Before the printing of paper, the ancients faced many difficulties in the process of reading. Due to the lack of modern materials and equipment, they had to resort to some primitive methods to preserve and disseminate knowledge. The following will describe in detail the hardships of the ancients in reading books before the papermaking and printing industry.
In ancient times, people usually used materials such as bamboo slips and wooden slips to record words, which were not only bulky but also expensive. As the main writing materials, bamboo slips and wooden slips are tedious and time-consuming to make. First of all, you need to select a suitable piece of bamboo or wood, and then carry out shaving, sanding and other treatments to make it smooth and smooth.
Next, use a special pen and ink to write. Due to the limited surface area of bamboo slips and wooden slips, the writing needs to be carefully laid out and the font should be kept as small as possible to save space. Completing a long essay often requires hundreds or even thousands of pieces of bamboo slips or wooden slips, which is undoubtedly a huge burden for ordinary people.
People mainly relied on hand-copying to preserve and disseminate knowledge. They need to pick the right paper, usually made of rags, bark, etc., and then use ink to write. Because these papers are fragile and available in limited quantities, they must be used carefully to avoid damage. In addition, the process of copying by hand was prone to errors, so the ancients had to check carefully to ensure that the content of the copy was consistent with the original text.
In addition to hand-copying, the ancients also used engraving and printing to disseminate knowledge. This method is more efficient than handcopying, but it also requires a lot of effort. Engraving requires the stencil to be made, then the text or pattern on the stencil is transferred to other materials, and finally printed. In this process, the accuracy and clarity of engraving are limited, and it takes a lot of time and effort to make the stencil.
In addition to the above two methods, the ancients also used methods such as wax printing and clay printing. Wax printing requires the text or pattern to be written on the wax plate before printing. This method is more efficient than hand-copying and engraving, but there are still some limitations. Clay printing is the process of engraving words or patterns on a clay tablet and then printing. This method is mainly suitable for some simple printing tasks, but it is difficult for complex printing materials.
In general, before the paper-making and printing press, the reading process of the ancients was full of hardships and challenges. They need to employ a variety of primitive methods to preserve and disseminate knowledge, which are limited in efficiency and precision. In this case, people who were able to read and write often had extremely high social status and value, so reading also became an aristocratic activity. Only those who were wealthy and powerful could hire scribes or buy books, while ordinary people had little access to books and cultural knowledge.
However, despite the many difficulties and challenges, the ancients remained unrelenting in their pursuit of knowledge. Their wisdom and creativity have provided valuable inspiration for us modern people: in the face of difficulties, we should persevere in the pursuit of progress and innovation;In the ocean of knowledge, we should cherish and continue to carry forward those excellent cultural heritages;In the long river of history, we should continue to explore and learn to create a better tomorrow for the future of mankind.