The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-01-28

sent the Chinese use a brush for the same
purpose, and thus produce far more perfect
impressions.
No record seems to have been found of the
manuscripts thus reproduced; but in the
cyclopmdia entitled "Tchi-pou-tso-tch'a is
embodied a work in two books, in which is
minute description of all the antique inscrip-
tions and autographs of celebrated men re-
produced in the manner described, that NJ to
say, in white on black ground, between the
years 1143 and 1243 of the Christian era.
The practice of printing from wooden
blocks seems to have been abandoned for
time, for we are told that from the period
when Fong-ing-wang printed the five books
of the King on stone, that process was adopted
for the publication of all legal and istorical
works.
We now arrive at another step in the de-
velopment of printing. In the period King
Ii, between 1041 and 1049 A. D., according
to the book last quoted, blacksmith, named
Pitching, invented method of printing with
what were called ho-pan, or blocks composed
of type. This word 'ho-pan" is used at the
present day in the imperial printing Office at
Pekin for the forms used in that establish
ment. The method adopted by Pitching is
thus described:-He made use Of fine adhe-
sive clay, which he formed into small regular
cakes as thin as the pieces of money called
Thsien, and on these he engraved the charac-
ters most frequently in use; and these types
he burned in fire to harden them. A sheet of
iron was placed upon table, and covered
with coat of very fusible mastic composed of
resin, wax and lime; an iron form, with vertical
divisions to form columns, according to the
Chinese mode of writing from the top to the
bottom of the page, was laid upon the pre-
pared iron plate and kept in position by the
mastic; the types were then arranged close
to each other in the columns, and when the
whole of these we're filed the form was car
ried to the fire, in order to soften the cement,
then returned to the table, when the types
were forced into the mastic uniformly by
means of fiat piece of wood, precisely like
the planer in use for a similar purpose at the
present day, and the face of the type was as
equal as that of an engraved block of wood or
stone. Two forms were used at the same
time, so that as soon as q sufficient number
of impressions had been taken from one page
of type another was ready to complete the
sheet, which then, as now, in Chinese print
ing contained only two pages of printed
matter and both on the same side, the sheet
being folded in half with the double edge
outwards for binding.
Pitching multiplied his types sometimes to
the extent of twenty; and the duplicates not
in use were kept carefully wrapped up in
paper. The types were classed according to
the tonic arrangement; and each class had its
own particular case. When a character oc-
CURED that had not been previously prepared,
type was engraved, and, being dried by
means of straw fire, could be used imme-
diately. The reasons given for the inventor
not having used wooden types are, that the
tissue Of wood is hard in one place and soft
in another, and that when wetted it becomes
uneven; and further, that, when once in con-
tact with the cement, wooden types could not
easily be removed, whereas with terra-cotta
types the moment the form was done with
and the iron plate warmed, they could be
swept off with the hand without particle of
the mastic or even stain remaining upon
| their surfaces.
When Pitching died, his companions, or
| partners, inherited his types, and preserved
them with great care; but the invention fell
| out of use. And this is not surprising, when
| we consider the nature of the Chinese Ian
| guage, for, in order to be able to print all
kinds of works, it would have been necessary
| to have LOG cases, that being the number of
sounds in the tonic arrangement. 1t was
easier and more expeditions to paste the text
down on the surface of block, and cut out
| the whites with graver, as is practised at the
present day. From the death of Pi-ohing
| down to a comparatively recent date, the
| Chinese seem to have adhered constantly to
this system of block-printing, but using for
superior work oopper-plates instead of wood.
| 1t was not until after 1862 that another
change took place. In the reign of the EN-
peror KhRng-hi certain missionaries, who en-
| joyed credit with that monarch, induced him
to cause 250,OO0 movable types in copper to
be engraved, which were used for printing q
collection of ancient works, which formed
60OO volumes, in 4to. This edition is admi-
rably printed, and some of the works com.
posing it are to be found in European libra
ries. Some years afterwards these types were
all melted, and it took century to replace
| them.
In the year 1773, the Emperor Khien-long
| decreed that 10, 412 of the most important
works in the Chinese language should be en-
! graved on wood and printed at the cost of
the State, but the Minister of Finance, Kin
kien, seeing the enormous number of blocks
that would be required and the immense ex-
| pense that would be incurred, succeeded in
| persuading the Emperor to adopt the system
| of movable types, and submitted models of
| those required, arranged on sixteen plates
and accompanied by all the necessary instruc-
tions for the cutting of the dies, the striking
of the matrices, the founding of the type
and the composition. The ministerial propo-
sition was adopted, and the works were
ordered to be printed. A catalogue, descrip-
tive and rdisonne, published by imperial
order and bearing the formidable title
| of ''Sse- OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES -tsong- mo- -ti-yao,
| gives a full account of the above mentioned
works, and fills 120 vols Svo This catalogue,
which is to be found in the Bibliotheque I'M
\ periale of Paris also contains narrative of
the undertaking.
The result of the decree was the establish
| mont in the Palace of Pekin of an edi6ct
| known as the Wou-ing-tien, in which con