Wenbo Time and Space Author: Wang TongChina has always advocated rejuvenating the country with literature, carrying the Tao with literature, spreading voice with literature, and transforming people with culture. In ancient times, with inconvenient transportation, how could a document be widely disseminated? How can the vast classics of civilization be passed down for thousands of years? How did scholars circulate scientific research materials? Manual transcription is time-consuming and labor-intensive. The wise ancients invented "engraving printing", which is known as "living fossils", is one of the four great inventions of ancient China, which began in the Tang Dynasty and flourished in the Song and Yuan dynasties, and has a history of about 1,300 years.
Woodcut engraving printing generally uses fine and solid wood, such as jujube wood, pear wood, etc., so there is an idiom".Pay for pear dates", which is used to refer to the engraving of a book. A book of pear dates can be turned into thousands.
From October 31, 2023, the Southeast Chonglou and Chaofang Engraving Hall in the Taihe Gate of the Palace Museum will be officially opened to the public to launch the "Auspicious Light and Feathers - Qing Dynasty Court Engraving Cultural Relics Exhibition from the Palace Museum", focusing on 32 pieces (sets) of representative engraving cultural relics, from the three aspects of national politics, culture and education, and skills, showing the charm of court woodcut engraving and printing art.
Diagram of the basic steps of woodblock engraving.
Legislative customization is clearly indicated by the government and the opposition
In 1636, Huang Taiji (1592-1643) proclaimed himself emperor and changed the name of the country to the Great Qing Dynasty. The Qing army entered the customs, the dynasty changed, and everything was in ruins. The imperial court needed to issue new decrees and promote decrees to better manage it. Relying only on transcription and transcription is time-consuming, and it is easy to make mistakes and omissions; The use of engraving printing not only gets twice the result with half the effort, but also is standardized and rigorous. Engraving printing plays an important role in rectifying the dynasty and stabilizing national politics.
The regent Dolgon's edict to the kings and ministers "Engraving Engraving in the first year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1644).
Decree of the regent Dolgon to the kings and ministers" *Atlas of Qing History
According to the records of the Qing Dynasty, the first year of Shunzhi (1644) was engraved in May of the first year of Shunzhi (1644): "The regent and Prince Shuorui sent an edict to the kings and ministers: "Today, the lotus is blessed, and the Central Plains is determined." It is advisable to be loyal and always rich. There are those who are greedy and disorderly, and who commit crimes on their own, although they have merit and do not mention it, they do not have to live for a while, and they will lose their children and grandchildren for a long time." The gist of the content is as follows: The regent Dolgon warned the princes and ministers that at this critical moment of advancing into the Central Plains, you should do your duty, and not be corrupt for the sake of temporary gain, and those who violate it will be severely punished. The words were full of warnings, and they were very majestic. As a proof of the edict and decree, the "decree" is also overprinted with a dragon border around it to show the royal dignity.
Aixin Jueluo Dolgon (1612-1650), the younger brother of Huang Taiji, once accompanied Huang Taiji to conquer many places. In the eighth year of Chongde (1643), Emperor Taiji died, and Dolgon installed the young Fulin (1638-1661) as emperor and Dolgon as regent. Empress Xiaozhuang Wen and the young emperor were not enough to deter the government and the opposition, and Dolgon, as his uncle, stepped forward to assist in the formulation of various systems, including the "Great Qing Law", to maintain and consolidate the ruling position of the Qing Dynasty.
This rare engraving of the "Decree" is not only the document base plate used by Dolgon to deter the government and the opposition, but also provides historical materials for future generations to study the history of the Qing Dynasty. The display of engraving and printed matter corroborates each other, indicating that the Qing Dynasty was engaged in printing activities in the early days.
King James Sect House Rules" engraving Qing Neifu engraving.
King James Statutes of the Sect of the People's Palace" scroll carved version.
King James Statutes of the Sect of the People's Palace" inscription engraving.
The Rules of the King James Sect
The Statutes of the King James Sect "Book Clothes.
Zongrenfu was established in the Ming Dynasty, originally named Dazong Zhengyuan, and later renamed Zongrenfu. After Yongle in the Ming Dynasty, the Zongren Mansion was in charge of the affairs of the Emperor (meritorious relatives of the emperor), and gradually existed in name only. After the establishment of the Qing Dynasty, the Zongren Mansion was used as an institution to manage the affairs of the royal clan. He was in charge of the clan roster of the emperor's nine clans, compiled jade on time, and recorded the descendants of the clan, their names, titles, birth and death times, marriages, nicknames, burials, etc.
