1. Is Kaiyuan Zabao an Indian drama? Indeed, printing already existed in China in the Tang Dynasty. Tang Wenzong explicitly mentioned printed copies for the first time at the invitation of Su Feng on the 6th day of December in the 9th year of Taihe (835), in order to prohibit the private release of calendars. Su Feng was the envoy of Dongchuan in our time. His memorial said that every year, the government agency responsible for issuing calendars praised the new calendar without the consent of the emperor, but some people in Jiannan, Liangchuan and Huainan Road (that is, in the areas of southern Shaanxi, Sichuan, Jiangsu and Anhui) printed calendars with wooden boards and sold them in the market, which was a sign of disrespect to the emperor from heaven. This shows that printing was quite common in the society at that time.
It is not impossible that Kaiyuan Miscellaneous Newspaper in Tang Dynasty is a printed drama. But we should also see that the release of Dibao is time-sensitive, not as stable as a calendar; Plus Sun is just listening. Cloud? Just, I didn't see it with my own eyes, and at the end of Sun's passage, I said again? The ink shadow is diffuse, is it not very distinguishable? Therefore, before there is conclusive evidence, we don't think Kaiyuan Miscellaneous Newspaper is a printed newspaper.
Second, engraving and printing Dibao engraving and printing Dibao may have begun in the Song Dynasty. Since the invention of block printing in the Tang Dynasty, it has been greatly developed and improved in the Song Dynasty, and the scope of carving has been continuously expanded. Chengdu and Kaifeng have become the centers of the printing industry.
In the second year of Shaoxing, Song Gaozong (1 133), it was mentioned in the suggestions of the left and right departments that in order to be an official and punish the emperor for rewarding his work, he asked for money and lettering. In the second year, the proposal of Dali Temple also mentioned that it was ordered to go to the provincial theater to receive the imperial edict of rewarding merit and punishing evil? Rigid awarded to the state military supervision department, a lawsuit in Beijing? . (See Manuscripts of the Song Dynasty for details. ) It can be seen that block printing was quite popular at that time.
The so-called block printing is carved with pear wood or jujube wood as the bottom plate, and each plate is engraved with two pages. After engraving, dip it in ink with a brush and apply it to the layout, then cover it with white paper and use an ink-free brush. With this manual printing method, one person can print two thousand copies a day. Although engraving printing is more time-consuming than word-for-word engraving, it is much more efficient than manual copying.
3. When did Dibao start to use movable type printing? Documentary evidence is the eleventh year of Chongzhen in Ming Dynasty (1638). Gu, a famous scholar in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, said in "Nephew Book":
Looking back on the past treasures, it was not until the eleventh year of Chongzhen that there was a movable type version. I haven't written since then. ?
Maybe someone will ask, as early as Song Renzong in Qing Dynasty (104 1- 1049), Bi Sheng had already invented movable type printing, and there was a cross in Shi Mao Tang Shu published in Song Dynasty. Since? Words, indicating that some books were printed with movable type at that time, why did Dibao not use movable type printing at that time, but stayed until the eleventh year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty, nearly 600 years after Bi Sheng invented movable type printing? Do you have relief printing? And then what? This is indeed a problem worth studying. But at present, the information is extremely scarce, and there is no physical evidence, so we can only rely on it for the time being.
Fourth,? Song dynasty? Regular script is a common font in early treasures. Regular script is easy to write and recognize, and lettering is more convenient than other fonts. After the Tang Dynasty, rulers of past dynasties stipulated regular script as the official font for writing official documents and imperial examination articles, and regular script was also used to engrave books and newspapers. By the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, the engraved regular script gradually became a square character with light horizontal and heavy vertical. Because this font was developed from the seal cutting font in the Song Dynasty, it is called? Song dynasty? .
Today, most Chinese newspapers and periodicals in China use this font as the basic font, while italics are often used for publishing columns, commenting and editing.
Mr. Ge said: Before I knew it, most newspapers in China were written by hand, only for a few governors and gentry to read. Although it was later changed to a handprint, it is rare and extremely common. ? Regarding the printing of modern newspapers, Ge Gong Zhen said: In Jiadao, newspapers are printed on wooden boards; In the same room, there was a lot of lead printing at first, but the printing machine was very poor, and only one or two hundred small pieces of paper could be printed per hour; During the publicity period, more and more lithography machines and lead printers were imported, which can print thousands of newspapers every day, but the commonly used book printers are also used. ? This is a high summary of the printing situation of newspapers and periodicals in Ming and Qing Dynasties.
