書籍、文房、裝飾用紙考略

Paper has always been a cheap substitute for more expensive materials which were indispensable for other uses. It is sometimes suitable for uses for which other materials will not serve. Paper was apparently not invented for writing. As time went on, writing on paper has developed into a special branch of art, and both calligraphy and painting have found paper the best medium for artistic expression. Papermaking made further progress by adding fancy colours and delicate designs for decorative and other purposes. Being cheap and light, paper was used to make replicas of treasured objects for ceremonial occasions, or as a medium of exchange in place of heavy and valuable metals. Today, paper and paper products have hundreds of uses in graphic communication and in business, industry, and household operations. Many such uses can be traced back to centuries ago when paper was used as extensively and variously in China as it is elsewhere today. The progress of papermaking is reflected in the increasing varieties and names of paper, which have many different origins. Some of the names denote the raw materials of which paper was made; others refer to places where the paper was manufactured; and still others are the names of designers or of the studios which have made the product famous. Papers are also named for methods of treatment, as sizing, coating, dyeing, or treating with spices; for their appearance on size; and for the use for which a variety is particularly made. This article will trace the origin and development of special kinds of paper used in graphic and decorative art as recorded in literature or found in exisung specimens. Paper was used very early to substitute for bamboo and silk as writing material. No written characters, however, are found on the earliest extant paper specimens and no reference to the use of paper for writing is mentioned in Western Han literature. Paper was certainly used for books and writing from the Later Han. It is recorded that a copy of the Ch'un Ch'iu Tso Chuan written on paper was given to students who studied the classic at the Han court in A.D. 76. Some two dozen characters are found on a remnant of paper from Chü-yen dated around A.D. 110. Numerous paper documents discovered in Chinese Turkestan bear dates all from the 3rd century onward. It is believed that paper was not extensively used for books and documents, replacing bamboo and wood, until the late 2nd or 3rd century and it co-existed with silk as late as the 5th century. The earliest example of a complete book on paper is probably the Pi yü ching (Parable sutra) written in A.D. 256 on paper of mixed fibres of hemp, paper mulberry, rags, and nets, known as the liu ho chih (paper of a combination of six materials). Other early book rolls extant today are generally written on papers of hemp, lime, paper mulberry, ramie, or a mixture of these materials. The commonest papers used in the T'ang dynasty were made of hemp, paper mulberry, and rattan, as is testified by both the analytical studies of the paper specimens and literary records. The papers used for copying sutras and other books since the T'ang dynasty were of two kinds made chiefly from hemp. The white one was called pai ching chien (white sutra paper); and the yellow one, called ying-huang chih (stiff yellow paper), was treated with yellow insecticidal liquid with a glossy surface and strong, close texture. The same kind of paper continued to be manufactured in the Sung dynasty, when a kind known as Chin-su chien (paper from the Chin-su Mountain) was specially made for copying the Tripitaka in the Kuang-hui temple in Chekiang. A similar well treated, golden yellow paper, known as chiao chih (pepper paper), was made in Chien-yang, Fukien, in the Southern Sung dynasty. It was dyed in a liquid prepared from the seeds of the pepper tree (Zanthoxylan piperitum), with a strong spicy flavour which is said to last several hundred years. Other papers popular for Printing books in the Sung dynasty included pei ch'ao chih, a shining white kind made from the creeping plant pei-chai (Dioscorea quiqueloba) in Fu-chou, Kiangsi; Pu-ch'i chih, a medium heavy paper made in P'u-ch'i, Hupeh; Kuang-tu chih, a product of the paper mulberry from Kuang-tu, Szechuan; Yu-ch'üan chih, a rattan paper made in Chia-hsing, Chekiang; and Chi-lin chih, a very smooth and heavy paper from Korea. Since the Sung dynasty, printing has become popular and papermaking has made further progress. Generally speaking, the paper used for printing was thin, soft, light, and