Everyone looked at each other in shock after hearing what Shao Xi said. This printing technique has long been available in the Central Plains.
After each book is compiled, craftsmen will be asked to carve the book content into a plate on a wooden board. After applying ink, the paper will be covered and wiped evenly so that the reverse text on the engraving plate can be printed on the paper, and then the printing will be carried out. Good papers of different layouts are bound into volumes and become printed books.
But what kind of technology is this movable type printing that Shao Xi is talking about now?
Seeing that everyone present was confused, Shao Xi explained: "Although this printing technique has been around for a long time, it has many disadvantages. For example, if there are any errors or omissions during engraving, the entire page will have to be scrapped and re-engraved from scratch. It is time-consuming and labor-intensive; in addition, the engraving blocks are all made of wood, which is easily deformed by moisture and water, and the number of prints is extremely limited. Due to the uneven texture of the wood, engraving is relatively difficult; after the book printing is completed, the storage of the engraving blocks also takes up a lot of time. It takes a lot of space, and it also needs to be protected from corrosion and moth, which is really laborious. It is really inconvenient to store a large number of wooden engravings and there is a great fear of catching fire."
After hearing Shao Xi's analysis, Bai Dinggong and Liu Xingzhai both nodded in agreement. This is indeed a common problem faced by printing technology, but no good solution has been thought of.
Seeing that the two masters recognized his views on the current woodblock printing technology, Shao Xi continued: "Then solving the disadvantages I mentioned above one by one can form the movable type printing I mentioned before. First of all, in order to prevent the whole If there are errors or omissions in the engraving of the plate, we can split the words engraved on the entire page into independent single characters. In this way, even if a certain character is engraved incorrectly, it will not be a pity to discard it. This saves labor and time. It can also be disassembled and stored when not in use, saving money. Space; since the wooden engraving plate is easily deformed when exposed to moisture and water, we can replace it with copper to solve the problem of deformation. It can be printed in large quantities into books, and copper is relatively soft, has a uniform texture, and is not afraid of catching fire. Although it is carved It is more difficult than wooden engraving, but it is not impossible. In this way, the text arrangement can be flexibly adjusted according to needs each time printing is completed. After printing is completed, the printing plate can be disassembled into independent blocks and reassembled into the next block. Edition. Wouldn’t it be more convenient and faster than engraving to type and print repeatedly, saving time and effort?”
Shao Xi's analysis and explanation really surprised everyone present.
Although everyone knew about the disadvantages of engraving printing before, they could never find a good solution. Now that Shao Xi said this, it has indeed solved all the current problems.
With Bai Dinggong's permission, Shao Xi cleared a space in the room originally responsible for copying and asked the craftsmen to place and install the typesetting tools prepared in advance.
This set of movable type printing tools is Shao Xi's synthesis of the movable type printing technologies of several dynasties in the original world, such as Bi Sheng's movable type typesetting in the Song Dynasty, Zhou Bida's copper movable type in the Song Dynasty, and Wang Zhen's wheel typesetting plate of the Yuan Dynasty. Take the person and choose the word according to rhyme" and so on.
In short, Shao Xi used all the movable type printing techniques he had learned in history books that he could use.
When Bai Dinggong and others saw several craftsmen arranging the carved copper type blocks into an article and printing it, everyone was shocked. They couldn't help but sigh why they had never thought of changing engraving to typesetting before? It is flexible, time-saving, and saves a lot of materials and manpower.
The most incredible thing is that the rotating typesetting wheel can further speed up the typesetting, which is simply incomparable to the previous engraving.
While watching the printing process of the craftsmen, two old masters, Bai Dinggong and Liu Xingzhai, kept sighing at the efficiency of this movable type printing.
Bai Dinggong couldn't help but asked Shao Xi: "How many books can be printed in one month with movable type printing like this?"
Shao Xi thought for a while and said: "If the number of movable types is small, it can only be typed one by one, and printed one by one. It is indeed a bit slow. But if there are a large number of carved copper movable types, and everyone types them together, each time A group of people is responsible for typesetting and printing one page. In one month, not only thousands of copies will be printed?”
When the two wives heard Shao Xi say that he could print thousands of copies a month, they were so surprised that their eyes widened and their mouths opened wide.
The two of them spent a lot of effort in printing the book they wrote. Because each page requires a master to engrave it, the printing quantity is not large each time, but it consumes a lot of time and manpower.
But it is different now. You only need to ask an engraver to carve out a large number of copper movable type blocks at one time, and then have people type and print according to the content of the book.
As long as the quantity is sufficient, every page of a book can be typeset and printed at the same time. This speed is not only hundreds of times faster than before?
The two old men pulled Shao Xi and kept saying thanks. They really didn't expect to receive such a big gift on this Lantern Festival. From now on, the work co-authored by the two can be printed in large quantities and circulated in the world, and the hard work of the two will not be in vain.