5. China used to print with metal movable type. Many people think that the movable type used in modern printing was introduced from western missionaries at the beginning of19th century, which is a misunderstanding. Yes, when Ma Lixun, a British Christian missionary, sent his assistants milian, Liang Fa and Cai Gao to publish monthly biographies of Malacca's secular society, they used to print Chinese bibles in lead type there. In the 18th year of Qing Daoguang (1838), Taylor, an Englishman, made a set of China movable type in Singapore, and then moved to Hong Kong to print books and newspapers, which became an instant hit? Hong Kong people? .
The introduction of western type movable type printing had an important influence on the development of printing industry in China. However, we also know that before this, China had learned how to make and use lead movable type.
Lu Chen Moon Hee of Jintai (1505- 1508) at the end of Hongzhi in Ming Dynasty said that Changzhou people used copper and lead as movable type, which was more ingenious and convenient than lettering. In the 14th year of Daoguang reign (1834), Song Wei, a Hunan native, said in the book "One is the beginning of the times". Traps began in the Song Dynasty, and now copper and lead are used as movable type. ? As for the use of metal materials to make movable type, the history of our country is earlier. Wang Zhen, a scientist in the early Yuan Dynasty, once said: Is there a word for casting tin in modern times? .
It can be seen that metal movable type printing in China is one or two hundred years earlier than that in Germany, which is earlier in the world. Unfortunately, metal movable type was not easy to get ink at that time, and typesetting was easy to make mistakes. More importantly, the feudal rulers did not give the necessary attention and support, so the development was slow and it was not widely used. It was not until after the Opium War that western lithographs, lead seals and bronze seals were gradually introduced to China, among which lead seals and lithographs gradually became the main methods of printing newspapers and periodicals in China.
6. How were ancient newspapers published? Regarding the distribution of ancient newspapers in China, Mr. Ge Gongzhen said: firstly, it is given away free of charge; secondly, it is sold by hiring people and entrusting stores to sell them. Far away, the bureau of letters and calls is the medium, that's all. ? Say it again: In jiadao, newspapers are mostly for people to read; In the same room, newspapers mostly beg from door to door; Newspapers are becoming more and more popular during the publicity period, but they are still a pastime after drinking. Since the success of the Republic, newsstands have gradually become specialized and there are many newspapers. ?
On the issue and delivery of ancient newspapers, Qi Rushan, who wrote for Beijing Daily during Guangxu period of Qing Dynasty, recalled: As for the issue of Beijing Daily, all the newspaper boys in Beijing were from Shandong, carrying a newspaper bag made of blue cloth, which was more than five feet long and five inches wide, with pockets at both ends, and the Beijing Daily was written on the bag in black. This kind of newspaper courier was once employed by newspapers to deliver newspapers directly, but it was rare later. Because they delivered newspapers to newspapers and refused to work hard, they all bought their own newspapers and delivered them later, each with its own methods. The way they deliver newspapers is very important. When they get old, they can pass it on to their son. If outsiders want to pick them up, they must pay for the road. ?
This kind of newspaper delivery has a guild and the people are United. It's hard to see people from this club delivering newspapers across the border. The delivery of newspapers outside Beijing is completely different from that in Beijing. Tongzhou, Liangxiang and other nearby counties, one delivery every two days. As far away as Tianjin, it is only once every five days. Such as Baoding prefecture, it must be once every ten days, at the latest once a month. Farther provinces are even more different. A newspaper delivery man can't make a living by delivering newspapers, because there are only dozens of newspapers in a city, and there are no such numbers in a slightly remote city. If there are only a few copies in each county, how can a reporter live? What would he do? All by sideline. There are quite a few kinds of sideline businesses, one is to send letters, the other is to send parcels, the third is to buy things, and the fourth is to often send money on behalf of others.
From Qi Rushan's memory of Beijing Daily, we can see the distribution of Beijing Daily in ancient times. As for the distribution of ancient official newspapers, they are generally delivered by official sending and receiving agencies, so I won't go into details here.