fine. The raw materials were mostly bamboo and paper mulberry with sometimes a mixture of rice stalks and other materials. In the Yüan and Ming dynasties, a kind of extra wide paper was made of bamboo for writing, known as ta ssu lien (large four-fold). In some districts, fine bamboo was made into a specially heavy and sturdy paper called kung-tu chih (official document paper), primarily used for official documents. Of the paper for bookmaking during the Ming, the best is said to have been the white, sturdy mien chih (cotton paper), which was actually made of bamboo from Yung-feng, Kiangsi; next was the soft, heavy chien chih (stationery paper) from Ch'ang-shan, Chekiang; then the less expensive shu chih (book paper) from Shun-ch'ang, Fukien; and last was the chu chih (bamboo paper) from Fukien, which was short, narrow, dark, and brittle, and the lowest in quality and price. The K'ai-hua chih, a paper of extraordinary quality made in K'ai-hua, Chekiang, was especially selected by the Ch'ing court for the printing at the Wu-ying Tien of the tien-pen, or the Palace editions. Most popular among the many kinds of paper for artistic uses has been and is still the Hsüan chih, a fine white paper made in Hsüan-chou (modern Hsüan-ch'eng, Anhui) from the bark of the t'an tree, or sandalwood (Dalbergia hupeana), mixed with rice stalks. This paper was first mentioned in the T'ang documents as an article of tribute from Hsüan-chou. These high-grade ones are called yü-pan (jade tablet), a very large sheet of white, heavy paper; hua-hsin (picture heart), one of the artists' treasures; and lo-wen (silk stripes), apparently with textile patterns. The Hsüan chih is especially noted for its large size, normally twelve by eight feet, with one to three layers in one sheet. Some of the sheets, known as p'i chih, were as long as 50 feet. The products are soft, absorbent, smooth, strong, and elastic, suitable for books, documents, stationery, rubbing, and especially for calligraphy and painting. Another time-honoured paper for artists is the Ch'eng-hsin-t'ang chih (paper from the Pure Heart Hall) especially made in Nanking for the royal poet Li Yü (A.D. 937-978). It was described as fine, thin, glossy, smooth, and absorbent, and was considered the best kind of paper at that time. For many centuries in China, paper has been specially designed with a variety of patterns, plain or coloured, for writing letters, poems, and business contracts. These papers were dyed a single colour, printed with multi-coloured paintings, embossed in patterns, or sprinkled with gold or silver dust, in order to make them as elegant and pleasing as possible. The making of such paper was an art in itself, and many artists and poets contributed to the advancement of techniques for such ornamentation. It is generally known that violet note paper was used by the famous calligrapher Wang Hsi-chih (A.D. 321-79), and note papers decorated with a peach blossom pattern in bright green, blue, and red were designed by Huan Hsüan (d. A.D. 404) in Szechuan, which has been especially distinguished for decorative note papers for many centuries. According to early records, stationery papers in ten different colours were made by a T'ang official, Hsieh Shih-hou of Szechuan. There were also fancy varieties of paper called by such names as pine flower, golden sand, bright sand, rosy clouds, golden powder, dragon and phoenix (red with gold), peach-pink with golden spots. The most famous note paper was probably the small reddish note paper designed by Hsüeh T'ao (A.D. 768-831), a courtesan well versed in poetry who exchanged poems on note paper of her own design with such noted poets as Yüan Chen (A.D. 779-813) and Po Chü-i (A.D. 772-846). It was said that this paper was made of hibiscus skin mixed with powdered hibiscus flower petals to increase its lustre. The earliest ornamental note paper with pictures in multi-colour was probably developed before the Sung dynasty. It is said that embossed letter papers in such beautiful coloured designs as mountains, rivers, forests, trees, flowers, fruits, lions, phoenixes, insects, fish, old father, eight immortals, and ancient seal characters, were made by the family of Yao Ch'i (fl. 940). Apparently, paper with embossed designs, watermarks, and marbled paper were developed also at this time or earlier. Dard Hunter has set the origin of watermarks in 1282 in Europe and marbled paper in 1550 as ＂a Persian invention＂. From the literary records and existing specimens the Chinese certainly made such stationery at least three