Riding the wind of rebirth

As Guangya Books series books are hard to find in the world, and their value skyrockets, the title pages and lining pages in Guangya's books are extremely difficult to repair, that is, the magical "moth-proof paper" of "Wannianhong", It has aroused the attention of the industry. "

"According to our research, the essence of the process of Wannian red paper should be in the two aspects of paper selection and blending of red lead powder.

"The best choice of paper is mountain shell paper and this trough paper, both of which are bamboo straw paper produced in Guangdong. The color of the mountain shell paper is yellow, and the color of this trough paper is white. Guangdong Guangya Bookstore's "Waiju Rare Books" series of books use these two kinds more. Paper printing. Because the leather is good, it is suitable for painting and calligraphy, so there is another great use, that is, to make fans. After the Ming Dynasty, most of the fan papers were these two kinds of paper.”

"And each generation of Shanbei paper and Bensao paper has subtle differences, mainly in the ratio of bamboo and grass. The content of hemp in the early paper is higher than that in the later period."

"The blending process of single powder is very complicated. We all know the main ingredient, which is arsenic. The ingredient is Pb[-]O[-]. It is stable in the air, insoluble in water, red in color, poisonous, and moth-proof, and then alum, starch, and hide glue are added. , Spices such as borneol, dragon musk, blended with starch."

"What remains is the process of mixing glue, boiling glue, mixing alum, adding alum, filtering, mixing powder, mixing ingredients, brushing paper, and drying paper. These processes have matured roughly since the Ming Dynasty."

"If you know the production process, then it will be clear to identify that this is the Wannianhong from that era."

"First of all, the paper is used. The early Wannianhong and the late Wannianhong use mountain shells and this slot. The ratio of bamboo and grass is different. It is roughly the amount of grass in the early paper, which will be higher than that of the late paper. high."

"The second is the source of the dan powder material. The early top-grade dan powder was made of Yunnan materials, and later it was mostly chemically synthesized. The purity and impurity content are different."

"The same is true for alum. In the Ming Dynasty, good alum was produced in Taiyuan, and Wannianhong used Taiyuan alum. With the purification technology in the later period, more alum produced in Guangdong Province was used."

"The third is that all these things need to be prepared with starch. The early Wannianhong used glutinous rice flour, while the later ones used sweet potato flour. This is the most important difference between different periods of Wannianhong."

After this explanation, Teacher Yuan said: "Whether it is the paper or the material used, this paper has a slightly higher impurity content, and the color looks darker than clear paper, which is because this paper naturally darkens after aging. "

"Actually, if it's all new paper, this paper should be lighter in color than clear paper."

"So this is Mingzhi?" Zhou Zhi felt that today was an eye-opener. It turns out that there is so much knowledge and sophistication in such a small title page.

"Yes, this batch of Wannianhong is indeed a clear paper."

"Then I have a question." Zhou Zhi said, "If we have made great technological progress and are able to study the formula of the transparent ten thousand year red paper and reproduce it perfectly... then we can't take it Come to restore Ming Dynasty books?"

"Because of the lack of the hundreds of years of natural aging you mentioned, Mr. Yuan, this will lead to differences in the quality of new and old paper!"

"So this is why ancient paper is so precious!" Teacher Yuan seemed to be a little speechless about Zhou Zhi's understanding of this problem: "To restore rare ancient books, the best restoration solution is of course to use ancient materials that are contemporary with it. It should be repaired, of course there is no doubt about it.”

"As for the perfect new replica, it's not completely useless. It can be placed on the inner lining, the bottom back, etc., which are invisible on the outside, but actually need materials with the same attributes to repair. You can also use craftsmanship It restores the brand-new appearance of the cultural relics at that time."

"For example, ancient bronze swords were not what we see now in their era, but they were as dazzling as gold. A perfect replica can also give people another kind of shock."

"I've learned a lot." Zhou Zhi nodded, "That's right."

