Dress to be a celebrity

Song edition books are all handwritten by famous masters. Their characters are fat like Yan style and thin like Oulu. They are carefully proofread and printed.The ink sticks used are also better than those of later generations. After the book is opened, the ink is fragrant, the ink color is smooth and clear, and it does not smudge when splashed.But in this dynasty, printing books has completely become the job of a craftsman, and writing characters no longer have the style of famous artists in the Song Dynasty.Furthermore, from engraving to printing, it is also much poorer. The printed characters are light and fuzzy, and the strokes are clumsy and weak, far inferior to the Song version.

This edition in the Song Dynasty has changed from the roughness of the current printed books, with thin and thin brushstrokes, square fonts, strong bones and bones, and bright and smooth ink, making the paper surface extraordinarily spacious and clean.

Huan Ling's eyes turned from the paper to Song Shi's face, and asked: "You can create such a thin and powerful new font, let alone, how did you print such slender strokes? Isn't it a book block carved by a craftsman?" , what other mystery is there?"

Song Shi slowly opened the cover of the mimeograph machine, pointed to the ink-soaked gauze inside, and replied with a smile: "Of course no craftsman is needed, it all depends on this big baby."

Huan Ling lowered his head to take a closer look, and saw that the box was divided vertically into two halves: one half was a gauze framed by a wooden frame, and the gauze was stained black with ink; A thin pen with an iron head and a wooden shaft, a porcelain ink bottle, and a round stick with a handle covered in ink.

Can such a box print a book?Where does the book version come from?Could it be carved out with that stylus?But the engraved inscriptions are inscribed, but the printed inscriptions are as thin as the tip of a pen?

He was still puzzled, shook his head, and looked at Song Shi with a smile, waiting for him to explain to himself.

In the Song Dynasty, he took out the ink, leather roller, stylus, and glass ink palette, then took out the steel plate from the bottom, spread a clean new wax paper on the steel plate, wrote a Huan character in Pang Chinese style, and sketched it again. A solid Yan Ti Huan character was then sandwiched under the gauze, with white paper placed underneath, and a roller dipped in ink was used to roll it.

Two smooth, clear and spacious "Huan" characters were printed on the paper.The face font has also improved compared to before. The inner frame of the font is completely filled, just like a real soft pen, and the blank space left by the strokes can no longer be seen.

Huan Ling took a deep breath, looked carefully at the very ordinary box, which was covered with ink inside, and even a little dirty inside, his eyes were full of surprise: "How did you come up with this idea? With this thing, future scholars will You can print your own books, you don’t need to rely on craftsmen or bookstores, you can transfer the books of today’s craftsmen to the books of scholars!”

Holding an ordinary-looking stylus, he touched the steel plate and wax paper, and looked at Song Shi: "It seems that there are fine lines on this board. This paper is smooth and smooth, and it is oiled." Was it soaked in wax? Did you cut the paper on the iron plate with a stylus, then apply a layer of ink through the net, and print it on the lower layer of leather?"

But why does this ink not smear at all, and the printed brush strokes are so slender and firm?

Song Shi shook his head and explained with a smile: "It's not to cut the paper. If the paper is torn, the ink will smear into a ball. It's just to scratch off the wax layer on the paper. There is skill in using force. And the ink is added. Oil and alkali special ink, it takes a lot of work to mix, and I don’t bring much, so I have to make it with you later.”

Seeing Huan Ling's envious face, as if eager to try, he picked up a pen and waved it in front of his eyes, saying: "The way to hold and write a hard pen is different from that of a brush. I'll teach you."

His pen-holding gestures were practiced by elementary school teachers. Although he became loose when he grew up, he can still pose in a standard posture when teaching people how to use a pen.

Huan Ling imitated his gesture and pinched the pen, his eyes fell on the knuckles of his middle finger resting on the pen holder, and he frowned and asked, "What's the matter with this hand, why is it so red?"

Oh, it's hard to write.

The posture of using a brush and a hard pen is different, and it is especially necessary to control the force when engraving. If you pinch the pen a little harder, your fingers will become red.But it doesn't matter, I will write a lot in the future, and it will be fine if I grow cocoons.

He explained casually, laid out a new wax paper for Huan Ling, and told him to try to write on it himself—don't use too much force, so as not to scratch the paper.

However, it is not as easy for a hand who is used to holding a brush to hold a hard brush for the first time, after all, it is not as easy to use as the hand he has had more than [-] years of experience before.Huan Ling squeezed the pen holder vigorously, stroked the paper, and finally understood why Song Shi's fingers were so red.Because the wax layer on the wax paper is extremely thin, it is not easy for him to observe whether the brush is light or heavy. He can only tell the strength when he breaks the paper, so next time he moves the brush lighter.

He put down his pen after writing a few words, shook his head and smiled and said, "It's really not easy. I'm afraid I'll have to practice for a few months before I can get started. I don't see any red marks on your fingers a few days ago. I think it's because of these things." You only started to practice hard after making stylus and steel plate? Your talent is really not comparable to that of a brother."

