Thirty Kinds Of Rice Paper, A Visual Feast

Guide: Apart from rice paper, there are few kinds of calligraphy, painting and printing paper that ordinary people can name. Most people imagine that the ancients had low technological ability, so the paper they used should be very poor, right? The fact is just the opposite. We can use iphone6 ​​today, but we may not be able to produce calligraphy and painting paper refined by ancient methods. Due to the high cost of traditional papermaking and the disappearance of raw materials, many excellent papermaking methods have gradually been lost.

Buddhist scriptures

Tibetan scripture paper:Among the handed down ancient books, it is difficult to find paper manuscripts before the Tang Dynasty, and the earlier paper manuscripts are the Buddhist scriptures written and engraved by the people of the Tang Dynasty. It is also common to see that people in the Tang Dynasty often used Tibetan scripture paper to write scriptures. The color of the scripture paper is yellowish brown, like brown. Slightly cottony, thick and firm, opaque. The Buddhist scriptures and Taoist scriptures written by the Tang people, as well as the scriptures of Buddhism and Taoism engraved in the Song, Yuan, and Ming Dynasties, mostly use this kind of paper. The name of Tibetan scripture paper may come from this. It is rare to see it used in printed books.

Hemp paper:The origin of the name of hemp paper is probably due to the fact that hemp has the most ingredients in the raw materials. There are two types of hemp paper: white hemp paper and jute paper. White linen paper is white and smooth on the front, slightly rough on the back, with straw sticks and confetti sticking to it, but in reality it is very thin and thin, with a tough texture and strong durability, and it will not deteriorate for a long time if it does not get wet. Jute paper is slightly yellow in color, and some are slightly thicker than white hemp paper. Its performance is similar to that of white hemp paper, and it looks rougher. Regardless of white linen paper or jute paper, the paper pattern (commonly known as the curtain pattern) is relatively wide, about two fingers long, and some paper patterns are not so obvious. These two types of hemp paper were mostly used for printing books in the Song Dynasty. Books printed in modern times and the early Yuan Dynasty were roughly the same as those in the late Song Dynasty. According to the biography, more jute paper was used. The hemp paper printed at the end of the Yuan Dynasty had a narrower paper pattern, only about one finger wide. The thickness, thickness, thickness, and toughness of the paper were not much different from the hemp paper of the Song Dynasty. Until the early Ming Dynasty, books were still printed on hemp paper. Hemp paper is also very resistant to wind and sun, so some printed copies of the Song and Yuan Dynasties have been handed down for nearly a thousand years, and they are as complete as new.

jute paper

Linen paper:During the Song Dynasty, Jianyang County, Fujian Province was a central area for engraving books, and the paper industry was particularly developed. The name of the paper produced in Masha Town, Jianyang County is hemp yarn paper. The color is slightly yellow, without paper grain. The thickness and toughness are similar to that of hemp paper, and this paper is often used in Song editions of hemp yarn.

Cocoon paper:Silkworm cocoon paper has two colors, one is as white as jade, and the other is milky white. The quality is fine, thin, and shiny. It looks similar to silk floss on the surface, and has strong toughness. In the Yuan Dynasty printed books, a few silkworm cocoon paper was used.

Cocoon paper

Ribbed paper:Ribbed paper, white in color, thin and soft in texture. There are obvious horizontal grains, which look the same as silk woven silk, so it is called rib paper. This kind of paper has been produced for a long time, and it has been used in Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, and it is used to print books. However, the Song and Yuan editions were printed on ribbed paper, and it is rare for them to be handed down to this day. It can sometimes be seen in the printed editions of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, such as the "Tang and Song Poetry and Wenchun" in the Wuying Palace edition of the Yongzheng period, and the "Tang Baijia Poems" engraved by Xi Qiyu, which were printed on ribbed paper. Part of the "Illustrated Catalog of the History of Chinese Printmaking" printed by Mr. Zheng Xidi was printed on old ribbed paper.

ribbed paper

tissue:Cotton paper (called skin paper in the south) is available in black and white. White cotton paper is white in color, fine and soft in quality, rich in fibers and strong in toughness. The color of black cotton paper is black and yellow, and its toughness is slightly poor. In the early Ming Dynasty, cotton paper was mostly used for printing books. Before Jiajing, the tissue paper produced was relatively thin, but after Longqing, it became thicker and thicker. The proportion of books printed on cotton paper has also been greatly reduced. There were still a few copies printed on cotton paper in the early Qing Dynasty, and they were even rarer in the future.

