Chapter 307 Paper and Ink
“Try to engrave another Yangwen.”
Looking at the blurred words on the paper, Feng Yong frowned and said.
The ideal is plump, the reality is skinny.
Upon hearing this, Guan Ji engraved it again, this time in reverse, making the font bulge out. Then she brushed the ink again and printed it on the paper again.
Although this time it is better than the last time, it is also limited.
The font is still blurry, but the outline can be seen, and some words can be barely recognized.
“I can’t do it with ink.”
“Paper doesn’t work.”
Feng Yong and Guan Ji said something at the same time. After finishing speaking, they looked at each other and smiled at each other.
“Sanniang, please speak first.”
Feng Yong said.
"This paper is not good." Guan Ji shook her head and said, "The paper is too rough. To print like this, you need to apply as much ink as possible, but this paper absorbs ink very much. If it absorbs too much ink, it will easily become Black group."
"I failed to consider it." Feng Yong nodded and said, "Paper is not good, and ink is not good either."
Most of the inks these days are made of natural minerals such as graphite. They are not sticky enough and the quality is not up to par. It is acceptable for writing, but not suitable for printing.
“But why can the official seal be printed so clearly?”
Feng Yong seemed to be talking to himself, and seemed to be asking Guan Ji.
“Of course it’s because of the use of mimeograph…”
Guan Ji replied casually.
"Oil?"
Feng Yong was stunned for a moment, then suddenly clapped his hands and said, "Yes! Ink, why didn't I think of this?"
Don’t printers in later generations have to use ink to print?
School conditions in the countryside are poor. I remember when I was in primary school, the teacher would set the questions for normal tests and final exams, then write them on wax paper, and finally print them out himself.
It is absolutely purely manual, and the only mechanical equipment is the old-fashioned manual printing press.
That is to say, cover the written wax paper on the upper membrane board, then put white paper on the bottom, and finally use a special roller brush to dip some ink and brush it, and a test paper will be brushed out.
This old-fashioned manual printing machine is simple to operate, but it also has major shortcomings.
In addition to being inefficient, if too much ink is applied, some areas on the test paper will turn into clusters of black dots, making it difficult to see what the questions are.
With less ink, the font will be too light in some places, or even invisible.
So pay attention to the amount of ink.
When entering fifth or sixth grade, most people are already eleven or twelve years old.
At that time, teachers often ask students with good grades in the class to help.
Because this kind of manual printing machine is too simple, it just prints and prints repeatedly.
Although it is simple and monotonous, this matter is a great honor in the eyes of all students.
Because of his good academic performance, Feng Yong always followed the teacher to the office to print test papers with envy from the whole class every time when it was time to take a test.
Every time after printing, there will always be some dark ink stains on my hands.
When you rub it, you can feel that there is a lot of oil in it.
Furthermore, oil seems to reduce the speed at which wood absorbs ink.
Feng Yong is trying hard to remember, thinking about the knowledge about ink that he has read in later generations.
At this time, Guan Ji spoke again.
"I heard that Zuo Bo's paper has uniform thickness and fine texture, which is the best in the world. Zhongjiang's ink is as good as lacquer, and lasts as long as new. It is the best ink in the world. If you can get these two, I think you can make it. Gotta be better."
“Zuo Bozhi? Zhongjiang Mo?”
Feng Yong repeated doubtfully. Hearing this evaluation, he seemed to be very powerful.
Guan Ji nodded and couldn't help but feel a little surprised when she saw Feng Yong's expression. She knew that these two people were both famous people in the world. Looking at her brother's expression, it seemed as if she had never heard of them before.
However, Feng Tibi is covered with a layer of tiger skin from the mountain gate, and the behavior of the people in the mountain gate is like a dragon in the clouds in the eyes of the world, and only half of his claws can be detected.
So Guan Ji didn't think much about it, and immediately explained to Feng Tubao, "Zuo Bo's courtesy name is Ziyi, and he is from Shandong. He is the most famous paper-making expert after Cai Hou."
"At that time, Cai Yong was very proud of his calligraphy skills. He would not write without Zhang Yi's pen and Zuo Bo paper. This shows the wonder of Zuo Bo paper."
“Wait a minute, wait a minute, who is Zhang Yi?”
Chai Hou Feng Yong knew that Cai Lun improved papermaking and made papermaking one of the four great inventions.
But this is wrong. A name popped up in Guan Ji's mouth for a while, but it seemed like she had never heard of it before.