No... I also practiced hard for several semesters and bought Pang Zhonghua's hard-tipped calligraphy tutorial.

Song Shi said modestly: "Brother Miao Zan, I just practiced a few days earlier than you, and it will be fine if you practice more in the future. You just didn't use the right strength when writing, and the base of your wrist was stuck on the paper to borrow Strength, the fingertips need to live..."

He pressed Huan Ling on the seat, pressed his shoulder with one hand, and closed his hand with the other hand, squeezed his fingertips tightly, and led him to draw on the paper.

The effect... doesn't seem to be very good.It's really not easy to use force to hold other people's hands together like this, and you can't feel the force all the time, right? The TV shows are indeed deceiving.

But when he first came to Huan's house, when Mr. Huan asked his junior brother to watch him practice calligraphy, he felt that he should watch this child practice according to his age and status.Now, several years have passed, and he has finally surpassed this little brother with a pen. Regardless of whether he is effective or not, he must first get through the addiction of teaching people.

He dragged Huan Ling's hand to engrave a few words, lowered his head and said, "Brother, do you feel how to hold the pen and how to use force? Just take your time like this, don't worry, I'll dip a few more wax papers for you to practice on. "

Huan Ling only felt that the right hand covered by him did not belong to him, but he held it in his hand and dragged it, trying to break free, but he couldn't use any strength.The tight arm on his left shoulder and the heat from his back also made his whole body tense, and a circle of sweat gradually appeared on his back.

How come it's only April and it's so hot.

He suppressed his breath, lowered his head and said, "Shi Guan'er lets go first, I'll try it myself."

Um?Is this trying to rebel against his teaching by address?Song Shi was silent for a while, feeling that it didn't count, so he pressed half of his body on Huan Ling's shoulders, and said: "The ancients all said that there is a word for a teacher, and my brother's printing of books is also worthy of the word 'shi'." Right? Senior brother calls Teacher Song, and I will let go."

Teacher Song?

Huan Ling subconsciously wanted to take a look at him, to see why he suddenly had the idea of ​​asking his senior brother to call him teacher, but just as he raised his head, his eyes fell on the hand he was holding, and he pressed it down, calling out in a low, helpless voice. Say "Teacher Song".

Teacher Song was finally willing to let go, patted him on the back, and said with a smile: "Look at the sweat on your body, is it from drying when you were waiting for me outside the city? You go and change your clothes first, this piece of paper is not used." It’s printed, and we’ll print it after you practice a few more and feel that your engraving strength is moderate and the characters you engrave look good.”

He wanted to take away the proof of his teaching failure, but Huan Ling pressed the paper and said: "This paper can be used again, and leave it to me."

...It's okay, little brother is saving money.After he practiced with this paper a few more times and scratched the paper all over, it would not be obvious that he hadn't taught strength well by holding other people's hands.

Song Shi comforted himself a few words, and then said: "I will ask the craftsman to make you a new printing box later on. Whenever you want to print the book, you can print it yourself. I have to use it to mimeograph this set first." The "Biography of the White-Maoed Fairy" was sold in Jianyang to make Wuping County famous; and then used it to print hundreds of invitation letters, inviting famous scholars and talents from Fujian to give lectures at the forum we built, what do you think?"

Huan Ling pondered for a while, and frowned slightly, but he didn't quite agree.

Song Shi was surprised and said: "Brother, you mean that you can't invite people to give lectures? But the grand event of the Goose Lake meeting between the Zhu and Lu families in the previous dynasty is still admired by the students, and the Taizu of this dynasty also attaches great importance to reading. Wouldn't it be possible for Wuping to set up a conference where local celebrities discuss economics and reasoning together?"

Huan Ling shook his head slightly: "I'm not talking about that. Lectures are naturally a major event for my Confucianism. What I don't agree with is that you printed "The Legend of the White-haired Fairy" first to sell. Your printing method is the first of its kind in a generation, and the fonts are also well-known. Director, you also use the characteristics of this engraved pen to create your own unique style. It is the printing method of famous scholars. If you first print a book and sell it in a bookstore, you will turn this book of scholars into a book of craftsmen. , It’s a pity for your printing and brushwork.”

that's true……

Mimeograph is easy for modern people. It seems that any middle school student can help the teacher print the papers, but now in the Zheng Dynasty, he is the only one who can engrave the plate, and no one can be found to take over.

To print this book, you must first find a craftsman who can read and write. This person must be able to spend a lot of time practicing calligraphy with hard pens. Finally, you must have a set of copybooks for others to practice. Only after you have practiced can you start practicing engraving and printing.He can't teach a little brother who is a genius who is in the top ten of the palace examination, but he can't teach him in one step. If it is someone else, how long will it take to teach him to print books?

Then this set of books can't be sold casually, it can be packaged as a small gift and sent out together with the invitation letter.