Guizhou cotton paper:This kind of cotton paper is called Guizhou cotton paper because it is native to Guizhou. The color is off-white, not very beautiful, the thickness is medium and well-proportioned, the cotton is thick, the fiber is thick, and the texture is soft. It can last for a long time in use, and it is not very beautiful when printed. Some of the printed books are made of this kind of paper.

Henan cotton paper:Henan cotton paper is also named for its place of origin. The color is white and slightly yellow, and the thickness is not uniform. It looks rough, but it is soft and tough. It is not widely used for printing. Only in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China were printed local chronicles in Henan Province, and some of them used this kind of paper.

Shanxi cotton paper:Shanxi cotton paper is off-white in color and slightly thicker than Guizhou cotton paper. Strong toughness, slightly fine texture, printed books are not widely used, some used to print local chronicles in the late Qing Dynasty.

tissue

Bamboo paper:Because the color is yellowish, it is also called yellow paper. Its raw material is mainly bamboo, so it is named after bamboo paper. It was produced during the Song and Yuan dynasties. The paper is slightly brittle and less tough than cotton paper. From the Song Yuan to the early Ming Dynasty, there were some people who used printed books, but the number was very small. After Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty, until the Qing Dynasty, it was the most common to use bamboo paper to print books.

bamboo paper

Stem stick paper:Stem stick paper is a kind of paper used for printing books in the late Yuan Dynasty. It also belongs to the category of bamboo paper. . In the future, books printed on this kind of paper will be rare in the biography.

Flower paper:Flowering paper is called pick flower paper in the south. It is said that this kind of paper is produced in Kaihua County, Zhejiang Province, so it is also called Kaihua paper. Fine texture, extremely white, no lines. The paper is thin but strong, soft and lovely. Books engraved in Shun, Kang, Yong, Qianneifu and Wuyingdian in the Qing Dynasty mostly used blooming paper. At that time, the output was more and the quality was higher. After Jia and Dao, the quality of products was lower than before, and the quantity was also greatly reduced. It is also used in family block books, but the number is very small. Blooming paper prints are beautiful and beautiful. Wujin Tao Xiang likes to collect the palace version of flowering paper prints the most.

Blossom list:Blossom paper is similar to flower paper from the surface. It is thicker than flowering paper, slightly black in color, and inferior in quality to flowering paper. Flowering list paper was produced later than flowering paper. Some palace books in Qingjia and Daojian were printed on flowering list paper, but it has been handed down to the present, and it is rare.

Taishi Lianzhi:Taishi Lian Zhi has a solid paper quality, smooth front and slightly astringent back, no grass sticks and confetti sticking to it, poorer toughness than cotton Lian Zhi, fine paper material, and yellow color. After the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty, many books were printed using this kind of paper. For example, "Wu Ying Dian Ju Treasure Edition Series" once used this paper.

Machine continuous history paper:Machine-linked history paper is made by machine, and its color is slightly yellow. This kind of paper was produced relatively late, and was used for printing books in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China. The Zhonghua Book Company printed "Four Parts of Preparations" using machine-linked history paper.

continuous history paper

Cotton paper:Cotton paper is a kind of rice paper. The color is white as jade, even and delicate, soft and tough. In the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, more sophisticated printed books were often made of cotton-bonded paper. In addition, there is Liuji cotton paper made by Wang Liuji. The paper is thinner than cotton paper, soft and resilient.

Chuanlian paper:Because it is produced in Sichuan, it is called Chuanlian. It is slightly yellower than powdered paper, and there is also a white one, which is slightly tough and uneven in thickness. The printed books are not very beautiful, and are rarely used in other regions, and are only used for local publications. For example, some county chronicles in Sichuan are printed on Chuanlian paper.

Agar paper:The color is off-white, the front is smooth and shiny, the back is rough, thin and brittle, not very old, and it is also made by machine. In the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, typesetting books and lithographed books were mostly printed with powder and paper.

