Evolution of archives carrier

Archives are one of the most important carriers in human history. It reveals the truth of history to future generations through its own records, and the archives themselves are constantly changing.

Oracle Bone Inscriptions Archives: Oracle Bone Inscriptions Archives is the oldest historical archives in China, with more than150,000 pieces unearthed. The earliest archival written materials left by Shang Dynasty are such Oracle Bone Inscriptions archives, and they are also the earliest existing systematic official documents in China. This kind of archives is unique in the world in terms of its special materials, age and quantity.

Jinwen Archives: Jinwen Archives is another precious historical archives after Oracle Bone Inscriptions Archives. The inscriptions on bronzes appeared in Shang Dynasty. In the Western Zhou Dynasty, China's bronzes reached their peak. At this time, the characters on bronzes increased, and the records were extensive, which had the nature of book history. Ancient ancestors collectively referred to metals as "gold", and the words carved on bronzes were called "inscriptions" or "inscriptions". Bronze inscriptions with the characteristics of recording historical events are called "bronze inscriptions". Judging from the scope of unearthed bronze inscriptions, it is more extensive and detailed than Oracle Bone Inscriptions's archives, and it has extremely important historical value for studying the history at that time.

Silk Archives: China is the hometown of silk, and silk archives naturally occupy a place. With the development of silk industry, silk was used as a writing material in the Warring States period, and it was used more in the Qin and Han Dynasties. As a writing material, silk has many advantages, which can be cut at will, tough and soft, and easy to carry and save, so it is often used to draw maps or copy classics. Because of its high price, it cannot be widely used. In Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, with the wide application of paper, the use of silk decreased sharply. However, some important documents of the feudal dynasty were still written in silk. Until the Qing Dynasty, brocade was still used for imperial edicts and pardoning civil and military officials.

Bamboo Slip Archives: Bamboo Slip Archives refer to the ancient written materials in China. "Jane" refers to long and narrow bamboo or wood chips; "Xie" refers to square wood chips, which are mainly used for general official documents. "Strategy" refers to several compendiums that are linked together and used for major state affairs and writing classics. According to the existing historical records, before paper appeared, bamboo chips and wood chips were mostly used as writing materials, so document files were often called "books", "classics", "texts", "bamboo slips" and "ancient books".

Stone Carving Archives: The traditional custom of setting up a monument and passing it on makes the ancient stone carving archives in China rich and colorful. As early as the pre-Qin period, stones were used as memory materials. In the Qin Dynasty, stone carvings not only expanded in shape, but also increased in quantity and content. At this time, stone carvings are completely archival in nature. Since Qin Daxing, stone carving archives have been regarded as the best handed down materials for issuing policies and recording state affairs. This is because the carved stone is easy to obtain, spread for a long time, and easy to preserve, which makes up for the shortcomings of bronze casting, easy corrosion and limited words. Different from the archives of Oracle Bone Inscriptions, Jinwen and Bamboo Slips, these three kinds of archives gradually died out because of the progress of the times, and only the archives of stone carvings still have vitality today.

Paper files: The file carrier in China has undergone great changes since paper files, replacing bamboo slips and becoming the official writing material of the country, which has been in use ever since.

After entering the industrial society, audio-visual archives began to appear, such as photos, films, records, audio tapes and videos. Since the mid-20th century, the archives carrier has undergone revolutionary changes, resulting in electronic files recorded in the form of codes on tapes, disks, optical disks and other carriers, which can be accessed by computer systems and transmitted on communication networks. These archived electronic files with preservation value and corresponding supporting software, parameters and other related data are called electronic files. The emergence of electronic archives is the most drastic change in the field of archives, which directly affects the operation mode, basic theory and even thinking concept of archives work.