沈括·《活板》英译

板印书籍，唐人尚未盛为之。自冯瀛王始印五经，已后典籍皆为板本。庆历中有布衣毕升，又为活板。其法：用胶泥刻字，薄如钱唇，每字为一印，火烧令坚。先设一铁板，其上以松脂、蜡和纸灰之类冒之。欲印，则以一铁范置铁板上，乃密布字印。满铁范为一板，持就火炀之；药稍熔，则以一平板按其面，则字平如砥。若止印三二本，未为简易；若印数十百千本，则极为神速。

常作二铁板，一板印刷，一板已自布字，此印者才毕，则第二板已具，更互用之，瞬息可就。每一字皆有数印，如“之”、“也”等字，每字有二十余印，以备一板内有重复者。不用，则以纸帖之，每韵为一帖，木格贮之。有奇字素无备者，旋刻之，以草火烧，瞬息可成。

不以木为之者，文理有疏密，沾水则高下不平，兼与药相粘不可取；不若燔土，用讫，再火令药熔，以手拂之，其印自落，殊不沾污。

升死，其印为予群从所得，至今保藏。

Bi Sheng

Shen Kuo

Block printing was not widespread in the Tang Dynasty. After Feng Dao (1) printed the Five classics (2), all early books and records were handed down in woodblock editions. In the Qingli reign Bi Sheng, a commoner, invented typesetting. The movable type was made of pieces of clay as thick as a coin, each engraved with a character and baked. An iron board was prepared beforehand, covered with a layer of pine resin, wax and ash of paper. An iron frame was put on the board and the clay type was set within the framework to make up a full printing plate; the pine resin was then melted and a wooden board was pressed over the type to make the whole plate as level as a whetstone.

This was not a simple method if only a couple of copies were to be printed, but the speed was marvellous if printing hundreds or thousands. The usual practice was that two iron boards were employed in the process: when the first plate was being printed, the second plate was set up; when the first was finished, the second was ready for use. The two plates were used in turn and the printing could be done very quickly. Each character had several duplicates and such characters as “zhi” and “ye (3)” had over a score in case they were repeated in one plate. When the type was not in use, it was pasted on a piece of paper and stored in wooden cases. If an uncommon character had no ready-made type, it would quickly be engraved and baked over a straw fire.

The type was not made of wood because wood grain is fine in some places but coarse in others, and therefore the surface would be uneven when moistened with ink. Moreover, when wooden type is glued onto the iron board with pine resin and wax, it is difficult to dismantle afterwards: it is simple, however, with baked clay type; all you have to do is melt the pine resin and wax with fire again and brush the type off the board, which is then completely clean.

After Bi Sheng died, his type came into the possession of one of my cousins and is still in his safe keeping.

(1)Feng Dao (AD 882-954) was a chancellor in the Five Dynasties.

(2)Namely, the Book of Songs, Book of History, Book of Changes, Book of Rites and The Spring and Autumn Annals.

(3)Two characters frequently used in classical Chinese.（杨宪益、戴乃迭 译）