The Study On The Woodblock Of The Song Dynasty Books Reprinted In The Ming Dynasty

The woodblock-reprinted books are the production of the upsurge of reprinting Song's edition advocated by the Ming Dynasty. Engraving printing is in vogue for a time from its being invented to the Song Dynasty. People in the Song Dynasty are praised by posterity for their sincere emending, good writing, exquisite carving, superior papers and ink, and delectable effects when engraving. As time goes on, Song's edition is very precious and difficult to be found because of its gradual rareness in the Ming Dynasty. Because ancient books and records in previous dynasties is published scarcely in the early Ming Dynasty, therefore social demands of publishing arise; ideological thread of cultural returning to the ancients spring up everywhere during Hongzhi and zhengde's reign, students claim that they should read more ancient books; bachelors' academic research and arranging of ancient books and records also requires ancient books. Literators' habits of loving books and having a strange addition for ancient learning make them cherish ancient books. In addition, the government ever gives orders that distorting words, lines and squares is strictly prohibited. These factors interact on each other. The upsurge of reprinting Song's edition springs up in publishing industry around Jiajing's reign(including Hongzhi,Zhengde, Jiajing, Longqing reign), and its influence on publishing industry spread to the late Qing Dynasty and even the early Republic of China. Researches on the Woodblock of the Song Dynasty books reprinted in the Ming Dynasty have many deficiencies as follows. The first is that many researches pay insufficient attention to extent and profundity of literature itself .For ages, the main studies of the woodblock-reprinted books focus on few Song woodblock-reprinted editions in Suzhou area, therefore, they fall short of attention and survey to other literature recourses of Song woodblock-reprinted editions, so they are hard to avoid a pity of generalizing totality in partial way. The second is that the panoramic writing which surveys amount, category, publisher, time, local distribution, edition, catalog and collation etc is not yet found till now, so this study has the function of supplying a gap. The third is that many researches don't yet take the woodblock of the Song Dynasty books reprinted in the Ming Dynasty as a kind of publishing action, trace out the relation between society, culture, and thought of that times and publishing cultural phenomenon of the woodblock books of the Song Dynasty. Undoubtedly, the three respects above are my striving direction.In the first place, I excerpt eight kinds of book photograph so as to make readers have rather distinct and audio-visual cognition of the woodblock books of the Song Dynasty. In the next place, the section of exordium shows its brief development history, study actuality and the thought of this paper. The main part of this paper includes five sections.The first chapter clarifies, differentiates and analyses roundly historical bookmaking contents and existing conditions of the woodblock of the Song Dynasty books reprinted in the Ming Dynasty by investigating into books and records, relative documents and actual visual test of past ages and of present age. The second chapter illustrates its publishing status in three respects which include the content of books, publishers, printing and carving time and geographical distribution by collecting, counting up, and comparing and analyzing documents. The third chapter selects individual case having problems in bookmaking contents of past ages of the woodblock of the Song Dynasty books reprinted in the Ming Dynasty to examine and distinguish from the view of checking and specifying documents and rectifying edition. The fourth chapter observes and studies its master copy and manufacture in the respects such as master copy, writing sample and writing and carving effects, and the relation between the reprinted woodblock books of the Song Dynasty and master copy. The fifth chapter clarifies social and. cultural backgrounds and significance of publishing and prevailing, and edition values of the reprinted woodblock books of the Song Dynasty. The appendix opinions and book contents of the woodblock of the Song Dynasty books reprinted in the Ming Dynasty is my bookmaking contents which are written when testing part of the woodblock of the Song Dynasty books reprinted in the Ming Dynasty visually, in order to benefit further research.