With the change of dynasty, the institution can continue to be used, but the supporting laws and management systems need to be discussed again. The engraving of the Rules of the Imperial Palace, the engraving of the Rules of the Imperial Palace, and the engraving of the Current Rules in the Imperial Palace, are the base plates of a normative legal document formulated by the Qing Dynasty. "Rules" is the name of ancient Chinese law, which means standards and regulations. In the Qing Dynasty, the "Rules" was a charter compiled by each administrative department for the exercise of specific powers, listing the rules, processes, cases, and terms that the department was responsible for handling various matters. The use of block printing in the Code can greatly ensure that the font, content and even decoration are kept neat and uniform, and avoid anomie under the highly standardized document management.
The current rules in the palace of the King James Decree are engraved.
The Rules in Force in the King James Palace
In layman's terms, the Zongren Mansion is responsible for the affairs of all members of the royal family, while the Internal Affairs Office is mainly responsible for serving the affairs of the imperial court. This "Current Rules in the Imperial Palace" was compiled by the Qing Dynasty Internal Affairs Office, which is a standardized document for the management of internal court affairs, mainly focusing on the two major groups of harem and eunuchs, and has specific descriptions in handling rewards, daily use, etiquette, duties, and punishments.
Books have been lost over time, wars or accidents, such as palace fires, and many paper books that record important historical events and bear the imprint of civilization have unfortunately been lost. Fortunately, there are engravings, although there is little damage, and the protection and inheritance of these plates provide a basis for today's people to understand the system in the early Qing Dynasty.
Revitalize culture and education in order to open up peace
At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, the edict was carried out".Promote literature and education, worship scriptures, and open the peaceCultural and educational policyAdvocating Confucianism and scriptures, advocating Cheng Zhu science, setting up schools extensively, and strictly formulating school rules。The imperial examination system, which flourished in the Sui Dynasty, was continued until the 31st year of Guangxu (1905), when the Qing Dynasty ordered its abolition.
In order to meet the needs of scholars for books and promote the development of cultural undertakings, the Qing Dynasty specially set upWuyingdian Bookstore, the establishment of a relatively independent engraving institutions, a large number of classics by virtue of engraving printing widely distributed all over the world, to this day.
Thirteen Classics Annotations and Notes, engraving Ming Wanli (1573-1620) Beijing Guozi supervised the carving.
Chinese literature, vast as a sea of smoke, about 100,000 kinds of survival, the Song Dynasty repaired the "Taiping Yulan", the Ming Dynasty repaired the "Yongle Canon", the Qing Dynasty repaired"Siku Quanshu".。Under the auspices of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, it was compiled by more than 360 ** and scholars such as Ji Yun, copied by more than 3,800 people, and took 13 years to compile. Because it is divided into four parts: scripture, history, sub-book, and collection, it is called "Siku Quanshu". Among the four parts, the scriptures are the essence, and the "Commentary on the Thirteen Classics" is the first of the scriptures.
The Commentary on the Thirteen Classics is a compilation of thirteen Confucian classics annotations presided over by Ruan Yuan in the Qing Dynasty, with a total of 416 volumes, including the Book of Changes, the Book of Songs, the Book of Shang, the Book of Rites, the Legend of the Ram, the Biography of Gu Liang, the Zuo Chuan, the Book of Filial Piety, the Analects, the Erya, and Mencius. However, because of its huge volume, it was difficult to reprint for a while, so the Qing Dynasty government dug out the Ming Dynasty Wanli year at the engraving book mouth, embedded it in the Qing Dynasty Kangxi year and then reprinted
The history is interconnected, and it is used to govern the world. The Confucian classics and chronicles represented by the Commentary on the Thirteen Classics and the Twenty-One History occupy an extremely important position in the history of Chinese civilization and the history of printing, so that the Chinese civilization has a coherent and complete spiritual inheritance and historical record. In the Qing Dynasty of Xingwen Jiao,These classics are also one of the "compulsory subjects" of the imperial examination, and it is the importance of students' ardent demand for books, so the Qing Dynasty spent money to reprint, and the text circulated in the market, and the children of the poor family had more opportunities to contact the Confucian classics, and the possibility of ascending to the official career also increased.
The engraving of the "Three-in-One Sacred Message" The Qing Inner Mansion is engraved with the Mongolian and Han three-body combination version.