to five hundred years earlier. A close relationship between the manufacture of stationery paper and the art of colour prints developed in the late Ming dynasty. The most famous is the ornamental letter papers designed by the Ten Bamboo Studio, known as the Shih-chu-chai chien-p'u, published about 1645 by Hu Cheng-yen (ca. 1582-1672). The manual included such flowers and plants, landscapes, rocks, human figures, antique objects, and furniture of a scholar's studio, all printed in multi-colour from wood blocks. The earliest extant such stationery designs can be seen in the Lo-hsüan pien-ku chien-p'u, published by Wu Fa-hsiang (b. 1578) in 1626. Both techniques and artistic designs make it apparent that Hu Cheng-yen was very much influenced by this work which appeared some 19 years earlier. Ornamental stationery was also used for business contracts, in which case it is commonly known as chien-t'ieh. The calling card, known as ming-tz'u (name card) or pai t'ien (visiting card), was derived from the use in the Han dynasty of a strip of wood on which the personal name was written. The wood was replaced by paper about 2 to 3 inches wide probably in the 5th or 6th century, when such information as the visitor's name, native town and official title was included. In the Ming dynasty, the name card was enlarged, with the name written in big characters for a Han-lin scholar, who was privileged to use a red card, while the common people used white. The highest grade of paper, known as kuan-chien (official stationery) was used especially for calling cards by the officials and wealthy class. Chinese living room doors and windows were designed with lattices on which paper was pasted to admit a softened sunlight in lieu of glass. Gauze was used in ancient times and later thin but sturdy paper in large sheets took its place. The highest grade of this paper, used to paper windows in imperial palaces, was called ling-ch'uang chih (window-gauze paper), each sheet of which was over seven feet long and more than four feet wide, and some were dyed in various colours. In the Ch'ing dynasty, tributary paper sent from Korea was used for the windows of palaces. Requisitions of paper for the windows and lanterns of the imperial altars, temples, and hostels for foreign visitors were detailed in government administrative codes. It is generally believed that wallpaper was first brought from China to Europe by French missionaries in the 16th century, and later from Canton by Dutch, English, and French traders, and that it was imitated in Europe in the 17th century. The colourful papers from China with hand-painted designs of flowers and birds, landscapes, and scenes of domestic life were especially fashionable in Europe from the 17th through the 19th centuries. But the history of wallpaper in China is not clear and no evidence of its origin is available earlier than the 17th century. Some accounts mention that the Ch'ing emperors, especially K'ang-hsi (r. 1662-1722), showed a great interest in developing decorative arts, including wallpaper. Since its designs were quite similar to the patterns of the Chinese porcelain that came to Europe, they were apparently made by the same group of artist craftsmen primarily for the foreign trade. In Chinese interior decoration in the old days, plain white or single-colored walls without fancy designs were preferred. Earlier records indicate that pictures were sometimes painted on the walls and paper coverings on the walls were considered vulgar and not liked by people of good taste. A possible Chinese origin of wallpaper may have been the hanging scrolls of such subjects as landscapes daily life, or flowers and birds, which have been used for decoration of walls in China for many centuries. A Chinese scholar of the 17th century suggested the pasting of such scrolls of calligraphy or painting directly on the walls instead of hanging, in order to prevent damage to the scrolls by blowing in the wind. One early European reference to applying wallpapers also says that the old method was to fasten a wooden framework over the surface of the bare walls; this was fixed to wooden wedges driven into brick or stone work, thus leaving am airspace between. On these frames canvas was stretched, on which the wallpapers were fixed. What was brought to Europe by the early missionaries was perhaps not what we call wallpapers today, but may have been such hanging scrolls of pictures, which were first framed and later pasted instead of being hung on walls.

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