"Printing, is this the Ink Technique that you mentioned?" When Kong Yingda and Wang Zheng followed Meton to the Ink Journal, they saw rows upon rows of printing tools and could not help but frown.
"Of course! Most of the books in the Kong Family's collection are unique copies. Naturally, they have to be printed so that everyone can borrow them. "Meton nodded and admitted.
"Even so, do you think that Old Man does not understand printing? Every time you print a page, you have to use a rigid board. The Kong Family has countless books. How long are you going to take to print this?" Kong Yingda shook his head. How could he not know about printing? It happened right under his nose. Engraving printing was extremely time-consuming and was only suitable for mass printing of books and periodicals, such as Mo Magazine, Confucian Magazine, or the best-selling books of the Four Books and Five Classics. After engraving, it could be printed in large quantities. Naturally, it could be printed in large quantities. However, the number of copies needed to be printed was not much. If it were to be engraved in large quantities, it could only be printed in small quantities. It was not even enough to cover the cost.
Even Kong Desheng looked at Meton unkindly. He did not know if this brat was here to help the Kong Family or to harm the Kong Family.
Meton laughed and said, "Teacher, do not be anxious. If the Ink Technique of the Mo Family is so simple, then this brat will naturally not embarrass himself. This time, this brat is recommending the Mo Family's newest printing technique, the Movable Type Printing Technique."
"Movable Type Printing Technique?" Kong Yingda did not understand.
Meton proudly said, "I wonder if Teacher still remembers where the inspiration for engraving printing came from?"
"It seems to be from the seal!" Kong Yingda thought and said.
Meton nodded and said, "Yes, it came from the seal. At that time, I thought of engraving the words on a wooden board, like a seal on paper. This is engraving printing technique."
Kong Yingda and Wang Zheng could not help but nod. Although the engraving printing technique seemed simple, it was an amazing technique. It directly solved the problem of copying books for students and greatly reduced the price of books.
Meton continued, "Although the engraving printing technique is useful, it is only suitable for mass printing of books. The more books are engraved, the lower the cost of printing the books. However, for some books that are not popular, it is not worth it. Many unique copies are precious, but the sales are not high. Therefore, the bookstores are not willing to lose money. "
Kong Desheng nodded. What Meton said was true.
"And when the School of Mohism publishes the Ink Magazine, they would usually divide the Ink Magazine into a few columns, each of which would be printed separately on a wooden board. With several carvers working at the same time, they could save several times the carving time. Afterwards, they could combine these small carvings together, just enough to print a single page. This is the reason why the Ink Magazine can be printed so quickly."
"So that's how it is?" Kong Yingda suddenly realized that the Ink Journal was more popular than the Confucian Journal. In addition to the down-to-earth content, the most important reason was that the Ink Journal had one-third more pages than the Confucian Journal. Naturally, it showed sincerity.
"Teacher, you can think about it. Since we can divide the engraving plate into several pieces, why can't we divide this small engraving plate into a word and then assemble it together? This is the movable type printing technique." Merton said.
"One word, one word!" Kong Yingda was suddenly enlightened. A craftsman might need half a day to engrave a plate, but engraving a word would only take a moment. As long as there were enough engravers, it could be engraved in a short time.
"No, this is not the only advantage of the movable type printing technique. Once the engraving plate is engraved, it is fixed. After printing this page, it has to be engraved again. However, there are no identical articles in the world, but the words used to write them are the same. Once the movable type printing technique is made, these engraved words can be rearranged after the first edition is printed. There is no need to repeat the engraving, which will greatly reduce the printing cost."
After Meton finished speaking, Kong Yingda's eyes suddenly brightened. At this moment, he really realized the power of the movable type printing technique. It did not need to repeat the engraving. It only needed to engrave all the words at once, and it was enough to print any book in the world. Moreover, it saved time and effort.
"It's simply a genius idea." Kong Yingda exclaimed. The engraving printing technique had greatly reduced the price of books in the world, and the movable type printing technique was a technology that transcended time. Once it was born, it would definitely cause the spread of knowledge in the world.
"With the appearance of this secret technique, the Old Man finally believes that the era of everyone being able to read has arrived. This is the general trend of the world. Those who comply will prosper, and those who resist will perish," Kong Desheng said happily.
Once books could be printed in large quantities, the Kong Family's collection of books would definitely reappear. Even ordinary people would have a large number of books to read, and the educational resources in the hands of the aristocratic families would be spread out. This made the two even more convinced that the day of the aristocratic families controlling the education system was not far away.
