Baron's personal visit, he immediately welcomed him out.

"Old man, see the transfer County man."

"You're welcome, Master Sun. I'm here to ask for help. I hope master sun can help me."

Master Sun Fang smiled bitterly: "Huxian man, your family's episode has made it clear to Laodie, but it's impossible to copy 10000 manuscripts in one day. Laodie is really powerless."

Li Qieyou didn't answer in a hurry, but smiled and asked, "Master Sun Fang, are there any craftsmen who can seal cutting here?"

The master of sun Fang was stunned when he heard the speech, nodded and replied, "of course, there are. Do men in Huxian county need to seal or engrave steles? We can do it in our bookstore. Old man, there are several old craftsmen here who have very good skills and are absolutely not inferior to the seal cutting craftsmen in Chang'an city."

"That's good. Is there a wooden board here? It doesn't need to be too big. It's almost as big as my manuscript. You can urinate or urinate." Li forgets to worry about raising the manuscript in his hand and continues to ask.

His problem confused Master Sun Fang, but he could only cooperate.

"Of course, there are. Huxian man, please wait a moment, and I'll let someone pick it up immediately."

Not long ago, a good boxwood board was taken.

Li Qieyou picked it up, looked at it, nodded with satisfaction, and said to Master Sun Fang, "Master Sun Fang, please bring some paste."

The unknown leader of sun Fang can only do it, but he is more and more confused. What is the Huxian Baron going to do?

Li forgot to worry but did not explain. He took the paste, carefully brushed a thin layer on the boxwood board, and then carefully pasted his manuscript on it.

The rice paper is very thin, and the ink can be clearly soaked into the back of the paper. After being pasted on the board, the handwriting is still clear.

When the paste was dry, Li forgot to worry and smiled and handed the board to Master Sun Fang.

"Master Sun, please find a skilled craftsman. Now help me carve this board. The words on it need to be engraved."

Yang engraved, is the font prominent; The negative engraving is the depression of the font. When printing, the male is engraved in black and white, while the female is engraved in black and white.

Master Sun Fang seems to have figured out some flavor at the moment. When he wants to understand why Li forgetful worries carved this board, his beard is about to curl up.

"Huxian man, this, this is what can be used for rubbing ah! The Taoist ancestor is on the top. Why did I never think of such a simple and convenient way! Huxian man, wait a minute. I'll find the best craftsman in the bookstore and seal it for you immediately!"

In fact, engraving printing is not complicated, but a combination of Chinese seals and rubbing.

Whether it is seal cutting or rubbing technology, in fact, China has had it since the pre-Qin period, but no one thought that if the seal is enlarged, it can be used to print books.

Sometimes, the development of technology is like window paper, which can be broken with a gentle poke.

Master Sun did not boast. The craftsmen in his bookstore carved the boxwood board in only one hour, with clear fonts and vigorous strokes.

At this stage, without Li forgetting to worry, Master Sun immediately asked the craftsmen in the bookstore to prepare the ink and tools for rubbing.

Use a roller to evenly smear the ink on the engraving plate, then cover the paper on it, gently brush the paper with a brush, and then remove it.

A manuscript written as like as two peas before Lee forgot to worry, the identical leaflet was printed.

Master Sun Fang was not in a hurry to dry the ink in the shade, so he grabbed the printed product and looked at it carefully.

He was so excited that his hands could not help shaking: "this is it? It's really so simple? Taoist ancestors, it's going to be used to print books. How convenient it will be."

Now a scroll of the Analects of Confucius, because it needs to be copied manually, the cost of fountain pen is high, not to mention, the speed is also quite slow.

The Analects of Confucius has 20 chapters with a total of more than 15900 words. Even the most skilled scribe needs a whole day.

Just now he asked the craftsmen in the bookstore to try and print with this engraving, which is not only beautiful and clear, but also a craftsman can print thousands of finished products with engraving in a day.

Although a woodblock can only print part of a book, it can carve many woodblocks and print them at the same time.

In other words, if necessary, his bookstore can print thousands of Analects of Confucius in one day, and the price may be only one tenth of that of handwritten books, or even less.

After a simple calculation, sun Fang almost fainted.

Happiness comes so suddenly