How did books evolve?

As early as more than 3,000 years ago, at the end of Yin Dynasty, there were books of good and bad luck. At that time, before the invention of paper, people used local materials to record tortoise shells and animal bones, and carved the contents of divination on tortoise shells or animal bones. This is the earliest book-Oracle Bone Inscriptions.

2. The Book of Stone

Due to the rise of stone carving, rubbings appeared. The words carved on the stone surface are concave on the front. First, soak a piece of tissue paper in alum and bletilla striata water and stick it on the surface of the stone. Brush the paper evenly with a soft brush, then tap it gently to embed the paper in the strokes of the inscription. When the paper is dry, wrap the extension bag made of cotton cloth with fine cloth, dip it in ink, punch it evenly on the paper, and take off the paper to get the same copy. This operation process is called "rubbings", those with ink are called ink rubbings, those with red pigments are called Zhu Tuo, leaflets are called rubbings, and those that are put together are called rubbings.

3. Bamboo Slips Books

Before the invention of paper, bamboo slips were the most important book form in China, which had a far-reaching impact on the book system of later generations. Today, the terminology, writing format and writing method of books still inherit the tradition formed during the bamboo slips period.

4. Silk books

Although bamboo slips are cheap and simple to make, this bulky book is inconvenient to carry, and the number of words in each bamboo slip is limited. Once the long book compiled into a book is scattered, "wrong simplification" will occur. In addition, ribbons, hemp ropes and belts used in weaving bamboo slips are easy to be worn off and difficult to read. Silk is a kind of silk fabric, which is light, soft, smooth, wide and easy to ink. The width of the fabric can be cut according to the number of words, and can be folded or rolled up at will, which is convenient for collection and carrying and can make up for the shortcomings of bamboo slips.

5. Write an ancient book

With the continuous improvement and improvement of papermaking, the scale of papermaking is constantly expanding, especially due to the development of social economy and culture, the number of paper books and the superiority of paper are fully recognized. In the Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, paper became the main writing material, and writing books replaced silk books.

6. Printed books from Song Dynasty to Qing Dynasty

In ancient China, books formed a fixed format from bamboo slips, scrolls to leaves, which originated from block printing, but printing books with movable type was mostly the same as writing books.