The Triad Sacred Message
At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, Shizu Fulin (1638-1661) used the "Six Edicts" to calm the hearts of the people and train the world, the so-called "Six Edicts" is the Confucianism advocated by Zhu Yuanzhang, the Taizu of the Ming DynastyFilial piety to parents, respect for elders, harmony in the township, teach children and grandchildren, and do nothing wrong"Six aspects. The Holy Ancestor Xuanye (1654-1722) added it to the Sixteen Articles of the Sacred Message, and Sejong Yinzhen (1678-1735) interpreted it into the Sacred Oracle, so it is called the Sanhe Sacred Message. Scholars of the Qing Dynasty who wanted to gain fame and fame in the field of science and technology needed to be familiar with it and write it silently。The Qing people attached great importance to the harmonious coexistence of Manchu, Mongolia and Han, and the engraving was also published in a combination of Manchu, Mongolian and Han languages.
Qing Shengzu Imperial Anthology" engraving.
Qing Shengzu Imperial Anthology".
The collection of poems and essays of the Qing sage ancestor Xuanye covers many aspects of politics, economy, and military at that time. Compared with the classics and historical books, the font of the poetry collection is more flexible and lively.
The Complete Map of the Five Peaks of the Prison of the King James Dynasty (1834) in the 14th year of Daoguang of the Qing Dynasty (1834).
King James Guozi Jian Zhi Wufeng Screen Full Map "Engraving Edition Length 12 meters, is inside the Palace Museum in BeijingThe largest and longest engraving of a whole wood, the printing method is alsoFull page printing
The Tripitaka is engraved in Tibetan, Mongolian, Han and Manchurian languages, with many kinds of languages and exquisite printing, which is rare in the world.
In the process of the Qianlong Emperor presiding over the revision of the "Siku Quanshu", an unprecedented and arduous cultural project was carried out at the same time, which was also a major event in the cultural history of the Manchu nationality and even in the cultural history of the entire Qing DynastyTranslation of the Manchu Tripitaka。The Manchu "Tripitaka" is a collection of Buddhist classics translated and engraved based on the Chinese "Tripitaka" and the Tibetan "Kangyur Sutra", and is also known as the "Chinese People's Tripitaka" in the Qing Dynasty.
The Manchus entered the customs to unify the world and establish the Qing Dynasty, learned from the experience of their predecessors, attached great importance to the harmony of the Manchu, Mongolian and Han ethnic groups, and carved more trilingual versions in the documents to show their attention. The Qing Dynasty advocated Confucian scriptures, and the carved plates of the Tibetan scriptures were mostly precious pear wood, and the upper and lower scripture protection boards were mostly carved with high-quality wood lacquer, which was luxurious and atmospheric. The carving is even more detailed, and the cumbersome lines outline the Buddha statue, which conveys piety in the meticulous carving.
Mongolian "Kangyur Secret Sutra" engraving Mongolian "Kangyur Zhupinjing" engraving In the 59th year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1720), the Inner House engraved the Mongolian Tripitaka version.
Chinese "Tripitaka" engraving Title painting engraving engraving from the eleventh year of Yongzheng to the third year of Qianlong (1733-1738) in the Qing Dynasty engraved the Chinese Tripitaka edition (copy).
Qing Translation of the Whole Tibetan Sutra and Orthodox Recitation of the Sutra Engraving Engraving of the Qing Translation of the Whole Tibetan Sutra and the Great Prajna Sutra The 37th to 58th years of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty (1772-1793) was engraved in the Qing Character Scripture Museum of the Inner Palace.
There is a way to be perfect
The engraving of the books of the Inner House of the Qing Dynasty reflects the unique court aesthetics, most of the manuscripts are the manuscripts of famous ministers and emperors, and the prints published are also completed by the painters who worship the Inner Court, and the carvings are exquisite. After the book is printed, the paper and ink are excellent, the decoration is elegant, and the opening of the book has a sense of moistening and eye-catching. You can not only read books and paintings, but also appreciate the content, which makes people unbearable to release the volume.
For a long time after the invention of printing, craftsmen mainly used single-plate monochrome brush printing. With the advancement of printing and the change of writing methods, or from the perspective of the aesthetics of books, multi-page and multi-color overlay printing appeared. The more colors used in overprint printing, the more difficult it is to print, and the higher the cost.
Number Table" Vermilion Edition Ink Edition.
Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty attached great importance to the study of Western science, and the Inner Government published a variety of "Number Tables", such as "Logarithmic Table", "Degree Table" and "Trigonometric Function Table", most of which were compiled into the "Imperial Mathematical Essence". The pocket version is exquisitely engraved and easy to carry after brushing. Attaching importance to literature and education does not mean that the arts and sciences are out of balance, but that the Qing Dynasty paid attention to both arts and sciences, and the Qing Dynasty produced many mathematical talents and many works.
In the classics compiled by the Qing Dynasty, is the imperial preface printed or brushed? This controversy came to light with the engraving of Kangxi's "Tiyuan Master" and "Ten Thousand Spare Days" on display. The engraving not only shows the prestige of the emperor, but also facilitates the printing of books, killing two birds with one stone.
