The Idea of ​​"Heaven and Man" in Chinese Ancient Book Binding (3)

Third, "unity between man and nature" and book binding

The bound form of the book plays a crucial role in the binding of the book. However, the bound form was first restricted by the materials of production and was affected by socio-economic conditions, cultural traditions, and methods of production. The constant changes in the form of binding were still cultural phenomena.

The booklet is made of bamboo and other materials after a complex process to make available vertical long pieces, in the film on the 1/3 and 2/3 position with a knife carved a small gap, vertical write a word, a After the piece is finished, the side-by-side slices will be stitched together into a booklet with a silk string from left to right, so that the binding is completed. “Editor” is very important here. If you don’t edit it, the short film cannot be a book. With the editor, you can express the person’s deputy days in the “Heaven and Man” (that is, the world is gathered in the human body) and the ginseng world. (ie, human beings can use all things), human-oriented humanist worldview. In terms of form, "editing" is the binding of a simple policy, and it is also the basic concept of binding in later generations.

The method of binding books and reel books is similar, but the materials used are different. Their "edition" is reflected in the bonding of paper or paper. A book is a roll. Although there are no simple rules and rules, scrolls and scrolls are more quaint and full of cultural atmosphere. They saturate the humanitarian spirit of Confucius love (pan-love) and appear more “neutral” and beautiful. A cultural progress is also a further manifestation of the harmonious relationship between "Heaven and Man". "Viscosity" is more progressive than "editing". Their philosophical meaning is very different.

The “editing” of the cyclone book is still sticky, and it is more than the book loading on the scroll. The book pages that have been written are stacked from right to left in order.

The book is still affected by the book loading on the reel. Its "editing" is still sticky. Each piece of paper is glued into a long strip of paper, and then it is repeatedly folded into rectangular billfolds. Cardboard or wood, as the cover and back cover of the protected book. The "fold" appearing in the folded book occupies an extremely important position in the binding history of Chinese books. “Folding” is a cultural phenomenon, but it contains extremely rich philosophical connotations. It is an epoch-making breakthrough that will inevitably occur when the “volume” develops into a disguised form. It has great historical significance. There is no "folding", and there can be no gradual improvement of the book binding form later, and it is difficult to form a modern binding form. "Fold" makes the book binding form continue to progress, "fold" to promote the development of book binding history.

The butterfly equipment absorbs the features of the cyclone loading sheet and absorbs the positive folding method. The "edition" of butterflies is still sticky, and the glue between the book mouth and the book mouth is glued. This is totally different from the sticky growth paper in reel, cyclone, and disassembly. It is a single-page adhesive that is closer to the complete form of the bound book. This is a qualitative leap.

In terms of binding form, the butterfly bound book is far different from any previous book. It fastens, loosens, and sticks together loosely-laid single pages in an orderly manner. It is orderly, white pages, books, clothes, and so on. To become a harmonious relationship is a relatively complete "integration of heaven and man" as a whole. The harmonious and elegant appearance expressed by the butterfly-bound books is a typical example of “heterogeneous isomorphism”. The back-loading of books changed the shortcomings of the inconsistencies inherent in the butterfly-bound books. When they were opened, the phenomenon of disconnection no longer appeared. Continuity increased, relations became smooth, and the structure became more rational. "Heaven and man are one" Humanistic spirit and behavior are once again reflected in a deeper level. In the form of the back pack and the butterfly pack, although it is only the inside or outside of the book, it shows the smoothness of the inner relationship of the “small universe” on the deeper level. The "braiding" of thread-bound books is no longer glued, but is a strong and beautiful thread. All the disharmonious factors in the thread-bound book have been eliminated, and the rest are essential. The threading is the final improvement. Line-bound books are products of traditional culture. To this point, it is said to be high and elegant. Binding books are also cultures. They are the heights and perfect ways humans and spirits have achieved in the course of historical development, because culture is essentially a human being. Change.

There is an interesting phenomenon: the final binding method in traditional Chinese books is fixed with thread; the initial form of Chinese ancient books “knot rope notes” is tied and fixed with a rope; the binding form of the earliest regular book in China --- The booklet is made up of ropes. The boldness of the line becomes a rope, and the rule of the rope is changed into a line. In a roundabout way, similar materials and materials have returned to similarities, and binding of ancient books also has its development rules.

Chinese culture has a long history. Traditional culture is a living culture, living in the unconscious of every real person, permeating every word and line. Chinese ancient book binding is a traditional culture, and it is also a record or product of traditional culture. It is necessary to see the external form of ancient book binding, and to see its cultural connotation.

Butterfly book

(author/Yang Yongde)
Source: "People's Daily Overseas Edition"