According to the different situations of writing and engraving, it can be divided into ancestral edition, manuscript, photocopy, manuscript, manuscript, refined manuscript, manuscript, illustrated edition, Original engraving, re-engraving, fine engraving, repaired edition, revised edition, accompanying edition, 100-year-old edition, sloppy edition, movable type edition, overprinted edition, box edition, pocket edition, two-part edition, lithograph edition, typographic edition, etc.
Ancestral version, a professional term in edition science. Among ancient Chinese books, whether they are engravings or manuscripts, the one closest to the author or the year of writing is the most authentic and complete, with the fewest errors, and is called the ancestral or mother version.
Manuscript is a term used exclusively by ancient book organizers. When photocopying ancient books, a certain book is selected for photocopying. This book is called the original book used for photocopying. When collating ancient books, one should use one main book as the main book, and then use various methods to collate this main book. This main book is also called the manuscript used for collation. When punctuating ancient books, you should also use a notebook to add punctuation marks. This notebook can also be called a base for punctuation use. When annotating, modernizing, and making an index, a notebook must be used for annotation, translation, and indexing respectively. This notebook can also be called the original version of the annotation, modern translation, or index. In addition to photocopying, the originals used in various other organizing methods are usually called "workbooks".
Manuscripts and early books relied on copying for circulation. After the popularization of engraving and printing, many scholars still took copying ancient books as a coursework, so a considerable number of ancient books handed down are copy copies. Before the Song Dynasty, there was no big difference between manuscripts, manuscripts, and manuscripts. However, after the Song and Yuan Dynasties, manuscripts specifically referred to books that were neatly copied. For example, some imperial books did not have engravings and were only handed down in the form of manuscripts, such as "Yongle Dadian" in the Ming Dynasty. , Qing Dynasty's "Sikuquanshu" and historical records of past dynasties.
Photocopies, during the Ming and Qing dynasties, in order to preserve the rare original manuscripts of Song and Yuan editions, book collectors hired copywriters to use high-quality paper and ink to copy them as they were. The layout and fonts were often almost the same as the originals, so that The manuscript is called a shadow manuscript, also called a shadow manuscript. Among them, the Jiguge Mao's Shadow Song Manuscript is the most famous.
Codices, refined copies, are books copied manually and not written by the copyist. Among them, those with exquisite copying and neat handwriting are called fine manuscripts.
Manuscript, a manuscript that has been written but not yet published, is called a manuscript. Among them, those written by the author are called manuscripts, and those copied by hand and revised by the author are clear manuscripts. Manuscripts are valued because many of them have not been published, especially manuscripts by famous writers and historical materials with high value, which have always been cherished by bibliophiles.
Illustrated books are books written in two or more colors. It is mostly used in books with many illustrations or maps, such as the popular "Tui Bei Tu".
Original edition, a book reprinted from the original edition.
Among them, those whose layout, line style, and fonts are copied according to the original edition are called imitation editions, reprints, duplicate editions, and shadow editions; those where additions, deletions, revisions, or comments are added to the contents of the original edition are called augmented editions, deletions, or commentaries. Book.
A finely printed edition refers to a printed edition that has been carefully edited, has neat fonts, and has excellent paper and ink. Among them, the engraved editions in which famous people are asked to write on the upper version of the book (mostly leaving their names on the book plate) are called sho engraved editions.
Repaired editions, revised editions, books printed after re-editing and updating old archive editions are called repaired editions or revised editions. Some book editions have been preserved for a long time and have been repaired many times, so they are called successively revised editions. If a Song Dynasty book edition has been repaired by the Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties, it is called the Three Dynasties Revised Edition or the Three Dynasties Edition.
Coordinated editions combine book editions from different regions to form a complete book, which is called a coordinated edition. For example, the Twenty-Four Histories published by the official bookstores of the five provinces of Jinling, Huainan, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Hubei in the Qing Dynasty had different formats, but they were the same book.