Bai Jinqing and others were also shocked by Shao Xi's gift. They didn't expect that he had been running around in the past two days just for this matter. This was really a great thing for scholars all over the world! This act is enough to go down in history.
Only Shao Xi knew in his heart that this was his fault? This is obviously borrowing the achievements of previous generations, but in this world they all become his achievements.
Bai Dinggong excitedly said to Shao Xi: "I will report this matter to the Holy One, so that the Holy One will know that you have done something important for the Central Plains, for all the scholars and people in the world, that can affect thousands of generations. In our Jingyuan Dynasty, Your name, Shao Xi, must be left in the history books."
Shao Xi thought to himself: "You don't need to tell me this. The people who did these things in history have indeed influenced thousands of generations, and they have also left their names in the history books."
Everyone was busy with this work until the afternoon. Seeing that things were almost done, Shao Xi said goodbye to the two ladies and promised to find more craftsmen to make more movable type blocks and typesetting tools after the Lantern Festival. Send it to the academy. When the time comes, the teachers and students of the academy will be responsible for the typesetting and printing of the books that need to be printed.
Before leaving, Bai Dinggong asked Shao Xi how much money it cost to ask these craftsmen to make so many things. Shao Xi quickly said that talking about money would hurt feelings. As a disciple of the academy, it is natural for him to do something for the academy. This moved Duke Bai Ding even more, and he kept talking about promoting this printing technology throughout the Jingyuan Empire, and he also wanted to report it to the Holy Emperor, asking for a reward for Shao Xi.
Shao Xi and his party left Bailu Academy, and the two old men ran back to look at movable type printing.
Since they came out too early in the morning, several people had not eaten in the afternoon, so at Shao Xi's suggestion, the group took a carriage to Wangyue Tower. The reason why they didn't go to Junxiao Tower again was because Hu Yushan and others felt that something happened there a few days ago and it would be unlucky to go there now, so they had to avoid it for a while. Shao Xi didn't say much about their belief in ghosts and gods.
When they arrived at Wangyue Tower, Shao Xi didn't even ask Bai Jinqing or anyone else for their opinions, and just ordered a table according to the standards he had when he and Lao Wu came last time.
Anyway, to him now, one tael of silver is nothing at all, and it just so happens that a few brothers can have a taste of Wangyuelou's signature dishes and the famous Sangluo wine.
After drinking for three rounds, several people talked about movable type printing again. In addition to sighing at Shao Xi's unconventional idea, they were also relieved that everyone in the world would have books to read.
What Shao Xi was thinking at this time was beyond what their thinking could keep up with.
Now that the technology of movable type printing has been brought out, there are more things to consider next.
The two masters, Bai Dinggong and Liu Xingzhai, were great figures in the literary world at that time, so the provenance of this book was naturally not a problem. But what method should be used to make printed books widely circulated? Does it depend on delivery?
Of course, sending them away is not possible. The printing and binding of books will consume a lot of money, which involves the issue of publishing and distribution.
When it comes to publishing and distribution, it also involves the price of books. The main reason that affects the price of books is the price of paper. At present, the price of paper in the Central Plains is relatively high. A book bound into a volume can cost a few hundred yuan for a cheap book or tens of thousands of yuan for an expensive one. This is not something that ordinary people can afford.
The price threshold naturally blocks out the vast majority of people, and reading has become a luxury. If we want to open up people's wisdom, we must keep the price of books down so that everyone can read. Only in this way can we hope to improve the cultural level of the entire people.
From the current point of view, not only the price of books remains high due to the high price of paper, but also the paper used by government officials is currently extremely expensive. Local household registration, finance, food, and military supplies all need to be registered, and this cost has always been borne by the court, and a large amount of money is spent on paper every year.
Previously, the disciples of the academy gave gifts to Duke Bai Ding, and one of them gave him high-quality water-patterned paper. Speaking of which, the paper is worth more than gold. This shows that the production process of paper is complicated, the manufacturing cost is high, and the quantity of finished products is small.
Now that the problem of mass printing has been solved, the next thing to be solved is the price of paper. If you want to keep the price of paper down, there is no other way but to find ways to reduce costs through the paper manufacturing process.
When it comes to reducing manufacturing costs, the most important factor is simply the choice of manufacturing materials.
At present, most paper in Central Plains is ivy paper. Since the growth of ivy is affected by seasons and has a long growth cycle, the output of ivy paper has not been high, resulting in high paper prices.
As a result, not to mention printing books, even local entry clerks must consider the issue of saving paper when entering various local data. This will result in unclear document data, and will also affect the policy management of the entire Jingyuan Kingdom. produce many negative impacts.
Therefore, increasing paper production has become a top priority. Only by reducing material costs and increasing paper production can the price of paper be brought down.
When paper is no longer a luxury product, local officials can better report various data to the court, people can afford to read and write, and only with literacy can people's wisdom be opened up.
So what should be used to replace ivy paper? There is a best choice - bamboo paper.
