King of Song

Chapter 96 Great Technology

Lin Zhao's eyes lit up, because he saw a box of small seals, made of mud...

Isn't this the legendary clay type?The legendary movable type printing?

Just now by the West Lake, I thought, where is Bi Sheng?Unexpectedly, after only a while, I saw the real thing in Shen Kuo's study!

Before the birth of electronic media, it is self-evident how important printed matter is and how important it is to cultural communication.

In ancient times, it was originally a manuscript, and later there was woodblock printing, but it was doomed to be difficult to use on a large scale in terms of cost and convenience.

Until the mid-Northern Song Dynasty, Bi Sheng invented movable clay type, printing became convenient and the cost was much lower, which was of great significance.

To be listed among the four great inventions of ancient times must be of extraordinary significance.

"Mr. Shen, what is this?" Lin Zhao suppressed the excitement in his heart, asked in a low voice, and made sure carefully.

Shen Kuo said: "Shen Yi's elder brother got this by chance. He said it was created by a printing workshop owner, and it could be typeset and reused, so he collected it and showed it to me a few days ago."

"The owner of the printing workshop? Who is he? I wonder if I can see him?"

"I'm afraid there is no chance for this!" Shen Kuo shook his head and said, "The owner of the shop is from Hangzhou, named Bi Sheng. He went to Jinghu North Road to visit relatives more than ten years ago, and passed away due to illness..."

Bi Sheng, it really is Bi Sheng!But how did he die?
Shen Kuo continued: "Bi Sheng was acquainted with my nephew during his lifetime. This object was a gift from him during his lifetime. After Bi Sheng passed away, my nephew cherished it with deep affection. When I came home a few days ago, he knew that I like rare things. Take it to watch with me. What? Dongyang seems to be very interested?"

The record about clay movable type and Bi Sheng comes from Shen Kuo's "Mengxi Bi Tan": In Qingli, there is a commoner Bi Sheng who is also a movable type...

Bi Sheng passed away relatively early, and the clay movable type was preserved by Shen Kuo's nephew.

As for the close relationship between Bi Sheng and the Shen family?This is not important anymore, the key is the technology...

According to Shen Kuo, Bi Sheng has been dead for more than ten years, and this clay movable type has been treasured for more than ten years. It is really a waste of money!

Lin Zhao said in a deep voice, "Mr. Shen, don't you think this thing is of great significance?"

It has been a few days since the item was delivered, but Shen Kuo didn't take it seriously.I didn't take a closer look, so I never considered the effect.

After hearing Lin Zhao's reminder at this moment, Shen Kuo observed it carefully and thought about the way to do it. After a while, he said leisurely: "Good thing, if this thing is popular in the world, it will be of great benefit to culture and education!"

"That's right!" Lin Zhao sighed, "Mr. Bi Sheng is really ingenious. This thing is useful in the present age, and its merits will last forever!"
Shen Kuo said again: "It's just that although the clay type is easy to make, it is easy to damage, and the writing on the bottom seems not very clear. I'm afraid it will be difficult to print important books..."

The Song Dynasty was an era of prosperity and prosperity, refined and elegant, and the graceful and elegant Song Ci is a good proof.The same is true for preferences in printed matters. The first requirement is to be clear and beautiful.

In fact, in the Song Dynasty, movable type printing was not used much, and the mainstream at that time was still engraving, and the reason may also be related to this.Therefore, if movable type printing is to be popularized on a large scale, improvement is a very important link.

"Is it possible to use wood to make movable type?" Lin Zhao vaguely remembered that some people seemed to use wooden movable type later, and the material was better than clay.

Shen Kuo shook his head and said: "Wood is much more refined, but if you want to engrave characters, the requirements for wood must be very high, and printing will inevitably come into contact with ink. Wood is easily deformed and rotted by moisture, and it may be inconvenient."

"Ceramics? Tin? From the perspectives of hard material, non-perishable, clear and beautiful, copper movable type is undoubtedly the best!" Lin Zhao thought about various possible materials, ceramics are fragile, and tin is too soft , copper is undoubtedly the best.

Unexpectedly, Shen Kuo said in a deep voice: "Copper is naturally good, but the output of copper in the Great Song Dynasty is not high, and the copper used for making coins is very tight every year. If it is used to make movable type, the imperial court may not support it..."

well!Copper seems to be scarce in the Song Dynasty, and history books also mention the use of iron coins in Shu.The earliest paper currency "Jiaozi" was also produced in the Northern Song Dynasty. At that time, the use of paper money was not necessarily a sign of progress, but it was also a last resort due to the severe shortage of copper coins.

Lin Zhao sighed, "I've neglected this issue. It would be great if we could develop a few more copper mines..."

I vaguely remember that Yunnan Copper seems to be famous in later generations, but now it belongs to Dali Kingdom.What's more, in the southwest of Wanzhong Mountain, the transportation is inconvenient, even if there are copper mines, it is difficult to transport.

"Looking for copper mines requires chance and coincidence, how can..." Shen Kuo responded, and suddenly he had a flash of inspiration, and said: "When I was young, I lived with my father in Quanzhou in southern Fujian. I saw a mountain spring there that was green in color and tasted bitter. It is like bile. The local people take its water and boil it in an iron pot. After the water dries up, there will be yellow copper on the iron pot."