Teacher Yuan put the stack of Wannianhong aside: "This stack is considered finished. Next, let's look at Jianyangkou and Taishilian."

"During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Liancheng, Ninghua, Jiangle, and Jianyang were the main production areas of bamboo paper in Central Fujian, and they were also the most important production areas of bamboo paper in the country."

"Among them, Liancheng is the most abundant paper-producing county in the history of bamboo paper production in central Fujian. It has a long history from the Song Dynasty to the present, which lasted for thousands of years."

"In the Qing Dynasty, there were more than 100 paper vats in Liancheng, which flourished for a time. The bamboo paper produced was even more colorful, including five categories: raw paper, clinker paper, bleached paper, processed paper, and improved paper62 All varieties."

"Among them, the shellfish in the raw material paper has been mentioned when we talked about Wannianhong just now; there is also a kind of clinker paper, including Jingzhuang and Fugong in the time-honored brands, and handbooks, gold paper, etc. in the bleached paper. Huangbang, Zouben, Jinglian, Xuan paper, jade plate, Lianshi, bitter bamboo, etc."

"The Jiangle 'Xishan paper' mentioned in the previous "Fujian Production Records" refers to the Xishan rough paper. The raw material for papermaking is tender bamboo. It must go through nearly [-] complicated processes and last more than a year to make excellent Xishan. Raw edge paper. Xishan paper is fine and flexible, it is used for calligraphy, has strong ink absorption, does not fade, and can also be used for repairing and printing old books, so there has been a saying that "Xishan paper is expensive" since ancient times."

"Since the Song Dynasty, Jianyang has become one of the three engraving centers at that time. The towns of Masha and Chonghua in Jianyang County, most of the residents are engaged in engraving books, and they are known as the 'house of books', and the engraved editions are called 'Minben'," Jianben' or 'Mashaben'."

"Zhu Xi's "Secretary of Xuezang in Jiahe County" said: 'The Jianyang version of the book travels everywhere, and it is everywhere', which shows the prosperity of Jianyang engraving and printing."

"Although the quality of the Masha engraved editions is not as good as Yuhang and Shudu, the quantity ranks first in the country.

"That's why Yue Ke, a descendant of Yue Fei, a famous literati in the Southern Song Dynasty, once said: 'Jianyang Shusi, a monthly magazine published on a daily basis, varies from time to time, so it can be sold quickly.'"

"The paper used at that time was bamboo paper produced in Shaowu, Sanming, and Yanping counties, which were also one of the national bamboo paper production centers at that time."

"Although the masha book is relatively rough and not considered a rare book, it is popular with poor scholars because of the cheap bamboo paper and low cost of books, and it has played a role in widely printing books and popularizing culture."

"And more importantly, this advantage has allowed Fujian people to continue, from the Song Dynasty to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and it has been like this."

"However, the location is also gradually changing, from the earliest Jianyang, gradually transferred to Liancheng Sibao."

"During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Sibao was once as famous as Beijing, Hankou, and Huwan, and was listed as the four major engraving and printing bases in my country. The engraving and printing books in Sibao in Ming Dynasty had the reputation of 'publishing half the world'."

"The engraving and printing relics in Beijing, Hankou, and Huwan have since disappeared, and only Sibao has become the only relatively complete engraving and printing relic in the country."

"The development of engraving and printing is also related to the abundance of high-quality bamboo paper in the local area. In addition to the readings of classics and history, Sibao engraving also includes local chronicles of counties in western Fujian and works of celebrities, such as Li Yuanzhong's "Han Zhi Ji", Yang Lan's "Lin Ting Hui Kao", Hao Fengsheng "Kowloon Poetry Carving", etc., including the banned books at that time, Xiao Xiaosheng's works, were all engraved in Sibao, using bamboo paper produced in Liancheng, Ninghua, Shanghang and other places."

"Understanding these, you can establish some general knowledge framework."