Social Environment and Printing Technology Development in Ancient Times 1

The "Ancient Chapter" describes the printing period from the beginning of the promotion and application of printing technology to the printing history of Western modern printing. It began in the early Tang Dynasty in the 7th century AD until the end of the late Qing Dynasty in the 19th century. About 1,200 years. The 200-thousand-year-old era was the era in which the Chinese nation created brilliant prints, and thus it was also a historical period in which China made significant contributions to all mankind. In this historical period, the long-term rule of the feudal dynasty and the traditional culture of the Chinese nation not only promoted and promoted the development and prosperity of printing and its business, accelerated the progress of human society, and made remarkable achievements in world civilization and progress. Contributions; because of its heavy weight and light books, banned books, written prisons, and other shortcomings, restricting and hindering the further development of printing to mechanization, resulting in the West to come from behind. This is something that today's printing colleagues need to seriously reflect on and summarize.

Section 1 Promotion and Restriction of Social and Cultural Environment

I. Promotion of Sustainable Development of Social Culture

In ancient China, after the turmoil of the Han, the Three Kingdoms, the Wei, Jin, and the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it was destroyed by the Sui Dynasty in 589 AD, and the Sui Dynasty was unified between North and South. By 618 AD, it began with the Tang Dynasty and ended in the late Qing Dynasty. The historical period of more than a thousand years of sustained social and cultural development. Although the Tang, the Five Dynasties, the Song Dynasty (including the Liao and Jin Xia and Mongolia in the same period with the Song Dynasty), Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, but overall, China's time is mainly in the national unity situation. Historical experience has proven that the country is unified and the cultural undertaking can develop, and science and technology can advance. With the promotion of socio-cultural sustainable development, printing has achieved sustained and stable development and prosperity. To sum up, the factors that promote the continuous development of printing and printing are mainly in the following aspects:

1. The establishment of the imperial examination system and the development of education

In the history of China, the Tang Dynasty was one of the most powerful dynasties. The “rule of zhenuan” initiated by Tang Taizong, who knows people for his dedication and courage, has made China’s society stable, economically prosperous, and martial arts martial arts unparalleled. In particular, the implementation of the imperial examination system based on scholarship and poetry has greatly promoted the development of cultural education. China has been placed in a state-of-the-art peace and safety environment in the history of the country. Printing has therefore entered its initial period of promotion and application.

Although the Five Dynasties were short, Liang, Tang, Jin, Han, and the Five Dynasties, following Tang's legacy, did not do any major damage to the cultural undertaking. Instead, it completed the first time in the history of China for a period of 22 years. Engraving Works: Feng Dao's The Nine Classics. Objectively, this is related to the four-dimension patriarch Feng Dao Feng Dao who was engaged in this undertaking. Five generations of Jingwei (now Xiangguozhuang of Ganzhou) were from Yu Yu's hometown, more than 20 years ago. The former trustee visited and said this village has no surnamed Feng. There is no Feng Dao Cun ◆ legacy. Or because of Feng Ding’s calendar, the Four Dynasties and Ten Monarchs despised later generations and his descendants moved away from this place. However, Feng Dao’s “The Nine Scriptures” was the first large-scale engraving project in Chinese history. Contributions have been made. It does not matter. The replacement of the dynasties, the imitation of the Nine Scriptures, made it possible to complete this project and laid a good foundation for the arrival of the Golden Age of the Song Dynasty engraving and printing.