“Zhang Yi’s pen, Zuo Bo’s paper, and Zhong Jiang’s ink are the first things in the world that are highly recommended by scholars all over the world. If you can write with these three at the same time, it would be a dream for scholars.”
Guan Ji had to explain to Feng Tubeng in detail, "Zhang Yi became famous the earliest and was also the oldest. He passed away thirty years ago, and his method of making brushes has also been lost. But at that time, Cai Yong was famous all over the world for his writings, but he only used Zhang Yi’s brushes show the beauty of the brushes he made.”
"As for Uncle Zuo, I heard that he is still alive today, and some people say that he has died of old age. According to the rumors heard by my younger sister, even if he is still alive, he is probably more than sixty years old. The paper surface is smooth and tight, It looks like a glow covering it, the ink is not easy to penetrate into the paper, and the quality is excellent."
"The youngest is Wei Dan, whose nickname is Zhongjiang. He is from Guanzhong and is very good at making ink. His ink is fragrant, thick and dark, and does not fade for a long time. He is also good at calligraphy and can make pens. , he is also a rare person, I heard that he is now a doctor with Cao Cao."
What is a doctor? The officials are not as big as mine.
Seeing that Guan Ji spoke highly of Wei Dan, Feng Tubou felt displeased.
At that moment, he said a little sourly, "It's just making ink, what does it count? Sanniang, just wait and see how I can make the best paper and ink in the world. Not only will I compare with Uncle Zuo, but also Wei Dan." Everyone must be willing to accept the defeat."
After hearing Feng Yong’s childish words, Guan Ji thought he was just out of anger, so she laughed.
Seeing Feng Yong's angry look, Guan Ji said softly, "The elegance of pen and ink can only be seen in prosperous times. My brother's talent lies in governing the country and bringing peace to the country. In prosperous times, he can help a wise king, but in troubled times, he can bring peace to the world. So how can he be just a man? What can someone who knows how to write and ink compare to?"
"Besides, my brother has already achieved such great achievements at such a young age. Think about Wei Dan, who is now over forty years old and is no more than a doctor. How can he compare with his brother?"
Oh, it turns out that Wei Dan is also a bad old man.
That said, I felt relieved.
After hearing Guan Ji's words, Feng Tubao felt very happy.
The desire to compare has gone, but when I saw the paper on the desk, I remembered that I had finally been slapped in the face by reality.
Feng Yong was finally able to calm down and think about printing for a while.
The emergence of printing is inseparable from the improvement of fonts. Fonts such as Xiaozhuan are more suitable for lettering.
The official script used today is more suitable for writing.
As for regular script, it is a font that is more suitable for printing.
I remember that history books say that Zhong Yao invented the calligraphy style from official script. Zhong Yao was not dead at this time, but he should have developed regular script.
But Feng Yong had never seen anyone in the Han Dynasty using regular script.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh again.
Whether it is Zuo Bo, Wei Dan or Zhong Yao, they are all Cao Cao thieves from the north, and no one is from the south.
From a small age to a large one, the Northern and Central Plains are the center of the world, with a wealth of talents that cannot be compared to the South.
Guan Ji asked with concern.
"Nothing." Feng Yong shook his head, shook away the distant things, and continued to bring his thoughts back to the present.
“This paper is easy. It’s just that the ink...”
As long as future generations have attended nine years of compulsory education, who knows that China has four great inventions?
Cai Lun improved papermaking technology, which is also recorded in history books.
It is made from tree bark, broken fishing nets and other widely sourced things.
The ancients may not be able to summarize the principle, but Feng Yong, who has learned physics, chemistry and biology, still knows it. The most critical one is plant fiber.
So plants with the highest fiber content are the best sources of raw materials for papermaking under current technical conditions.
But one thing is that the source must be widespread and easily accessible.
Plants with high fiber content and easy to obtain…
When Feng Yong thought of this, his eyes stared blankly at Guan Ji.
“What are you looking at, brother?”
Guan Ji felt a little panicked when she saw Feng Yong looking straight at her, so she couldn't help but ask.
Feng Yong murmured, suddenly laughed, then stretched out his arms and hugged Guan Ji tightly, "I thought of it. Sangma, Sangma, is indeed a good thing."
“Brother, what are you doing?”
Guan Ji felt that her heart was about to jump out of her chest. She really didn't expect that Feng Yong would suddenly make such a presumptuous move.
She was about to push away subconsciously, but she suddenly pulled back her strength.
She knew that if she pushed him out, it would be a small matter for her brother to fall on the ground several times, but it would be a big deal for him to be injured.
At the moment, he could only grit his teeth, open up a little distance, and ask with a red face.