Baina is a piece of clothing that is patched with many pieces, and the scattered and incomplete versions are used to make a complete book, which is called Baina. In the early Qing Dynasty, Song Nao compiled the three versions of the Song and Yuan Dynasties and printed the "Historical Records" in the Baiji version. In modern times, there are also the "Zizhi Tongjian" and "Twenty-Four Histories" in the Baiji version. Among them, the hundred-year-old version of "Twenty-Four Histories" photocopied by the Commercial Press from 1930 to 1937 is the most famous. This book is a photocopy of the oldest rare book at that time. For example, "Historical Records" is from Huang Shanfu's private school edition of Song Qingyuan, "Han Shu" is from Song Jingyou's engraving edition, "Jin Shu" is from several Song inscriptions, the Seven Histories of the Southern and Northern Dynasties all use the Song Meishan Seven Histories edition, "Sui Shu" and "Southern History" " and "History of the North" were printed by Dade of the Yuan Dynasty, "Old Book of Tang" was printed in Shaoxing of the Song Dynasty, "New Book of Tang" was printed by Jiayou of the Song Dynasty, "Old History of the Five Dynasties" has no authentic version, so it was written in "Yongle Dadian" by the Qing Dynasty. Among the compiled editions, "New History of the Five Dynasties" uses the Song Qingyuan edition, the Song, Liao and Jin histories all use the Yuan Zhizheng edition, which is the first edition, "Yuan History" uses the Ming Hongwu edition, and "Ming History" uses the original edition of the Wuying Palace of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty.
Sloppy editions. Ancient book editions have been blurred due to multiple printings. The printed books are called sloppy editions. For example, the famous Seven Histories of Meishan in Song Dynasty was still in use in the Ming Dynasty. The handwriting of the book is confusing, and it is called the "nine-line sloppy edition" (because the Seven Histories of Meishan has 9 lines and 18 characters)
The movable type edition is made of clay, wood, copper, iron, lead, tin, porcelain, and gourds Books that are made into square characters and then typeset and printed are called movable type books. According to Shen Kuo's "Mengxi Bi Tan", in the mid-Northern Song Dynasty, Bi Sheng first invented clay movable type, and Wang Zhen of the Yuan Dynasty used wooden movable type to typeset "Nongshu", but no copies have been found. The earliest existing movable type version is the Xixia Wenmu movable type typesetting version of "Dafang Guangfo Huayan Sutra" discovered in 1972. There were many movable type books in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. In the fifth year of Hongzhi in the Ming Dynasty (AD 1492), Hua Sui typed "Splendid Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers" with copper movable type. In the eighth year of Hongzhi (AD 1495), he typed "Rong Zhai Essays" and "Ancient and Modern Combinations". Books such as "Things to Be Prepared for". During the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty, the imperial government printed 10,000 volumes of the Collection of Ancient and Modern Books using copper movable type. During the Qianlong period, the Wuyingdian Juzhen Edition Series was printed using jujube movable type. In addition, Korean movable type scripts were also spread to China.
An overprint is a book printed in two or more colors. The most common ones are red and ink two-color overprinted editions, which are called vermilion and ink editions. In addition, there are three-color, four-color, five-color, and six-color overprints. The Ming Dynasty invented plate-separated color overprinting and concave-convex printing technology, which are called glutinous rice printing and gonghua. This printing method is often used in printmaking.
The scarf box book is a pocket book. The scarf box book is a small box where the ancients placed their headscarves. The scarf box book refers to a book with a very small format, which means it can be placed in the scarf box. Song Dynasty's "Shu Pu" records: "Today's printed booklets, called scarf box books, originated from the handwritten "Five Classics" written by King Hengyang of the Southern Qi Dynasty in the scarf box." Because this kind of book is small in size, it is easy to carry and can be placed on clothes. It is in the pocket, so it is also called a pocket book. Ancient booksellers also printed a kind of booklet with answers to questions from Confucian classics, specifically for imperial examination candidates to carry with them to cheat. This kind of pocket-sized book was called a belt book.