The two of them were suddenly full of heroic spirit. For the first time, they were full of confidence in defeating the aristocratic families.
Meton nodded slightly. The reason why he used the movable type printing technique was to encourage the Confucians. Once the Confucians saw the hope of defeating the aristocratic families, they would naturally not easily fall to the five families and seven factions. As long as the Confucians persisted, the pressure on the School of Mo would be greatly reduced.
"Mochi, have you prepared the gift for the Headmaster?" Merton asked.
Mochi, who had been silently following behind, suddenly stepped forward and said, "Young Master, Seniors, this way please!"
Under Mochi's lead, the group walked out of the room and came to a large workshop. They saw the Mohist craftsmen composing the original manuscripts by hand. Small words the size of beans were quickly assembled on a template by Brother Mo Jiazi's nimble hands. It only took a short while for a manuscript to be assembled, which was much faster than engraving.
"Every word in the movable type printing technique is the same as the dictionary created by Brother Kong. They are arranged according to the sound and the strokes, so that Brother Mo Jiazi can find them easily. After using them, you can just put them back to their original place." Meton pointed at the words and introduced them.
"These are engraved words, not made of wood?" Kong Desheng casually picked up a word and asked in surprise. Engraving printing had always been done using wood, but the words in his hands were obviously cold and heavy, obviously made of metal.
Meton laughed and said, "Wood engraved words can be used, but it is easy to wear and tear. Moreover, as time passes, it is easy to be bitten by insects! However, the greatest advantage of movable type printing is that the words engraved can be used repeatedly, so I sought a new material that could be printed and not easily damaged. The School of Mo's first idea was to use clay to engrave the words and then burn them into pottery. "
"This method is feasible!" Kong Yingda nodded. Pottery was not afraid of corrosion and could indeed be used repeatedly.
Meton nodded and said, "Movable type can be used, but it is too big and easily damaged if dropped. In the end, the School of Mo abandoned it."
"Could it be that this thing is made of iron?" Kong Desheng looked at the metal word in his hands and said thoughtfully.
Meton shook his head and said, "Iron type can also be used, but iron is easy to rust and too hard is not suitable for engraving words. Senior, the words you are looking at are lead type. The School of Mo asked the School of Taoism's External Alchemy Branch to refine pure lead. It is not easy to rust and the texture is on the soft side, making it easy to engrave. It is the best material for movable type printing."
Kong Yingda nodded in agreement. Not only did the creativity of the movable type in front of him amaze him, but the workmanship of the movable type itself also utilized the School of Mo's Ink technique to the extreme. The movable type in his hands was extremely small. The front side was engraved with the word "Zhengzhi" for ease of finding, and the back side was engraved with the word "Zuo". There was also an exquisite catch in the middle that allowed the two words to fit together. It was so precise that it was difficult to see the tiny gap.
"The School of Mo is indeed extraordinary. Whether it is creativity or workmanship, the movable type printing has reached perfection." Kong Yingda could not help but sigh.
"Movable type! This gift from the School of Mo is indeed very generous! The Kong Family appreciates it. "Kong Desheng said solemnly.
Meton could not help but smile awkwardly and said, "Senior, you misunderstand. Currently, there is only one set of movable type. If senior takes it away, I'm afraid the School of Mo's Ink Journal will immediately stop publishing. This little one has prepared the School of Mo's movable type for the Kong Family. I believe it will be enough for senior to print your books. "
Meton waved his hand, and Mochi opened a warehouse, revealing a mountain of movable type.
Kong Desheng blew his beard and said, "So you brat took the School of Mo's Ink technique that the Kong Family does not need to ask for a favor!"
Meton hurriedly explained, "Senior, please don't blame me. It takes a lot of time to make a set of movable type. Just the Chinese characters alone are more than ten thousand, and there are also some commonly used characters. There are thousands of characters that need to be engraved according to the frequency of their use. In addition to the time needed to engrave the characters, if senior is willing to wait for more than a month, this little one will definitely provide a complete set of movable type."
"There's no need. The movable type is enough!" Kong Yingda made the final decision. The Kong Family had had enough of being bullied by Kong Yingda, and he was not willing to wait a moment longer. Moreover, in his opinion, the movable type was too small, and it was naturally best to use it for the Ink Journal that contained more words. However, to Kong Yingda who was used to calligraphy all his life, the slightly larger type printed by movable type was most suitable for the library. After all, the library was used for all the scholars in the world who were used to reading large characters.
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