The Song dynasty emphasized the importance of the military, and the cultural and educational undertakings had a greater development. It not only inherited the Imperial Examination System since the Tang Dynasty, but it also inspired the children of the middle and lower classes to intensify their studies in order to obtain aspirations, and thus promoted the further development of education. In addition, the emperor and all levels of officials attach great importance to the country’s central to local areas, Taixue, law, ancestral, martial, Daoist, mathematics, state, county, military, and county studies, as well as private schools run by private wealthy families. , everywhere. This will undoubtedly greatly increase the demand for books, and the printing industry will also rapidly develop and prosper. Several statistics eloquently prove the close relationship and mutual promotion between the imperial examination system and the educational undertakings as well as the publishing and printing industry. In the Song Dynasty, all areas that passed the imperial examinations were the most advanced in the region and must have been well-developed local educational undertakings. Publishing in the more prosperous areas of the printing industry. According to statistics, in the Song Dynasty, Zhejiang and Zhejiang (now Zhejiang), Fujian, Chengdu (present-day Sichuan), Jiangnanxi (present-day Jiangxi), and Jiangnandong (present-day Jiangsu), etc. were examined in a total of 24,172. Names, accounting for 88% of the total number of 28,926 cadets in the national examinations; and in the same period, 1,168 kinds of books were printed in these five regions, accounting for the total number of printed books in the country. Number three hundred and three hundred percent. See Qian Cunxun, Paper and Printing, p. 339, Science, Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 1990. Such figures and realities will inevitably have a positive impact on several generations later and become the driving force behind the continued development of China’s education and printing industry.

The three generations of the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties - although the Yuan and Qing dynasties were relatively backward northern minority regimes - all adopted the Imperial Examination System of the Tang and Song Dynasties. The educational undertakings are still maintained or developed, and the official and private institutions serving the educational undertakings are established. And the widespread demand for textbooks and related reading materials has contributed to the continued development of the publishing and printing industry. Since the Tang and Qing Dynasties, the implementation and improvement of the imperial examination system for more than a thousand years and the development of educational undertakings have been the main factors for the continued development of the printing and printing industry.

2. Development and Popularization of Buddhism-based Religious Causes

Since the Tang dynasty and the Qing dynasty, almost the governments of the dynasties have been advocating Buddhism, and they have been pursuing religious affiliations. This has led to the continued development and popularization of religion-based religions. The existing Tang Dynasty early prints were mostly from the hands of Buddhists, and large-scale printing projects in history, such as the Song Dynasty's "Opening Treasures," "Fuzhou Dongzenji Temple," "Piluo," "Sixi Tibet," and "Chu. Sand and Tibetan Taoist "Wanshou Road", Liao Dynasty "Liao Tibetan", Jin Dynasty's "Zhaochengzang", Yuan Dynasty "Puning Tibetan", "Mongolian Culture Collection", "Xiaxiawen Collection", " Tibetan Collection, Ming Dynasty's "Southern Tibet", "Northern Tibet", "Wulin Tibetan Collection", "Jiaxing Tibetan Collection", "Fanzang" and Taoism's "Orthodox Taoism", Qing Dynasty's "Dragon Hide" and " There are numerous religious classics that are voluminous and numerous, as well as numerous other religious books that have been engraved by the Manchu Collection, Tibetan Collection, etc., and have remained uninterrupted for more than a thousand years. Undoubtedly, it will give a huge boost to the development of printing and printing.

3. Long-term implementation of ruling the country with Confucianism

Ancient China was under the rule of the feudal dynasty for a long time, and all the feudal dynasties used Confucianism as the basis for ruling the country. In particular, since the Han Wudi dismissed 100 and worshiped Confucianism alone, the Confucian theory initiated by Confucius gradually became the mainstream of feudal society and culture in China. Historically, although the dynasties have continued to change, the path of ruling the country with Confucianism has remained unchanged, and it has gradually formed a unique Chinese cultural tradition for thousands of years. In order to adapt to the needs of feudal rulers in various historical periods, Confucianism has continually produced a variety of timely Confucianism from Confucius doctrine, which has been welcomed and adopted by successive rulers. Caused Confucianism to rule Chinese academic thought for more than two thousand years. The Confucian doctrine was used by the feudal dynasty and became the highest dogma to rule academic thoughts, and then become the ruler of the country and the people. The self-contained Confucian scriptures and various related works were long-term and mass-printed. In the three generations of the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, schools were set up in government offices, offices, states, and counties for students to read. The Confucian classics, such as the Five Classics and the Four Books, became teaching materials for schools. Furthermore, Confucianism has always been respected during the dynasties and is bound to become the continuation of traditional Chinese culture and the driving force for the development of the printing industry. It is the flourishing of Confucianism that has given impetus to schools and academies that have been established everywhere. It cultivates talents for the imperial examinations, and the imperial examinations are based on Confucianism and thought. Complement each other and complement each other. The imperial examinations, school teaching, and Confucian masterpieces all rely on printing. All these greatly increase the value and status of the publishing and printing industry in the eyes of the rulers of the dynasties.