Two-section edition, some books add a horizontal line in the layout to divide it into upper and lower parts, which is called two-section edition or two-section edition. Commonly found in novels and operas with pictures and texts, and books such as encyclopedias.
Printed version, an ancient book printed using modern printing technology.
In the 23rd year of Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty (1843 AD), the earliest print publishing institution in China, "Mohai Library", was established in Shanghai. In the 7th year of Xianfeng reign (1857 AD), the earliest Chinese print version of "Liuhe Congtan" was published. Since then, many ancient books have also adopted the printing method. Ancient printed books in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China were often bound with threads and have similar appearance to the printed books. Pay attention to identification.
Lithograph, a book printed with lithograph. This is also a modern printing method introduced to China in the late Qing Dynasty. The original manuscript was written on special paper with medicinal ink, covered on a stone surface, the medicinal paper was removed, ink was applied, and then the book was printed with a lithograph dipped in ink. Both lithographs and lithographs are printed with ink, which is different from ink-printed ancient books. Moreover, lithographs are mostly handwritten and easy to read.
Publication era:
According to the era of publication, there are Tang editions, Five Dynasties editions, Song editions, Liao editions, Xixia editions, Jin editions, Mongolian editions, Yuan editions, and Ming editions. Qing Dynasty edition, Republic of China edition, etc.
Tang block printing had just appeared in the middle and late Tang Dynasty. Copy printing was still the main form of books. Most of the printed materials that have been handed down are Buddhist scriptures and almanacs.
Five Dynasties Engraved Editions, books printed during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907-959 AD). It includes the original version of the Nine Classics engraved in the Later Tang, Later Jin, and Later Zhou dynasties, as well as the Leishu, Bieji, and Buddhist scriptures engraved in the Later Shu, Wuyue, and Southern Tang Dynasties. Most of the engravings of the Five Dynasties have been lost. Most of the engravings that can be seen today include the "Diamond Sutra" inscribed in the eighth year of Tianfu in the Later Jin Dynasty (934 AD) discovered in Dunhuang, and the "Baozhu Seal Sutra" inscribed by Wu Yue, etc.
Song engraved editions are books printed in the areas ruled by the Song Dynasty during the Song Dynasty (960 AD - 1279 AD). Due to the popularization of engraving and printing, the official and private book engraving industry has become extremely prosperous. The scope of engraving books has included all kinds of books such as classics, history, zi, and collections. The quality of engraving is high and it has been regarded as a rare book by bibliophiles of past dynasties.
Liao engraved editions are books engraved in the areas ruled by the Khitan at the same time as the Northern Song Dynasty. The Khitan book ban was very strict, and Liao printed editions were rarely circulated. In 1974, more than 60 pieces of printed matter were discovered in the wooden pagoda of Fogong Temple in Yingxian County, Shanxi Province, most of which were engraved scriptures from the Liao Dynasty, including the earliest engraved version of "Mengqiu".
Xi Xia was founded in 1032 and was destroyed by Mongolia in 1227. Xixia created its own writing and printed the Tripitaka and other books in Xixia script, but few of them have been passed down to the world. Archaeologists discovered 8 volumes of butterfly-enclosed Xixia scriptures in the Helan Mountains of Ningxia.
Jin-engraved editions are books printed in northern China under the rule of the Jin Dynasty at roughly the same time as the Southern Song Dynasty. Among them, book engraving was most developed in Pingyang Prefecture (now Linfen, Shanxi Province), which had an official scripture office to preside over book engraving. Not many gold-blocked editions have been handed down. The more famous ones include "Liu Zhiyuan Zhugong Diao" and "Zhaocheng Jinzang".
Mongolian printed editions are books printed in Pingyang before the founding of the Yuan Dynasty. It basically follows the old rules of the Pingyang Classics Institute of the Jin Dynasty. Among the handed down products are "Illustrated Notes on Three Rites of the Zheng Family School in Xicheng" engraved in 1247, "Reconstruction of Zhenghe Jingshi Zhencao Materia Medica" engraved in 1249 by Zhang Cunhui Hui Mingxuan of Pingyang Prefecture, and the fragments of "Xuandu Treasures" engraved in 1244.
