Woodblock Printing雕版印刷

During the Tang Dynasty in China， Buddhism was popular. With the growing desire to produce Buddhist scriptures， there was a need for a faster way to reproduce them. Copying by hand was no longer a practical option to keep up with the rising demand. So， ancient Chinese craftsmen designed a new method of mass production which was later known as woodblock printing.

在中國唐代，佛教興盛。隨著制作佛經的需求日益增長，需要一種更快的方法來復制它們。為了滿足日益增長的需求，手工抄錄不再是一種實用的選擇。所以，中國古代工匠設計了一種大規模生產的新方法，后來被稱為“雕版印刷”。

Woodblock printing included the following four major steps： writing， carving， printing， and binding. The writing process involved composing the text to be carved onto the wooden block. The engraving process was perhaps the most challenging part of the production process， as it required skilled craftsmen to carve the characters and images into the wooden block in reverse. The printing process required the ink to be applied to the raised areas of the wooden block before being pressed onto the paper. Finally， the binding process involved stitching the pages together to form a completed book.

雕版印刷包括以下四個主要步驟：書寫、雕刻、印刷和裝訂。書寫過程包括將要刻在木塊上的文本組合起來。雕刻過程可能是生產過程中最具挑戰性的部分，因為它需要熟練的工匠將漢字和圖像反向雕刻到木塊上。印刷過程要求將木板壓在紙上之前把墨水涂在該木塊的凸起區域。最后，裝訂過程是將頁面用線裝訂在一起，這樣一本完整的書就制成了。

The arduous task of carving the characters and images onto the wooden blocks required skilled technology， and thus the quality of a woodblock print depended on the carver’s ability. Each character was carefully crafted to ensure its raised areas and lines applied the ink correctly， which would ultimately make or break the final print.

在木塊上雕刻漢字和圖像的艱巨任務需要專門的技術，因此雕版印刷品的質量取決于雕刻師的能力。每個漢字都經過精心雕刻，以確保其凸起的范圍和線條正常上墨，這將最終決定印刷成品的好壞。

The Diamond Sutra is a famous example of an ancient work printed using woodblock printing technology. The Buddhist scripture， printed in 868， is considered the “earliest dated printed book” and measures five meters in length. Stored at the British Library， it is an example of ancient works of art that convey wisdom and beauty created by Chinese craftsmen.

《金剛經》是使用雕版印刷技術印制的著名古籍代表。這部佛經印刷于868年，被認為是“最早的印刷書籍”，長度為5米。它存放在大英圖書館，是中國古代工匠創造的藝術品，用來傳達智慧和美的一個例子。

In conclusion， woodblock printing allowed for faster and more convenient mass production of printed works， making learning and knowledge accessible to all. While the invention of writing gave life to great thoughts， it was the invention of printing that made knowledge a shareable fruit for all humankind.

總之，雕版印刷可以更快、更便捷地大規模生產印刷作品，使所有人都能獲得學習的機會和知識。雖然文字的發明賦予了偉大的思想以生命，但是印刷術的發明才使知識成為全人類可以分享的果實。

Word Bank

option n. 選擇；可選擇的事物

craft v. 精心制作

accessible adj. 可理解的；可到達的