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Transcript

Introduction to the History of the Book in China

Jillian Sparks, Librarian for Special Collections and Archives Instruction

1. History of printing2. Evolution of bookbinding structures3. Bodman-Lang East Asia Collection

Index

History of printing in China

By the 19th century xylography no longer continues to be the dominant means of printing

Two important developments in Ming (1368-1644) printing: books illustrated with woodcuts and books printed in color.

The carving of characters into flat blocks of wood for wood block printing, or xylography, began during the Tang dynasty (618-907)

During the Qing dynasty surge of imperial patronage and palace commissioned publications. Poetry collections, extensive encyclopedias, and in 1713 first copperplate etchings of Jehol Imperial Gardens

Movable type was first created by Bi Sheng (990-1051), who used baked clay, which was very fragile. The Yuan-dynasty official Wang Zhen is credited with the introduction of wooden movable type, a more durable option, around 1297.

A Brief timeline of Print History

2nd century BC, paper invented and later widely used as economic alternative to silk

Diamond Sutra 868CE

Frontispiece, Diamond Sutra from Cave 17, Dunhuang, ink on paper. A page from the Diamond Sutra, printed in the 9th year of Xiantong Era of the Tang Dynasty, i.e. 868 CE. Currently located in the British Library, London. According to the British Library, it is “the earliest complete survival of a dated printed book”.

Jikji

The oldest extant text ever printed with movable type predates Gutenberg himself (born in 1400) by 23 years, and predates the printing of his Bible by 78 years. It is the Jikji, printed in Korea, a collection of Buddhist teachings by Seon master Baegun and printed in movable type by his students Seok-chan and Daijam in 1377.There is record of another printer, Choe Yun-ui printing another Buddhist text as early as 1250 during the Goreyo dynasty.

Evolution of Bookbinding Structures

Bookbinding Structures

  • Pothi or palm leaf books
  • whirlwind binding
  • concertina or accordion binding
  • butterfly binding
  • stitched or stab binding

Pothi or palm leaf books

Before using the codex format, Chinese bookbinding used a series of wood or bamboo connectd together. The text was read right to left. This early binding is similar to the Indian pothi that were later imported as Buddhism spread (4th century). Dried palm leaves are cut, incised with writing, bound by a string passing through the leaves, and sandwiched between two boards. There are a few examples of Chinese pothi from the 9th century, but for the most part this structure did not suit because early paper was made to imitate silk rather than a stiff palm leaf.

Whirlwind binding

The whirlwind binding was developed during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Chinnery sites the popularity of rhyming dictionaries and poetry as one reason why books were no longer bound as scrolls. It is hard to consult multiple parts of a text when you have to continually roll and unroll a scroll.By the Song dynasty other forms of bookbinding evolved to replace this format.

Concertina or accordion books

Similar to pothi, accordion bookbinding was introduced via Buddhism. Combining the pothi and scroll structures, the accordion format was used for binding sutras. The accordion format is one step closer to a codex in that there are separate pages and it can be more easily transported.

Butterfly binding

First structure to break away from the scroll format and the dominant bookbinding style of the Song dynasty (960-1279). A butterfly bound book is made by folding a sheet of paper in half and gluing the folded edges together to form the spine of a book.These individual leaves work well for printing books and for producing a variety of texts. The butterfly binding is not historically connected to a certain genre.

Stitched or stab bindings

Stitched bindings or stab bindings became the predominant binding structure during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) and the structure remains popular today. It is believed that people first started stitching their books to repair earlier butterfly bindings.

The Bodman-Lang East Asia collection contains: traditionally thread bound books, xylographic printing blocks, manuscripts, travelogsand autobiographies of Western foreigners in China, Chinese literature and Western novels about China, English-language newspapers published in China, Chinese histories, Cultural Revolution materials, and books on other parts of Asia.

During his 25 years of teaching at St. Olaf, Dr. Bodman shared his passion for Chinese language and culture and established an exchange program with the East China Normal University in Shanghai. In 2015, Bodman began donating his collection to Rolvaag Library Special Collections.

Bodman-Lang East Asia Collection