Feng Tibi realized that he seemed to be overly excited after hugging her tightly, but felt the soft body in his arms, but he was a little reluctant to let go.
“Brother, if you don’t let go, my little sister will take action.”
Guan Ji felt that Feng Yong's arms were still tight, and she gritted her teeth and said something.
“Ahem, Sanniang, I was in a moment of excitement and couldn’t help myself, don’t blame me.”
Feng Tibi felt Guan Ji's pushing action and quickly let go.
Guan Ji’s martial arts skills are no joke.
—
The blush on Guan Ji's face was not gone, she glanced at Feng Yong, her eyes were a little reproachful, but also seemed to be a little rippled.
“What are you excited about, brother?”
"Paper."
Feng Yong picked up the paper on the case and shook it. "This paper is too bad. I want to try to make some paper."
In fact, from the very beginning, the first thing Feng Yong thought about was making paper.
The reason is very simple. When I went to the hut, the thin bamboo slices scratched my chrysanthemum countless times.
Every time I go to the latrine, I feel a burning pain. The feeling is really worse than death.
And the bamboo pieces are for public use. Wash them after use and wait for next use...
In order to no longer feel the burning pain, Feng Tibi had no choice but to choose some wide leaves.
When I used the leaves, it didn’t hurt at all, but I was almost itchy to death. Who knows how much hair there is on the leaves of wild trees and grasses?
Finally, I came up with a way and carefully selected some slightly flat pebbles by the river.
It’s a bit rough, but at least it won’t hurt or itch anymore.
It’s just a bit more troublesome.
But he is also a landowner with servants. When he is done with it, he will leave it to his servants, so there will naturally be no trouble.
As for paper, although it is expensive, Feng Tubou has not never used it secretly.
It's a pity that the quality is so poor that the paper is torn with just a little force of your fingers...
Then that day Feng Tibi was so disgusted that he didn't eat anything for the entire day.
So what Feng Yong wanted to do most when he started was actually to make his own paper and find a way to make the paper he wanted.
It’s a pity that although he knows the principles, his actual operation ability is zero.
There was no conditions at hand, so I had to give up in the end.
Later on, I got used to using cobblestones, and I didn’t think about fussing with it anymore.
Now that Guan Ji stirred up the matter, the original thoughts suddenly grew like weeds.
Now that I have the conditions and the manpower, why not try to make paper?
If it’s not for anything else, just for that roll of white and soft toilet paper, it’s a must-have project!
I don’t know how to make paper, so don’t any of the craftsmen at Hanzhongye also know how to make paper?
There is no one in Hanzhongye, so can’t anyone be found in the Shaofu?
The young master can’t be found, so why can’t the general and prisoner from outside the dynasty be found?
At worst, we will have another PY deal with Zhuge Lao Yao...
If you can’t make paper, how can you print?
How to break the family’s monopoly on intellectual resources if printing is not possible?
Although Feng Tubao's most essential thought is for that roll of white and soft toilet paper, he believes that Zhuge Laoyao's eyes will not fall on his chrysanthemums, but on the chrysanthemums of the aristocratic family...
As long as he has craftsmen who can make paper, Feng Yong is sure to solve the problem of paper quality.
After all, the principle is there. As long as you know the process and change the raw materials, there won’t be much difficulty.
Feng Yong is least afraid of this after many experiments to get the optimal solution.
It’s just that even if the paper problem is solved, the ink problem is not easy to solve.
Guan Ji said that Zhongjiang’s ink was fragrant because of the fragrance contained in the ink, and it was most likely rosin.
Who doesn’t know about rosin ink?
If you want to print, you can apply some grease on the engraving surface to prevent the wood from absorbing ink too much.
Ink is ink, so you need to add some oil to the ink.
Adding oil to the ink can not only make the ink more sticky, but also prevent the printed words from fading for a longer period of time.
How to use pine branches to burn charcoal to make good ink was an unknown problem for Feng Yong.
Because he doesn’t know how to make ink at all.
Based on the idea that I don’t need to understand, as long as my subordinates understand, Feng Yong once again put his mind on the departments such as Hanzhong Metallurgical Supervisors and General Supervisors.
The same thing is said, if you can’t get ink, how can you do printing?
How to break the family’s monopoly on intellectual resources if printing is not possible?
Although Feng Tubao's most essential idea is to show off in front of Guan Ji, he believes that Zhuge Laoyao's eyes will not fall on whether he is showing off or not, but will use this thing to show off in front of Guan Ji...
(End of this chapter)