Yuan block edition, a book printed in the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368 AD). In the north, Dadu (Beijing) and Pingyang are the centers, and in the south, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian are the bookstore centers. The Yuan Dynasty engravings were widely circulated and had a unique style.
Ming block edition, a book printed in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD). During this period, the area, form, and scope of engraving were far superior to those of previous generations. Among the Ming Dynasty editions that have been handed down, there are more works from the middle and later periods, and fewer works from the pre-orthodox period. There were two significant changes in the printed editions after the mid-Ming Dynasty. One was the emergence of imitation Song characters suitable for printed books, and the other was the replacement of back binding with thread binding.
Qing engraved edition, a book printed in the Qing Dynasty (1645-1911 AD). During this period, both the official and private book engraving industries reached their peak. Especially during the Qianjia and Qianjia dynasties, textual criticism emerged, and scholars were keen on edition revision, resulting in a large number of carefully calibrated and elegantly printed books. Most of the ancient books circulating today are Qing Dynasty editions. Among them, the finely printed editions produced before and after the Qianlong reign are valued by scholars, and many of them are listed as rare editions.
Republic of China engraved editions refer to the books engraved during the Republic of China (1912-1949 AD). Most of them are collections and reprints of rare and rare books from all dynasties. During this period, photocopying and printing technologies were widely used, and traditional woodblock printing gradually declined.
Region of engraving:
According to the region of engraving, there are Zhejiang version, Jian version, Shu version, Pingyang version, foreign version (Japanese version, Korean version), etc.
Zhejiang version, a book printed in Zhejiang during the Song Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, the economy and culture of the two Zhejiang Roads were relatively developed, with a large number of engraving books and high quality. Hangzhou, Quzhou, Wuzhou, Wenzhou, Mingzhou, Taizhou, Shaoxing and other places all had books engraving, so there were Hangzhou, Quzhou, Wuzhou, Wenzhou, The distinction between Mingzhou, Taizhou and Shaoxing editions.
The Jian version, also known as the Fujian version, is a book printed in Fujian during the Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties. During the Song Dynasty, Fujian engraving books were collected in Jianning and Jianyang. Jianyang Masa Town was rich in banyan wood and bamboo paper, which was easy to engrave and print books, so there were many bookshops. Some famous bookshops survived the Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties, and the books they printed were also called Masa editions. .
Shu version, a book printed in Sichuan during the Five Dynasties and Two Song Dynasties. Chengdu and Meishan are more developed. Chengdu was engraved with the famous "Kai Baobao" in the early Northern Song Dynasty, while Meishan was engraved with "Song Shu", "Nan Qi Shu", "Liang Shu", "Chen Shu", "Wei Shu", "Wei Shu" and "Chen Shu". Books such as "Book of Northern Qi", "Seven Histories of Zhou" and "Zi Zhi Tong Jian". The Shu version is divided into two types: large characters and small characters.
Pingyang version, also known as Pingshui version, is a book printed in Pingyang (also called Pingshui, present-day Linfen, Shanxi), Shanxi during the Jin and Yuan Dynasties. After the Jin Dynasty destroyed the Northern Song Dynasty, the engraving workers from Kaifeng in the Northern Song Dynasty were plundered here and a book engraving institution was set up. From then on, Pingyang became the center of book engraving in the north.
The Japanese version, also known as the Oriental version, is an ancient book printed in ancient Japan. They mostly use Japanese parchment paper, which is similar to the Korean version, but the quality is not as good as the Korean version. Japanese characters often use hiragana and katakana, which are easier to identify.
The Korean version, also known as the Goryeo version, is an ancient Chinese book printed in Korea in ancient times. Chinese printing was first introduced to Korea, and Korean engravings were later introduced to China. The Korean version is more exquisitely printed, the book is large, the writing is clear, and it is mostly made of white leather paper.
Nature of engraving:
According to the nature of engraving, it can be divided into official edition, family edition and workshop edition.