The frontispiece of the Imperial Book Thousand Hands and Thousand Eyes Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva Great Compassion Dharani.
The Imperial Book Thousand Hands and Thousand Eyes Guanyin Bodhisattva Great Compassion Dharani Buddha Statue Engraving.
The Imperial Book of Thousand Hands and Thousand Eyes Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva Great Compassion Dharani
Each engraving plate usually has to go through three basic processes: proofing, printing and engraving. In the engraving of the inner house of the Qing Dynasty, there is no shortage of works on the handwritten version of the imperial pen. The royal pen can not be directly on the plate, you need to use a double hook to copy the proof. Compared with the engraving of other fonts, the price of the royal pen script is more expensive.
The Imperial Book of Thousand Hands and Thousand Eyes Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva Great Compassion Dharani is ** in the bookEmperor Qianlong's imperial penHandwritten edition. The Buddha statue is overprinted, the plate is exquisitely engraved, and it is printed with "Qianlong Year Imitation Jinli Mountain Tibetan Scripture Paper", which is luxurious and elegant.
The prosperity of the printing industry in the Qing Dynasty is inseparable from the development of papermaking, the most noteworthy of which is notableJinsu Mountain Tibetan scripture papersuccessful imitations. In the first year of Xining in the Northern Song Dynasty (1068), the Guanghui Monastery of Jinsu Temple in Haiyan County, Zhejiang compiled a Tripitaka (i.e., "Jinsu Mountain Tripitaka"), written on self-made Tibetan scripture paper, the paper is hard yellow cocoon paper, thick and tough, calendered and waxed after dyeing, after thousands of years of vicissitudes, the paper is still yellow and hard, the ink color is the same, and the swarthy is like lacquer. This kind of paper was hard to find in the Song Dynasty. Emperor Qianlong was very fond of this kind of paper, and ordered Jiangnan weaving to study and imitate, and imitated it in the 40th year of Qianlong (1775) or so, and each piece of paper had an oval vermilion seal of "Qianlong Year Imitation Jinsu Mountain Tibetan Scripture Paper".
King Yun Chenghua Supplementary Diagram of Emperor Yu Shun Deuteronomy Ring Proud Diagram Engraving Engraving in the Guangxu Year of the Qing Dynasty (1871-1908) Suzhou Book Company.
King Yun Chenghua of the King of the Imperial Dynasty made up for the map of Emperor Yu Shun Deuteronomy and Ring Aotu
The Supplementary Map of the Chenghua Affair of King Yun of the King of the King of the Emperor was made by the Emperor Guangxu (1871-1908) and engraved by the late Qing Dynasty minister Zhang Zhidong in the Suzhou Book Company. Due to the deficit of the national treasury at that time, most of the money for the publication of the "supplementary map" was raised by Zhang Zhidong himself. This book achieves the purpose of educating the prince in the form of ** and luxuriant, and is the last work of court woodcut prints in the Qing Dynasty, which has both lithograph style
After the Qing Dynasty, the treasury was exhausted, and the scale of the internal government engraved books deteriorated, whether in terms of materials, engraving, and quantity, they were far inferior to the past. In the eighth year of Tongzhi (1869), the Wuying Hall caught fire, resulting in the destruction of the book engravings of the two hundred years in the palace. At the same time, official bookstores began to be established in various places, such as Jinling Bookstore, Zhejiang Bookstore, Hunan Bookstore, etc., which replaced the function of the Wuyingdian Bookstore to a certain extent. In the last years of Guangxu, the inner house engraved books are even more in name only, and the books appointed by the emperor are mostly completed by the compilation bureaus and publishing institutions under the first ministries and institutes, and have used the lithographs, lead printing and other technologies introduced from the West. Although woodcut engraving printing has slowly faded out of people's field of vision, it is still spread in the world with its unique charm.
How to visit the exhibition
Qing Dynasty woodcut engraving printing, not only has the special role of philology, is used to excavate the historical information contained in the engraving cultural relics, its manufacturing process and the carving story behind it, the craftsmanship of fine carving, but also a kind of aesthetics. In particular, the palace engraving is of great significance. The name of this exhibition is "Jiguang Katayu" precisely because of the preciousness of the Qing Dynasty court carved cultural relics, "Jiguang" is a legendary mythical beast, and "Katayu" refers to a small piece of fur on the body of "Jiguang".
Exhibition hall scene. Except for statutory holidays, the Palace Museum is closed on Mondays all year round, and tickets must be booked in advance, and reservations can be made as early as 20:00 7 days before the visit.
* |Wang Tong.
Typography |Xiao Xie.
Design |Zitong.