Jade rice paper:Xuancheng, Anhui is a place where paper is produced, and the paper produced here is collectively called Xuan paper. When subdivided, there are many product names, and the commonly used ones for printed books include "jade plate", "mianlian", "material half" and so on. Jade rice paper is white in color, thin and thick in quality, can absorb water very well, and its toughness is slightly worse than that of cotton paper. In the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, this kind of paper was often used for printing gold and stone, archaeology, printed books, calligraphy and painting albums, etc.

Material half paper:The material half paper is also a kind of rice paper, which is thinner than the jade version, white in color and soft in nature. It is beautiful and beautiful for printing books, and some books from the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China use this paper.

Raw edge paper:The color is beige, so it is also referred to as yellow paper. The front side is light, the back side is slightly astringent, the texture is slightly brittle, the toughness is slightly poor, and the firmness is inferior to Taishilian. "Chang Zhao He Zhi Manuscript" has a saying: "Those who buy rare books in the world must look to the Mao family in Yinhu Lake. The paper used is specially made from Jiangxi. The thick one is called 'Mao Bian', and the thin one is called 'Mao Tai'. It still has its name.” The origin of the name of the raw edge paper may start from here. After Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty, most of the paper used for printing books was printed on raw edge paper except for Taishilian paper and cotton paper.

Raw paper

Mao Taizhi:Maotai paper is similar in color to raw edge paper, but its quality is inferior to that of raw edge paper. The paper width is also small, with different thicknesses and obvious straight lines. In the Tong and Guangjian period of the Qing Dynasty, many books were printed on Maotai paper.

Goryeo paper:Goryeo paper is similar to the paper used for printing books in North Korea, which may be the origin of its name. Goryeo paper is produced in Qian'an, Hebei Province. It is white in color, thick in texture, cottony, tough, and has obvious straight lines. In our country, few books are printed on Korean paper, and it is mostly used for dyeing and making book covers.

Korean paper

Mulberry paper:There are two kinds of mulberry paper, yellow and white, and the texture is firm. Because the raw material has mulberry ingredients, it is named mulberry paper. It is said that in the Song, Yuan and early Ming dynasties, books were used to print books, but they are rarely seen in handed down copies.

Qian'an paper:Qian'an paper, commonly known as Maotou paper, is off-white in color, thick and loose in texture, and slightly cottony. Because it is produced in Qian'an County, Hebei, it is called Qian'an paper. Some folk books printed in the early years of the Republic of China, such as popular books such as "San Zi Jing" and "Hundred Surnames", were printed on Maotou paper.

Official pile of paper:Official pile paper is slightly thicker than raw edge paper. Jinling Publishing Co., Ltd. mostly uses official pile paper to print books.

library paper:There are white and yellow, strong toughness, thin and thick. In the palace of the Qing Dynasty, it was used to wrap things, and the paper width was mostly two feet square. There are very few folk rumors. In the 19th year of the Republic of China, the Palace Museum in Beijing used thin library paper to photocopy some copybooks and albums. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the books of the inner government often used thick library paper dyed into a magnetic blue binding book cover, which is called "kuci green leather" in the world. The inner government sometimes uses banknotes to write Buddhist scriptures, which are colorful and elegant. Later, the bookstore decorated ancient books, and rare rare books also used library magnetic green leather.

Brochure paper:Brochure paper is also called banknote paper. Some printed copies of the Ming Dynasty may have been used to save paper. Official document paper with grids or written money and grain paper was used, and the book was reversed and printed on the blank back. The printed copies of the booklet paper are mostly tissue.

Japanese Vellum:Japanese leather paper, also known as Dongyang cotton paper. This kind of paper is produced in Japan. It is available in yellow and white. It is cottony and strong. Japanese printed books mostly use this kind of paper. This paper was used for printing books in our country in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China.

Mino paper:Mino paper, the paper surface is smooth, thin and well-proportioned. Soft and resilient. Part of the "Guyi Series" printed by Li Shuchang was printed on Mino paper, which is widely used in Japan to print ancient books.

Hunan Bamboo Paper:Commonly known as Hunan yellow. The paper is soft, rough, non-tough, and does not prolong life. This paper was often used for printing books during the Tongzhi and Guangxu periods of the Qing Dynasty.