Official editions are books printed by the government. Since the Five Dynasties, the central and local governments of all dynasties have engraved books, but the institutions were different, so the official engravings had various names. Mainly include:
Prison editions, books engraved by the Imperial College in previous dynasties. Mainly various Confucian classics and literary and historical masterpieces. According to literature records, starting from the Five Dynasties, the Imperial College printed nine classics. The Northern Song Dynasty inherited its legacy and continued to print classics and history. In the Southern Song Dynasty, the old edition did not exist, so local editions were transferred to the Imperial Academy in the capital to print books, and the old edition was called the "old prison edition". ”, the new edition is the “Supervisor Edition”. In the Ming Dynasty, the Imperial College was established in both Nanjing and Beijing, and both had the Twenty-One Histories engraved on them. Therefore, there was a distinction between the "Southern Imperial Edition" and the "Northern Imperial Edition".
The minister's treasury edition is a book engraved by local officials in the Song Dynasty using money from the minister's treasury.
Jingchangben, a book engraved by the Jingchang under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Ceremony in the Ming Dynasty. There are many common ancient books such as "Five Classics", "Four Books", and "Complete Collection of Xingli". The characteristic is that the book is generous and the characters are as big as money. However, because the eunuch was in charge of the work, the collation was not precise and there were many errors.
Neifu edition, a book engraved in the palaces of the Ming and Qing dynasties. In the Ming dynasty, the main engraved books in the imperial dynasty were factory editions, while in the Qing dynasty, most of the engraved books in the imperial palace were palace editions. Neifu engraving books often spared no effort in craftsmanship and paid attention to form, but the Qing Neifu editions were also meticulously collated. Zhaolian's "Xiaoting Miscellaneous Records" continues with a catalog of engravings by the Imperial Household.
Dianben, during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, a book repair office was set up in Wuying Hall. In the fourth year of Qianlong (1739 AD), a book engraving office was set up, and princes and ministers were sent to preside over the proofreading and engraving of books. The engraved books were called palace books. Book. The palace version has exquisite engravings and excellent paper and ink, which is comparable to the Song Dynasty version. The engraved books such as "History of the Ming Dynasty", "Tongdian", "Tongzhi", and "Tongkao of Documents" have always been listed as rare books carved in the Qing Dynasty.
Juzhen Edition, a rare edition of the "Sikuquanshu" selected and engraved during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. Wuying Palace used movable type printing, with more than 250,000 wooden movable types carved in Japan. Qianlong named it "Juzhen Edition" and the printed books It was then called the Wuying Palace Collection of Rare Books.
Later, official bookstores in various places imitated the Juzhen edition and printed books, which were called "Outer Juzhen", while the Wuyingdian movable type version was called "Neijuzhen".
The bookstore version was promoted by Zeng Guofan during the reign of Emperor Tongzhi of the Qing Dynasty. Official bookstores were successively established in Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Sichuan, Anhui, Guangdong, Guangxi, Lianghu, Shandong, Shanxi, and Zhili. The books they engraved were called "Bookstore version" or "Bureau version".
Privately-engraved books are books printed with private funds. Among them, privately-engraved books that are not for profit are called Jia Jingben or Jia Jingben. Since the Song Dynasty, privately-engraved books have continued to decline, and some are named after their family names, such as the "Shicaitang version" by Liao Yingzhong in the Song Dynasty, the "Wanjuantang version" by Yu Renzhong, the "Tianyi Pavilion version" by Fan Qin in the Ming Dynasty, and the "Jigu Pavilion version" by Mao Jin , Qing Nalan Xingde's "Tongzhitang edition", Bao Tingbo's "Zhiyu Zhai edition", Huang Pilie's "Shiliju edition"; there are also names corresponding to people, such as Song Dynasty's "Huang Shanfu edition" and Ming Dynasty's "Wu Mianxue edition".
