Speaking of Bi Sheng, you can immediately think of "movable type printing", one of the "Four Great Inventions of Ancient China".
In "Mengxi Pen Talk", Shen Kuo recorded in detail the production and operation of movable type printing. It was Shen Kuo's record that made this Chinese invention known to posterity.
So, how exactly does "Mengxi Pen Talk" record Bi Sheng and his invention?
Let me break it down into segments.
"Plate printing books, the Tang people have not yet flourished. In the five generations, the Five Classics were first printed, and the later classics were all plates. ”
This is the first paragraph of the original text. The text is easier to understand. Introduced the time when engraving printing was prevalent.
"In the celebration calendar, there are cloth clothes and loose plates."
The year of the Qing Calendar, the year of the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song, is 1041-1048 AD. It was during this time period that There was a cloth cloth bisheng who invented movable type printing.
Shen Kuo explained here that Bi Sheng's only identity was "cloth clothes", that is, ordinary people. His place of origin, age, family, and employment were not disclosed.
Since Shen Kuo was the only person in history to record Bi Sheng, the information about Bi Sheng was nothing more.
"The method: engrave words with glue clay, as thin as the lips of money, each word is a seal, and the fire is strong."
In this sentence, it is explained that the material for Bi Sheng to make movable type is glue clay.
Bi Sheng's method is like this: make a blank with the same specifications from the clay, engrave the anti-body monograph at one end, and the height of the word stroke is like the thickness of the edge of the copper coin, and it is burned hard with fire to become a single clay movable type.
"First, an iron plate shall be set up, on which shall be made of pine resin, wax, and paper ash. If you want to print, you will place an iron fan on the iron plate, which is densely printed with characters, and the full iron fan will be a plate, and hold it on fire; if the medicine is slightly melted, it will be pressed on its face with a plate, and the word will be as flat as a stone. ”
This paragraph talks about the typesetting of movable type printing.
Here are a few steps:
First, when typing, use a framed iron plate as a base.
Second, apply a layer of medicine made of a mixture of pine resin, wax and paper ash.
Third, pick out the required clay movable type one by one and put them into the box. A full box becomes a version.
Fourth, after the layout is arranged, it is baked over fire. When the agent melts slightly, the literal surface is flattened with a plate, and after the agent cools and solidifies, it becomes a version.
Fifth, after the version is done, as long as the ink is brushed on the version, covered with paper, and added a certain amount of pressure.
What needs to be explained is that the mixture of pine resin, wax and paper ash here is used as a binder. It is to glue the movable type with the bottom of the iron plate. In this way, when printing, movable type is not easy to slide.
"If you stop printing three or two copies, it is not simple; if you print tens of thousands of copies, it is extremely fast."
This sentence is easier to understand. Compared with engraving printing, the efficiency of movable type printing is reflected in more. The more printed, the fastest.
"Often make two iron plates, one plate is printed, one plate has been self-clothed, and the printer has finished, then the second plate has been used, and it is more mutually used, and it can be done in an instant."
This paragraph is about homework. How can I improve efficiency when I enter the workshop? The meaning of the article is that it is better to get two iron plates, one printing, one typesetting, alternately.
Each word has several prints, such as "of" and "also", and each word has more than twenty prints, in case there are repeaters in a board. ”
This sentence says that for commonly used words, they will be reused in a board, so it is necessary to prepare more words.
"If you don't use it, you will put it on paper, and each rhyme will be a sticker, and the wooden grid will store it." Those who have no preparation for strange characters, spin and carve, burn with grass, and can be achieved in an instant. ”
This paragraph refers to the storage of movable type.
In order to facilitate the selection of words, the clay movable type is classified according to rhyme and placed in the wooden grid, and a note is affixed to indicate.
When encountering cold and strange words that are not commonly used, if you do not prepare in advance, you can use them as you go.
"Those who do not use wood as a tree, the literature is dense, and the water is uneven, and it is not advisable to stick to the medicine; if it is not burned with soil, it is melted with fire and then burned, and whisked by hand, and its imprint will fall on its own, and it will not be stained."
In this paragraph, the wooden movable type is compared with the clay movable type.
That is to say, Bi Sheng also experimented with wood movable type printing. The results found that there were three problems: one is that the wood texture is dense and uneven, and it is difficult to carve; the second is that the wooden movable type is deformed after being wet with water; and the third is that the wooden movable type foot agent is not easy to separate when it sticks together.
The result of the comparison is still better with glue clay. After printing, heat it with fire and melt the adhesive, "its printing will fall by itself, and it will not be stained." ”
How convenient that is.
We can find from the above recorded text that the following points:
First, what material is good for movable type printing, Bi Sheng is after repeated experiments, found that the glue clay is better, and easy to use, more efficient.
Second, in order to improve the efficiency of typography. Which words should be prepared more and which words can be made at zero time are all considered.
Third, the content of the article already involves operational efficiency. Two plates, one plate printing, one plate typesetting, alternate.
Fourth, the article deals with the storage of movable type. Marked with paper and stored according to "rhyme" for easy extraction. In fact, it is also for efficiency.
Fifth, the efficiency of movable type printing can only be revealed when the number of printing is relatively large.
Why do you keep prompting "efficiency" here? That is to say, China's movable type printing is not a kind of idea, nor is it only a few clay movable words, but after repeated experiments, it enters the workshop and can really carry out the complete technology of printing operations.
"After his death, his seal was obtained by yu Qun and is still preserved."
At the end of the article, Bi Sheng actually died a long time ago. His movable type printing tools were acquired by Shen Kuo's family and are still in storage.
Shen Kuo was born in 1031, and when Bi Sheng was doing movable type in the "Qing Calendar", he was only in his early teens, and it was impossible to work with Bi Sheng and participate in the invention of movable type printing.
It is reasonable to imagine that Shen Kuo saw Bi Sheng's relics, realized its value, and did a lot of experiments himself, feeling its efficiency.
In particular, the comparison between wood and clay, I imagine, must be Obtained by Shen Kuo's practice.
That is to say, shen Kuo, the author of the article, also contributed to the advent of movable type printing.
But Bi Sheng is the initiator, that's for sure! From engraving printing to movable type printing, thinking methods, completely different, this is the creativity of genius!
I imagined that Bi Sheng should be a worker in the engraving and printing plant, and the daily text engraving was deeply tired and inefficient.
Suddenly one day, what inspired him, why can't he use movable type?
He did not stop at the idea, but made the idea and entered the production process.
Today, Bi Sheng is a great entrepreneur whose inventions can subvert an industry.
Very remarkable!
The author of this article is Ling Jie, a researcher of Song history, who is the author of the book "Character Knowledge Shen Kuo"