Beginnings

Li Ying is a research librarian， director of the Social Service Department of China Printing Museum， secretary general of China Printing History Research Association， part-time professor and postgraduate tutor of Beijing Institute of Graphic Communication， member of China Science Writers Association. He participated in the compilation of the “History of Printing” entry in the third edition of “Encyclopedia of China”.

This book attempts to start from the characteristics of Chinese characters， sort out the historical context of Chinese books， compare the changes in materials， introduce the evolution of production technology， and show the differences in binding forms. Chinese books are not just ink-scented color-printed covers and title pages. Theye have magnificent origins， rich contents， diverse forms， exquisite bindings， and complex craftsmanship. As for all this， as a Chinese， as a nation that has always adopted white paper and black characters as the highest aesthetics， it is the least that should not be forgotten.

Chinese Calligraphy

Li Ying

Jiangxi Science amp; Technology Publishing House

December 2020

160.00 （CNY）

All topics relating to the history of Chinese books would certainly have to be traced back to Chinese characters.

Chinese characters are the oldest， most dynamic， and widespread writing system in the world. The Chinese civilization is an ancient civilization with a long history of 5，000 years. Chinese characters have been passed down through the Chinese civilization， living and growing with it. Liang Qichao had once said， “Is there any other civilization that has lasted more than 4，000 years？ My China is the only one.”

Archaeological findings show that the first writing systems on earth were Cuneiform， created by the Sumerians， the earliest settlers of Mesopotamia， as well as the holy script created by the first dynasty of ancient Egypt. Other than the Chinese civilization， other ancient civilizations have disappeared in the distant past due to the invasion of foreign forces. Examples of such civilizations include the ancient Egyptian civilization， the ancient Indian civilization， the Babylonian civilization， and the ancient Inca civilization. Only the Chinese characters of Chinese civilization were completely preserved and underwent various changes over the years. In the writing and dissemination of Chinese characters， a series of important inventions including papermaking and printing were produced. This not only helped and promoted the development of the civilizations of various nations in the world， including the Chinese nation， but also made an impact on the entire civilization process of human society as a whole.

What is interesting is that Chinese characters were not only used in China. For a long time， they were the only texts used in international exchanges in East Asia—Before the 20th century， Chinese characters were the official writing system in countries such as Japan， the Korean Peninsula， and Vietnam. It can be said that Chinese people who can read Chinese characters can understand the historical documents of neighboring countries. The documents and books of neighboring countries that have been preserved prove that China was the most advanced and powerful country in ancient East Asia and had once been a country that spread its culture to other countries. There was once a Chinese character cultural circle， and the countries within the Chinese character cultural circle shared some features. They include Chinese characters， Confucianism， Chinese Buddhism， a Chinese-style legal system， Chinese-style production techniques， living customs， etc.

Chinese characters have been passed on from ancient times. As the main form of writing of the Chinese nation， Chinese characters have been preserved， evolved， standardized， and passed on through books. Chinese characters and Chinese dictionaries have become the treasures of the collective memory of the Chinese nation， allowing the Chinese nation to possess a unique part of world history that has been passed on for thousands of years. Therefore， when Chinese people study history and culture， they can communicate with their ancestors with ease through the vast cultural heritage of China. They can then seek advice and receive answers from their ancestors.

The Chinese have spoken Chinese and written and used Chinese characters since they were young. However， there are still many questions worth pondering. What is the relationship between Chinese characters and books？ Why are Chinese characters not called “Chinese words” or “Han text”？

Origins of Chinese characters

Looking back， Chinese characters were probably not created by a certain person based on a whim. Instead， they were created over a long period of time. They also met the basic requirements of all inventions， that is， material conditions and a need that triggered a necessity to keep records and reminders. In the long process of transformation from verbal language to physical objects， and then to words， mankind has made many attempts to make memory aids， keep records， and disseminate knowledge and information. Tying knots， engravings， drawings， and symbols are the prelude to the production of words.

Reminder knots

In ancient times， hunting， fishing， and foraging were important ways for humans to obtain food. In order to keep a record of events and their gains， people began to make simple records on tree trunks or on the walls of stone caves. As time went by， the things that took place grew more complicated， and they began catching more and more prey. Some major events cannot be remembered clearly， and sometimes so many prey were caught that they could not be counted on both hands. How could they make better records？ At that time， to catch big fish， people would use larger nets and heavier fishing sinkers; the nets and sinkers for catching small fish were correspondingly smaller and lighter. In the repeated act of weaving and knotting fishing nets， people gradually thought of a way to record numbers through knots.

The above is how later generations imagined and surmised the origins of reminder knots.

According to archaeological findings， traces of such a method of recording things are preserved in the oracle bone script. The number “ten” （十） resembles a knot while the number “20” （廿） has two knots and the number “30” （卅） has three knots.

And it is precisely because of this that people have long associated the origin of Chinese characters with knots. There was a long period of time in ancient times when knots were used to keep records. That is to say， people try to represent events and things by using ropes of different materials and colors as well as different forms of knots. They also use a combination of knot sizes and numbers to express a certain number. In a nutshell， big knots were made for major events， and small knots were made for minor events.

Many ethnic groups throughout the world once used this method. Even today， some ethnic minority groups in remote areas of China， such as the Hani in Yunnan， the Sibe in Liaoning and Xinjiang， the Monpa in Tibet， and the Gaoshan people in Taiwan， still use this method. The Hani people would tie knots on a single strand of hemp rope to indicate the price of the field when they sell it. Both the buyer and the seller will hold on to one rope as proof. The Sibe people would hang a rope across the house and hang different objects on the rope to record major events in the family. This custom is called “Mother Xili’s faith” （“Mother Xili” is a Goddess of the Sibe tribe believed to bring prosperity and safety to the family）. Such ropes serve as family genealogical records but without any written records. It marks the growth of a family and serves as a consolidation of the ancient ethnic group’s folklore and cultural memories.