Fangkengben refers to books printed by bookshops, bookshops, bookstores and booksheds in the past dynasties. Workshop-engraved editions were for profit, and their engravings were poor, often with poor collation. However, in the Song Dynasty, workshop-engraved editions, such as Chen's and Yin's book shops in Lin'an, produced books that were comparable to official editions and private school editions.
Circumstances of circulation:
According to the circulation situation and degree of rarity, ancient books can be divided into complete editions, abbreviated editions, fragmented editions, popular editions, rare editions, sole editions, rare editions, and rare editions. etc.
A complete book, a book with complete contents.
Abridged version, because the original book is too large, only part of it is excerpted when printing, or it is deleted for other reasons, which is called abridged version or abridged version.
Fragmented copies refer to books with incomplete content. During the circulation of ancient books, they were mutilated due to various reasons. Some of them were just missing volumes or volumes, but they could still be completed after copying and copying; some were so mutilated that they could only be used as companion copies of other books. Generally speaking, the value of the residual copy is much lower than that of the full copy.
The popular version refers to the version of ancient books with more printings, wider circulation and later date.
A rare edition, an ancient book with few engravings and few circulation. For example, local chronicles, genealogies and genealogies of past dynasties are rare in Ming Dynasty.
Original copies are the only ancient books seen in the world and are often not found in other records, such as the Ming Dynasty's "Yongle Dadian". The only book that exists in China can be called "the only one in the country", such as the 30-volume "Selected Works of Five Ministers' Annotations" carved in Song Dynasty.
Rare books are ancient books that were written earlier, rarely circulated, and have high research value. They usually refer to Song and Yuan engravings, imperial manuscripts, manuscripts with historical value and celebrity editions.
Rare books initially referred to ancient books that were rigorously collated and beautifully engraved. Later, the meaning gradually broadened to include various ancient books that were printed earlier and were less circulated. Because among bibliophiles in the past, rare books must be old copies, and those copied and engraved more recently can only be ordinary copies. For example, Ding Bing, a bibliophile in the late Qing Dynasty, stipulated the scope of book collection in his "Book Collection Records of the Rare Book Room" Yes: 1. Old carving, 2. Fine version, 3. Old copy, 4. Old school. According to the standards of that era, he designated the old engravings as the Song and Yuan editions, and the fine editions as the Ming Dynasty editions. According to this division, as time goes by, the age limit of rare books in the minds of collectors is increasingly moving back. During the Republic of China, Ming dynasty printed editions gradually entered the ranks of old engraved editions. After the mid-20th century, all engraved editions before the Qianlong reign became rare editions, and no matter how incomplete they were or whether there were errors or not, they were all classified by year. In fact, real rare books should still mainly focus on the content of the book, focusing on the scientific research value and historical cultural relic value of ancient books. In the late 1970s, the "General Catalog of Rare Books in China" began to be compiled. When determining the standards and scope of inclusion, it stipulated "three properties" and "nine articles". This should be a complete and comprehensive expression of the concept of rare books:
(1) Books printed or copied in the Yuan Dynasty and before the Yuan Dynasty.
(2) Books printed and copied in the Ming Dynasty (the versions are vague, and those that have been widely circulated are not included).
(3) Prints and manuscripts that were rarely circulated during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty and before the Qianlong period.
(4) Books printed by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and previous peasant revolutionary regimes.
(5) Before the Revolution of 1911, there were original insights in academic research or school characteristics, or more systematic manuscripts of Ji Zhongshuo, as well as engravings and manuscripts that were rarely circulated.
(6) Manuscripts and rare engravings and manuscripts that reflect a certain period, a certain field or a certain event before the Revolution of 1911.
(7) Before the Revolution of 1911, famous scholars reviewed, inscribed, or copied the seals and manuscripts that had been revised by their predecessors and had reference value.
(8) Various movable type editions, overprint editions, or engraving editions with more refined prints that reflect the development of China's printing technology in printing and represent the printing level in a certain period.
(9) Seals from the Ming Dynasty, collections of ancient seals from the Qing Dynasty, and seals carved by famous artists (those with distinctive features or personal inscriptions).