Chapter 1561 The Origin of Shu Paper
“For example, in general mounting and color fixing, a film composed of alum is pressed on the surface of the picture to protect the picture; and this set of album pages, but Adhesive is used to stick the color material on the painting center from behind. This incredible method is used to fix the color, but it can also deliberately expose the characteristics of the paper used in the painting center to our eyes. ”
Is there any? Several people looked at each other again. They had been to several exhibitions before and after. Many people had seen this set of albums, but no one noticed that it was deliberately exposed to whose eyes?
Is this the pretty eyes made for a blind man?
"Mr. Zhou, according to your guess, why did Mr. Daqian do this?"
"No need to guess, I am 100% sure." Zhou Zhi affirmed: "Mr. Daqian has only one purpose in doing this, which is to show off! Show off the paper he uses for this set of albums - cloth-headed paper!"
See everyone. Looking confused, Zhou Zhi had no choice but to explain in detail: "Let me talk about the conclusion first. Su Dongpo in "Dongpo Zhilin" A kind of paper in Sichuan was once mentioned: "Sichuan paper was made by taking the remaining warp and not weft of the cloth head, so it was named cloth head paper. This paper is the best in the world, and people in Liuhe also made it, but it was not good in the end."
"According to the information left by Su Dongpo, this kind of paper is made of the worsted threads left at both ends of the machine when weaving in Shuzhong, and is processed by the filter paper and grate pressing. In terms of craftsmanship, it also has its own unique technique. The final paper has fine silk patterns on it, so it is also called 'Silk Texture Xuan'."
"This paper was used by the Yuan Dynasty. It was completely lost after Shu." Zhou Zhi said: "There are very few places where you can still see it, except for a handwritten copy in the Shu Museum. "Leibudong Sutra" uses this paper, and the Taoist who copied the sutra specifically marked it as a cloth-headed paper in its preface. I have never seen it anywhere else."
"That sutra is. I repaired it myself, and the fiber ratio, distribution, embossing, and color of the paper are exactly the same.”
"Therefore, it is no wonder that Mr. Daqian spends so much energy on special decoration." Zhou Zhi said with a smile: "In the Song Dynasty, Su Dongpo praised it to the sky, and it was known as the best cloth-headed paper in the world!"
"So according to In Mr. Zhou’s opinion, there is no doubt that the paper used for these twelve volumes of Mr. Daqian is Song Dynasty paper?”
“I think it is certain.” Zhou Zhi nodded firmly: “I wrote an article about restoration in Shu University. "Leibu Cave Sutra" 》The handwritten paper has a clearer explanation of the use of paper.”
“Have you never heard of cloth-headed paper?” Even Lin Wanqiu looked confused: “When it comes to the Five Dynasties and Two. The best paper in Song Dynasty is still needed Is it Li Yu’s Chengxintang paper?”
“Chengxintang paper is certainly famous.” Zhou Zhi nodded: “At least it is the highest-grade paper among the ancient paper that can be seen today.”< br>
"But why did Su Dongpo say that this...cloth-headed paper is the best in the world?"
"Because this cloth-headed paper itself has a deep connection with Chengxintang paper." Zhou Zhi said: "Although " "Book of the Later Han Dynasty" attributes the invention of papermaking to Cai Lun, an eunuch of the Eastern Han Dynasty, but the paper discovered by archeology was much earlier than that of the West. In the ancient tombs of the Western Han Dynasty excavated by An, "Baqiao paper" was unearthed. It is made of hemp fiber and a small amount of ramie fiber. Although it is still extremely rough, it already has the basic elements of "paper". ”
"Papermaking requires several elements. The first is the most easily available and relatively cheap plant fiber. Waste hemp is It is a very good material, so early papermaking workshops must be located around hemp spinning workshops. "In addition, papermaking workshops must also be close to water sources. First, the papermaking process itself requires a lot of water and has very high requirements for water quality, which is as muddy as the Yellow River." Silt water is not suitable for papermaking; secondly, the papermaking process requires pounding of flax, which can be done near water. With the convenience of hydraulic mills, a lot of labor can be saved."
"Thirdly, if you want to make good paper, you need a stable social environment to provide papermaking craftsmen. Conditions for long-term gathering and exchange of experience, continuous improvement and inheritance of skills in market competition. ”
"The Shu region, located in the southwest, happened to have the above favorable conditions during the transition from the middle and late Tang Dynasty to the Song Dynasty."
