Riding the wind of rebirth

Chapter 1562 Top Paper

"Since then, there have been two paper-making centers in Shu, namely the hemp paper-making center by the Jinjiang River and the leather paper-making center in Guangdu."

"Large quantities of hemp paper are shipped to Chang'an and used for more solemn official purposes such as copying books and drafting official documents; Guangdu paper is more widely used among the people, such as public and private books, deeds, pictures, documents, and printed books. ”

"The hemp paper and leather paper in Sichuan are already famous all over the world."

"In the Five Dynasties, Li Yu, the leader of the Southern Tang Dynasty, set up a paper service in Yangzhou and asked papermaking craftsmen to work in Shu. Chen Shidao, one of the Six Gentlemen of the Su family, made detailed research on the origin of famous paper in the Song Dynasty. He wrote in "Houshan Tan Cong" "It was written in "The Lord is good at Sichuan paper, and once he has obtained Sichuan workers, he will send them to the territory." The purpose is to find water sources suitable for papermaking."

"In the end, the craftsmen discovered that 'the water of Liuhe is the same as that of Shu', so they built a paper mill there, and finally created paper that was as light and smooth as Guangdu leather paper, and worked more carefully, and finally got the 'light' Li Yu was very happy about the crisp and exquisite Liuhe paper, and his destiny was hidden in Chengxintang. This is the origin of Chengxintang paper. "

"By the Song Dynasty, Chengxintang paper was already very famous, but people in the Song Dynasty were still as enthusiastic about Shu paper as they were in previous generations."

"The "Jian Zhi Pu" once recorded that, including Tokyo Bianliang, 'Sifangli Guichuan Jian' was famous at that time, including jade chips, cold gold and other varieties."

"Wen Yanbo, a famous official in the Northern Song Dynasty, wrote a poem called "Shu Notes": 'The plain notes are as bright and moist as warm jade, and the new ones are translated as cold gold.' '. He also praised her as "Ying Ruo Cai Zhuolin" in "Send Leng Jin Jian and Xingzong", and said modestly, "I am so talented that I am not worthy enough to write your poems, and I hope to be admired by others" - —It means that this paper is too good for me to write on, so I’ll give it to you to write your masterpiece.”

"'Jiaozi' appeared in the middle of Sichuan at that time, which was to 'make Chu into coupons, imprint on the outside and inside, conceal the title, and interlaced ink and ink'. In addition to the three major centers of Song editions, Meishan in the middle of Sichuan also became one."

"Even in the Southern Song Dynasty, the quality of Sichuan paper was still very good. The court ministers wrote to the emperor saying that there were too many counterfeit banknotes. The main reason was that in the past, all Sichuan paper was used. The materials were refined and the workmanship was meticulous. People wanted to buy counterfeit money, but it was difficult to do so. ’, and later ‘used Sichuan and Du paper’, and then ‘all used Du paper’, which led to a surge in counterfeit banknotes on the market, affecting commercial transactions and taxation.”

"The final solution was for the imperial court to admit that the quality of banknote printing paper produced by other paper bureaus was not refined, and ordered Shuzhong to 'copy and transport it, and make four outlines at 20 million per year.'"

"After that, the Mongolian and Yuan armies launched a massive attack on the Song Dynasty. They captured Chengdu three times and burned and massacred them. This battle did not end until Diaoyu City abandoned its defense in the second year of Xiangxing in the Southern Song Dynasty. It lasted for many years."

"During this war, Sichuan's population of tens of millions dropped sharply to less than one million. Due to the loss of skilled workers and the destruction of the industrial system, the world-famous Shu Paper also declined."

"Since then, except for a small amount in Jiazhou, there are no high-quality calligraphy and painting paper production areas in central Sichuan."

"It was not until a thousand years later that Mr. Daqian reused local bamboo and Qingyi River water in Jiazhou, and combined with improved papermaking technology, produced Jiajiang bamboo paper."