Bravery to smelt copper?Lin Zhao came to his senses, remembering the chemistry knowledge in middle school, he had a little understanding of it.The turquoise bitter spring water should be a solution of copper sulfite, which can be heated to form bile alum, and when it encounters iron to produce a chemical reaction, copper can be precipitated.What a copper smelting method, it can make up for the lack of copper in the Song Dynasty to a certain extent.

In actual history, the economy of the Song Dynasty was prosperous, and the demand for copper coins was large, but the output of copper was seriously insufficient.After the discovery of the biliary water copper smelting method, great attention was paid to it. During the Northern Song Dynasty, biliary copper accounted for about 15.00% of the total copper production.The Southern Song Dynasty could only lose half of the country and lost the copper mines in the north. As a last resort, 80.00% of the five coppers depended on the gall copper in the south of the Yangtze River.

Whether it is gall water smelting or movable type printing, it is of great benefit to the development of the Song Dynasty and even the entire social history.Shen Kuo is also true, hiding such a treasure and not taking it out...

Lin Zhao said in a low voice: "Mr. Shen, if these two methods are improved and dedicated to the imperial court, it will benefit the country and the people! Especially if the officials want to show their ambitions, and Wang Xueshi is also planning to show his strength, it will be regarded as a big deal for them. Great support."

Shen Kuo was purely curious before, and only regarded it as a scientific interest, and did not think carefully about the promotion of heroism.Being reminded by Lin Zhao at this time, his eyes suddenly brightened.

These two things are treasures, and dedicating them to the imperial court must be a great achievement, why didn't I think of them before?

Ancient salt, iron, copper, and even tea are all government-run, so some secret methods are in hand, and private individuals cannot easily get involved.As for movable type printing, although the Song Dynasty did not prevent the mouth of the people more than Fangchuan, what the people wanted to print and publicize was strictly controlled.

Therefore, these two technologies are difficult to develop and manage by themselves. After thinking about it, Lin Zhaosi felt that it would be better to dedicate them to the imperial court.Copper mines can prosper the national economy and benefit the entire era.As for movable type printing, Wang Anshi's reform is imminent, publicity is essential, and he must be interested in this thing.

For a period of time thereafter, Lin Zhao often traveled to and from the Shen family's mansion, discussing and researching with Shen Kuo on the improvement of movable type printing and copper smelting with gallbladder water.

After more than half a month, I finally came up with a good plan and made a small number of copper movable type models.Immediately, the horse was sent to Bianjing and presented to Emperor Zhao Xu.

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Lin Zhao has enjoyed eating, drinking, having fun and doing scientific research recently, but many people see it and feel a little uneasy.

Zhao Zhongshan was very surprised at the Prince's Mansion of Yuhang County, and asked doubtfully, "Brother, are we thinking too much? Lin Zhao runs to Shen's house all day long, doing nothing at all!"

"Then what do you think he should do?"

Uh... Zhao Zhongye's words really stopped Zhao Zhongshan.

Zhao Zhongye, Duke of Dongyang County, continued: "He came to Hangzhou for the first time, and he is not familiar with the place, how dare he take it rashly? It is the right way to gain a firm foothold, inquire about the news, and wait for the right time... The Shen family is a big family in Hangzhou. Wang Anshi has always been kind, is it wrong for Lin Zhao to go to him?"

"You mean... Lin Zhao is going to inquire about news from the Shen family? Is it just necessary so often? Every day!"

Zhao Zhongye couldn't help but wondered: "Yeah, this is really strange..."

"By the way, when will father come back?"

"It's coming soon, it's probably only a few days..."

"Father is also true, and ran to Tiantai Mountain to listen to the monk's lecture..."

While talking, someone came to report: "Young Lord, you have reported to Bianjing Mansion..."

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As night fell, boats sailing on the Jiangnan River docked one after another.

Amidst the starlight and fishing fire, a thin or petite shadow appeared by the river, and after a few ups and downs, it jumped onto a boat by the river without anyone knowing it.

"Miss, I'm back!" Walking into the elegant and exquisite cabin, under the light, a petite shadow revealed its prototype, which was Mu Sihong's maid, Yutong.On weekdays, it can be seen at all that this tomboy is actually a master of martial arts.

Mu Sihong stood up from the couch, and said softly, "Thank you for your hard work, how is the situation?"

"Calm, Hangzhou is very peaceful!"

This answer made Mu Sihong a little surprised, and asked in confusion, "What is Lin Zhao doing? Does the Chen family have any reaction? Or other people..."

Yutong replied: "Since Lin Zhao arrived in Hangzhou, he has been visiting places of interest and historical sites. Recently, he has become very close to Shen Kuoguo, the editor of the Zhaowen Museum who is at home. He has been running to Shen's house almost every day for more than half a month!"

"Oh? Did I guess wrong? The purpose of Lin Zhao's visit..." Mu Sihong was slightly disappointed, and she shook her head after pondering for a moment, "No, this is normal. It would be strange if Hangzhou is not peaceful right now..."

Yu Tong was puzzled and said: "Miss, what are you talking about?"

"Nothing?" Mu Sihong smiled sweetly, and ordered: "Okay, according to the plan, we will go to the West Lake with great fanfare..."

"Yes!"

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In recent days, Lin Zhao has been busy working on scientific research projects that will last forever.But it is not enough to be completely intoxicated by it. The emperor's secret edict has never forgotten why he came to Hangzhou.

Lin Zhao himself seems to be doing nothing, but since the day he arrived in Hangzhou, Su An has disappeared...

　Bi Sheng's native place is controversial, and Hangzhou is used in this article!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)