4. The importance of past rulers to publishing and printing

Printing began to be applied in the Tang Dynasty, and it was due to the Buddhists' need to copy Buddhist sutras in large numbers. With the further development of printing, besides the duplication of Buddhist scriptures, it was also due to the imprint of Confucian classics and the implementation of the imperial examination system. The development of education. All of these, in turn, depend on the attention and support of the rulers of the past. During the period of the Five Dynasties, during the period of the Five Dynasties, the four dynasties, Feng Dao, under the support of the emperors, opened the large-scale engravings of the Confucian classic “The Nine Classics”, which was the forerunner of the ancient government's engraved books; and the performance of Zeng Zhao-Yi became the typical example of Confucianism propagating and imprinting the books. The pioneers of the later generations. Feng Dao and Yan Zhao-Dai were all government officials at the time and they were all supported and encouraged by the highest rulers. In the Song Dynasty, soon after Song Zhaozu established his country, he commissioned Gao Pin and Zhang Congxin to open up more than 5,000 volumes of "Opening Treasures." After Song Taizu, Song Taizong ordered Li and his colleagues to open three major books such as "Taiping", "Tai Ping Guang Ji" and "Wen Yuan Ying Hua", and after Song Taizong wrote "Tai Ping Editing", He personally edited three volumes in Xiuwen Dian and finished reading it one year later, so he was renamed Tai Ping Yu Lan. Later, Song Zhenzong ordered Wang Chin-ruo and Yang Yi to build a 1,000-piece volume of the “Management Yuan Turtle” and write it in his own hand. Only a few of these cases have seen emperors attach importance to publishing and printing. Up and down the effect, the emperor's practice, will inevitably lead to the emperor's emperor and even civilians to emulate and form a good book of the Song style reading and writing. The printing industry has also rapidly developed. Since then, the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties have all inherited the spirit of the Song Dynasty to varying degrees, and they attach great importance to the cultural undertakings centered on publishing and printing books. This attention from the rulers has become an important factor in the continued development of the Chinese printing industry.

Second, the history of burning books, banned books and writing prison

Burning books, banned books, and written prisons are common tactics used by ancient Chinese feudal dynasties to control people's thinking and maintain dictatorial rule. As early as in the pre-Qin period of more than 2,000 years ago, it has begun its own end, and subsequent dynasties have occurred from time to time.

1. Incitement book

Mentioned the burning of books, people naturally think of Qin Shihuang's book-burning Confucianism. As a matter of fact, the Qin Shi Huang was not the earliest and even more unique. As a measure to imprison people's thinking and maintain dictatorial rule, feudal dynasties have occurred for many generations.

For an example, see Li Xingcai's "Ancient Book Burning and Printed Material Certificate", 1997 "China Printing Technology Annual Report." as follows:

During the pre-Qin period, Shangluo was a reform of the Qin dynasty. It had "educated Qin Xiaogong...a poetry book, a decree of Ming Dynasty." Han Feizi also said: "Therefore, the kingdom of the Lord is no written form, and the teaching is based on law. There is no pretext of the king and the teacher is the teacher."

The Qin Dynasty prime minister Li Si proposed to Qin Shihuang: "Non-Qin dynasty, both burnt, non-doctoral officers, and the world dare to have Tibetan poetry and idioms. A large number of books and records were destroyed.

In the Han dynasty, the Han dynasty became a sea of ​​fire and burned more than 30,000 volumes of books; in the last year of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Dong Zhuo chaos, and burned numerous books in the capital Luoyang.

Jin Huai Di Yongjia for five years (311 years), the former Zhao Xiao Liu,