"It is either a misfortune or a kind of luck. Because Chengxintang paper was so famous in history, it was almost exhausted in the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty. Among the collections that have been handed down to this day, Han Gan's "Five Horses" can be It is confirmed that it is made of Chengxintang paper, and Cai Xiang's "Chengxintang Tie" is a sample sent to others, because the content of the ruler is very clear - "A piece of Chengxintang paper, wide and narrow, thick and thin" , solid and similar, it is better. The workers are not willing to do it, but they are afraid that they will not be able to do it. It seems that it can be made with a hundred pieces of Guimao Chongyang. Day, Xiang Shu'.

"As for the famous paper in Sichuan, the process of using gold on leather paper had been developed at that time, and a new type of 'cold gold paper' was produced, which was highly sought after."

"Lengjin paper is also divided into two types: patterned and unpatterned. The patterned paper is divided into silk pattern and ribbed. It is actually an upgraded version of cloth-headed paper." "But just because the luxurious cold gold paper became popular, it was disguised. It protects the simple and unpretentious cloth-headed paper, especially one kind of cloth-headed paper. Even if it is obtained by Mr. Daqian a thousand years later, it is entirely possible."

"Which one is it? Can it be proved?" Luo Zhongrong asked.

"It's the first batch that was made and used by the government as contract paper and stored in the warehouse - the deed paper!"

"In the Song Dynasty, transactions such as houses and land were very strictly managed. The buyer and seller were required to go to the government to sign a contract in triplicate and stamp it before it became legally binding. If the contract was signed privately, it would not be protected by the government and laws and could only be It’s called ‘White Deed’.”

"White deeds can evade taxes, so the authorities not only do not protect them, but also crack down severely."

"Business in the Song Dynasty was very developed, and a large amount of such deeds were used. The deeds would be stamped with the official seal in advance, and the number of deeds would be counted. Every once in a while, new deeds with the official seal would be issued, and the previous batch of deeds would be taken back. Centralized destruction.”

"This method is similar to the current important voucher management system in banks. However, if the paper quality of a certain batch of deeds is particularly good, the government's approach is not to actually destroy them, but to quietly sell them to merchants."

"This practice later became a business in the yamen. The clerks would use squid ink instead of ink to seal the deeds. These marks would disappear over time. This was originally a commercial fraud technique. After they have learned a lot in the process of handling the case, they will not dare to commit serious crimes, but they will be very slippery in such petty theft. "

"Your official position is as pure as water, but your officials are as slippery as oil!" Mao Yunsong sighed.

"However, because of their behavior, they also produced a batch of high-quality Song edition books." Zhou Zhi was a little dumbfounded: "Many of the books that remain in the world are made of paper that was called 'Kuli paper' at that time. printed."

"This kind of paper is also divided into categories. The most common ones are sold to merchants, and the high-end ones are usually used to bribe officials. Another place to go is in monasteries and Taoist temples, where they can copy scriptures and pray for blessings."

"Send the stolen paper to the temple to pray for blessings, it's a shame they can think of it!" Lin Wanqiu spat.

Zhou Zhi also found it funny: "But no matter what, a batch of Song Dynasty paper has been preserved in this way. The method to prove them is actually simple now. Recently, I saw some new instruments and methods at the National Museum Research Institute, among which There is a special photography technology that can reveal the dark patterns of millennium-old flowers on paper.”

"Now we have discovered that the "Long Live Tongtian Tie" copied by Wang Fangqing of the Tang Dynasty is made of hard yellow paper with calendered rib patterns; Cai Xiang's "Tao Sheng Tie" is calendered with curly grass patterns, and "Zhi Tongli Dian Shi Shi" is calendered with rib patterns. "Tuntian Ruler Paper" is made of ribbed paper with butterfly patterns. "

"Wang Gong's "Bei You Tie" ruler slip has peony curly grass pattern and phoenix and bird pattern; Su Shi's "To Chief Dong Hou ruler slip" has gorgeous and exquisite peony curled grass pattern; "To Zhixiao Yanping Guo Jun ruler slip" has hexagonal tortoise shell Brocade pattern, there is a small turtle hidden in each hexagon; "Zhiyun Ju Taifu", after processing, you can see the plum blossom rib pattern."