Carrier poem

For ancient literati who love elegance, whether writing poems or writing letters, how can they have the heart to write their carefully written poems on mediocre and tacky paper, just like letting beautiful women with natural beauty wear rags? Therefore, the literati will make their own "stationery", also known as "poetry stationery"-select exquisite and colorful paper, carefully cut it into the required scale, and then print unique patterns in different colors. The theme can be flowers, birds, fish, insects, landscapes, inscriptions and so on. On this kind of paper, it is the most elegant and not vulgar to write poems and letters and communicate with people.

? As we all know, paper is one of the four great inventions in China, which first appeared when Emperor Xuandi ascended the throne in the Han Dynasty. Because the output and quality of paper were limited when it was first invented, and only a few educated dignitaries used it, it was not until more than 500 years later, when the style of writing was at its peak, that stationery really appeared and was widely used by literati. In Xu Ling's Preface to the New Ode to Yutai, there is a sentence: "Three wonderful traces, a book full of dragons, five-color stationery, and Hebei Jiaodong paper".

? Since then, in the heyday of poetry in the Tang Dynasty, stationery, as the carrier of poetry, also frequently appeared in the literati poetry room. The most famous is Xue Tao stationery, also called Huanhua stationery, which is made of hibiscus skin and added with lotus juice to make the paper peach-colored, compact and elegant. It is said that when she fell in love with Yuan Zhen, a great poet, she used this stationery to write love poems to send her lovesickness.

There are no carved patterns on the stationery of the Tang Dynasty. In the Five Dynasties, some people carved landscapes, Zhong Ding and figures with agarwood, which was called "polishing little books", covered them with stationery, and polished the back of the paper with wooden sticks or paraffin wax, so that the patterns on the engraving were printed on the paper. This became "polished stationery", which was the predecessor of later block printing stationery.

? During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, many exquisite and precious stationery appeared, such as Biyun Chunshu stationery, Longfeng stationery, Tuanhua stationery, Jinhua stationery and quicksand stationery. , but block printing color stationery has not yet appeared.

? Until the end of the Ming Dynasty, with the vigorous development of printmaking art, exquisite stationery, such as Luo Xuancheng's Ancient Stationery and Ten Bamboo Slips, were masterpieces of that period, and the contents of stationery were mostly landscapes, flowers and birds, and figures.

? In Qing dynasty, stationery became more widely used. It is no longer just the exclusive plaything of literati. The rising merchant class also uses it for business dealings, and stationery is used by more and more people for correspondence. At that time, many bookstores invited famous artists to draw and carve novel and exquisite stationery, and printed it into a stationery spectrum, which was sought after by many literati.

? Until the Republic of China, with the turmoil in our country, war broke out, people's livelihood gradually declined, and the west wind gradually entered. More and more people advocate writing new poems in vernacular Chinese and using foreign paper and ink. As a result, even some time-honored bookstores and stationery stores have closed down because of the increasingly difficult operation, and stationery, as a "few sketches" and "clear", has gradually received a cold reception.

? At this time, the two men, with their love for woodcut art and sincere heart for continuing national culture, decided to collect all stationery samples on the market, select exquisite ones, assemble and print them into a notation, "which is occasionally involved by future visitors." These two men are the famous Lu Xun and Zheng Zhenduo.

"This is not only to study the Qing Dynasty, but also a great commemorative ear in the history of China woodcut." Lu Xun, who was in Shanghai at that time, wrote in a letter to Zheng Zhenduo who was teaching in Beiping. They both like collecting woodcuts, especially Lu Xun. "He tried to spend money to reprint hundreds of People's Pictures-later this book actually contributed to the atmosphere of modern woodcut creation in China. He looked for stationery very early, paying special attention to what was carved in Beiping. " He invited Zheng Zhenduo to finish taking notes together. Zheng agreed without saying anything. They all know that in such an era of war and chaos, if we slack off a little, "this matter may soon be ruined" and "it will be more difficult to carry out this work in a few hours"

? So, one of them searched around Beiping and negotiated with the shopkeeper about printing, while the other collected samples in Shanghai, Hangzhou and Guangzhou at the same time and asked friends to help him find them. They were busy for half a year and finally collected hundreds of samples. Finally, Mr. Lu Xun finally selected 332 copies and compiled them into a book called Notes on Beiping.

? Although it only took a few months, there were many hardships and complications. Zheng Zhenduo recorded the details in his Miscellaneous Notes on Visits.

? The first difficulty we have to face is collecting stationery samples. Zheng Zhenduo usually teaches at Peking University, so he can only use various markets after school to pay attention to the existence of stationery samples anytime and anywhere. "On one occasion, he walked from Dongdan Arch to Dongsi Arch, passed the east gate of Long Fu Temple Street, and then went north. There are no fewer than ten Nanzhi shops that take the door, and most of them only sell foreign paper, foreign ink and eight lines of stationery. The most sophisticated ones only sell a few arched stationery, but they are so simple and impetuous that they are not a concern. " This is enough to show his efforts at that time.

Once he found those "pure and unsurpassed" and "chic and decent" poems, he liked them again. Qingmi Pavilion, Chunjing Pavilion, Songhuazhai, Songshizhai, Yiwenzhai, Rong Baozhai, Jingwenzhai and Chengxingzhai all left his footprints, and he knew every one like the back of his hand.

? If collecting stationery samples can be overcome only by manpower, then Zheng Zhenduo will really have to find a bookstore to print it in the future. Because the two printed at their own expense and planned to print only one hundred copies, many bookstores refused this request on the grounds that the number was too small, which made Zheng Zhenduo close many doors, especially "Stubborn Mi Qing Guan" did not mean that the number of prints was too small, but that there was not enough manpower to print it; If you go on, you will be ignored; It makes your tongue tired and your lips hot. They just turn a blind eye to you. "Although very helpless, but he didn't give up after all, trying to client to find a relationship, that's settled.

? Finally, the unexpected difficulty is that because Zheng Zhenduo thinks that "engraver is really an important element in taking notes, and its importance may be no less than that of painter", he thinks that "in Beiping's notes, it is really necessary to juxtapose painter and engraver", so he decided to visit the surnames of all painters and engravers in the notes! But at that time, he was "quite humble" for this. In the eyes of the secular, this little sculptor is just a worthless craftsman. It is really a "strange thing" to ask the engraver who wrote their names on the annotation after buying the samples. But at Zheng Zhenduo's insistence, he repeatedly asked, asked around, made a few drafts, and finally found out most of the names. "When this woodcarving industry is as shaky as the morning star, plus this commendation, it is almost an important document on the last page of woodcarving history." He wrote that he would use his own notation to "live forever" for every unknown craftsman in the history of culture and art. Such feelings are very touching to read.

? Lu Xun wrote in the preface of Beiping Annotation: "Those who are interested in writing must have more skills, and the way of writing must be exhausted;" If there is an author in the future, he will find another way to strive for new life; Speaking of its hometown, it should be as early as in leisure time. Although this is a very short book, few people know it, but at a time and place, the ups and downs of painting are quite moderate; It is not a monument to China's woodcut history, but an old garden of several works of art; It will also be accidentally involved by later tourists. "

? In that era full of agitation and drastic changes, as witnesses, they witnessed that ancient China was sunk by the advanced west, elegant and romantic, and narcissism was ruthlessly crushed by sharp boats and guns. They can only wander in hopelessness and expectation, guarding this useless but beautiful ingenuity that has been circulated for thousands of years, recording the ups and downs of a place, and hoping that future people can visit the ancient times by accident.