He said this, and Huan Ling nodded: "Today's talented scholars and celebrities are a little arrogant, and you may send an invitation to him, but he may not be willing to come. If you give this book along with you, even if people refuse to come, see This book also admires your unique talent and clear rhyme."

Cough, little brother can really talk.

Song Shi also praised him very sincerely: "Little senior brother is also the number one talented person I know. When the book is ready, I will be the first to give it to you."

Huan Ling glanced at him, as if he didn't dare to accept the name of the number one talented scholar, he hesitated for a while, but only nodded slightly: "Then I will wait for the letter and invitation from my junior brother."

Now that mimeograph has been upgraded from the ordinary technology that can only print test papers, tabloids, and privately printed books to the level dedicated to scholars, the things printed must be less and better.

Since it is taking the high-end route, it can be a little higher. "Biography of the White-haired Fairy" set up a limited supply, and only give books to Jinshi and officials who have served at home, and an invitation to those who have no official position.

The book was engraved and printed by him himself, and every page was carefully proofread by him and brother Huan Xiao. If there were any mistakes, they were immediately excavated and corrected, and they were carefully printed on smooth white leather paper.Only the embroidered portraits can't come by himself. Fortunately, there are good illustrations in the plate that was originally printed by the craftsman, and there are excellent engravers in the mansion. The craftsmen were all conscientious and did not dare to be perfunctory, and carefully carved it according to the original picture.

The cover is also accompanied by a picture, from top to bottom, there are three traditional lady-like women: the top one is a commoner girl with a red headband, the middle one is a woman with white hair, and the bottom left is a graceful young woman with a high bun. It symbolizes the transformation of Xi'er's life.

——In fact, according to his original intention, he only needs to draw the above two. However, the current audience likes a happy reunion, and he doesn’t want to carry out land reform everywhere, so he can only compromise in the end.

Because the cover needs to be drawn, the blue paper commonly used in the market is not used, but white powder paper is used as the cover, and the embroidered image is printed first, and then the figure is painted by the painter.He himself just engraved a copy of the main and subtitles in imitation Song style and printed them as bookmarks, so that people could stick them on the air-dried book covers.

The number of printed books is based on the number of candidates from Fujian in the "Jinshi Dengkelu" in recent years, but thousands of copies of the invitations have been printed.Not only candidates and scholarly candidates, but also famous Confucian scholars, scholar-officials, and mountain people who have not yet been admitted to the examination, but have poems and essays circulated among scholars, can get a share.

However, this kind of invitation letter is only an invitation to attend lectures, and it is not exactly the same as the lecture invitation letter of VIP customers.

The two invitations are folded in a modern style, and the cover is printed with a blend of ink and woodblock prints on Jiaoyi Mountain, and the mountain embraces a pulpit.Only the words on the right side are different - one is to invite the other party to give a lecture, and the other is to invite the other party to participate in this grand meeting of the master's lecture.

The inside page is "Records of Building the Forum of Fujian Celebrities Lecture Society" written by himself.

The article describes in detail his heartache and sadness that when he observed the government office in Wuping County clearing up the land, he saw that the tyrants occupied more land and made the people poor, and the children of poor families were unable to study, which might lead to the gradual decline of Wuping County's cultural atmosphere.In order to give local scholars a place to hold essay meetings and give lectures, and to enable the common people to hear the wisdom of the sage, he specially chose the beautiful scenery of Jiaoyi Mountain to set up a lecture forum for true scholars.

However, in this land surrounded by green hills and the sky of Duanyang with beautiful scenery, if only the scholars in Wuping can enjoy the joy of giving lectures, they will not be able to live up to the beautiful scenery and the platform.Therefore, he specially printed out an invitation letter, inviting famous Confucian scholars from all over the province. Anyone who is interested can come to Wuping County to participate in this grand Confucian event during the Duanyang holiday.

——Whether it’s about literature, poetry, classics, or rationality, as long as you have real talent and learning, and the content of your lectures does not involve current politics, and does not allude to the current emperor and court ministers, you can talk about anything.

The font is slender and strong, the picture is clear and beautiful, and the meaning is endless. The paper is also a thick leather paper coated with powder and wax, which is good enough to be used as a desk to play with.

Song Shi made a solid paper bag with his own hands, filled it with a set of VIP invitation letters and books, handed it to the little brother with both hands, and invited with a smile: "Next month, on the first day of the Dragon Boat Festival, I will hold a lecture conference in Wuping County. If unfortunately there is no If other famous people are present, you, Senior Brother Quan Zhang, will stand up for the scene."

How could there be no one else? He watched the Song Shi edition with his own eyes and helped him proofread his books. When he got this invitation letter, he wished that the Dragon Boat Festival would come soon.Those who have never seen it before, how can they not be amazed by this set of letters, and immediately want to meet the book maker?

Huan Ling took the paper bag, looked at the slender but muscular text on the book cover and invitation letter, and then glanced at Song Shi's tall and tall figure, playing with the gods, subconsciously compared——

Words are still not as good as people.