"The Shu region has been the most prosperous place in the textile industry since ancient times. In addition to being world-famous, In addition to Shu brocade, its hemp textile industry has also been quite famous since the Han Dynasty, and reached its peak in the Tang Dynasty. Shu hemp was listed as a taxable object by the Tang Dynasty. Wu Qi, a financial expert in the Tang Suzong era, once suggested that "Wu Qi" Salt , Shuma, and copper smelting all have taxes."
"Salt and copper have been national monopoly patents since ancient times. It is not surprising that Wu Qi targeted them, but he ranked Shuma alongside salt and copper. It can be seen that the output of Shuma in the Tang Dynasty was The tax on Shuma was closely related to the military and state affairs. When Du Fu, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, lived in Shu, he often appeared in his poems: "Shu Ma and Wu Yan have been connected since ancient times, and thousands of dendrobium boats can travel." "Like the wind" "Sichuan hemp has not come for a long time, Wu Yan supports Jingmen" and other poems. "
"Sichuan is rich in hemp production, and has not been disturbed by war for a long time. Therefore, the skills of Shu's papermaking craftsmen are also extremely high, and the hemp paper is of high quality. long It is the best paper in the world and was designated by the imperial court as a special paper for royal and government documents. According to the "Liu Dian of the Tang Dynasty", the paper presented by all parties at that time was first called Yizhou yellow and white linen paper. Li Zhao's "History of the Tang Dynasty" lists the best papers in the world. Called Shu On the ground there are papers such as 'pockmarked surface, chip powder, talc, gold flower, long hemp, fish roe, ten-color paper'. "
"According to "Tang Liudian", it is equivalent to the Tang Dynasty Jixian Palace Academy of the National Library. , all in Shu The hemp paper produced was used for writing. During the cultural prosperity of the Tang Dynasty, paper consumption was quite large. According to "New Book of Tang·Yiwenzhi", Taifu supplied "five thousand pieces of Shu County hemp paper" to Jixian Hall Academy every month."
"Later, Xue Tao invented the invention of using hibiscus skin as material, boiling the mince, and adding hibiscus flower juice to make a very beautiful paper, called 'Xue Tao Jian'. By the time Meng Chang, the Lord of Later Shu, planted hibiscus all over the capital of Shu, When the flower won it the title of 'Rongcheng', this kind of 'parchment paper' had already become popular in Sichuan. ”
< br> "The earliest papermaking workshops in Shu were mainly built in the area from the Jinjiang River to Huanhua Stream where textile craftsmen and workshops were concentrated because they needed to receive waste linen materials from the hemp textile industry. Lu You recorded it in "Jiannan Poetry Manuscript" On the south bank of Huanhua River, "all the residents are engaged in papermaking." Su Shi also said: "The water of Huanhua River in Chengdu is clear and smooth." Often, retted hemp paper is used as writing paper, which is tight and white. If you use it for daily calligraphy practice, it seems too extravagant to use it for daily calligraphy practice. After all, it is of the same weight. , the number of sheets of hemp paper is much smaller.”
“So, as a cheap alternative to hemp paper, vellum paper has also developed a special group of fans. Calligraphers’ writing is becoming larger and more sloppy. Hemp paper is particularly suitable for expressing the artistic conception of calligraphy.”
"In addition, woodblock printing also began to sprout in the Tang Dynasty. Hard, thick, and tough linen paper is preferred for making scrolls and folds, but the opposite is true for printing. Thin paper is more suitable for woodblock printing."
"So Craftsmen in Shu capital have discovered paper bark, a substitute for hibiscus bark, to cope with the increasing demand for leather paper. The best craftsmen who make this kind of paper are all Concentrated in Guangdu, just south of Shu capital. "Guangdu is Shuangliu. In ancient times, Guangdu, Shu capital and Xindu were collectively called the "three capitals" of ancient Shu. name taboo , based on Zuo Si's "Ode to the Capital of Shu", it was renamed Shuangliu.
"There are Longquan Mountains to the east of Guangdu from which bark can be harvested, and water from the Minjiang River to the southwest." Due to the easy access to materials and good water resources, by the end of the Tang Dynasty, "Guangdu Paper" was already very famous. ”