CHINA AND THE CHINESE.

CHAPTER I.

Paper-Made eighteen hundred years ago-Tradition of the Mandarin

ery-Paper made from various substancesr-Ink, when first used and how made-Chinese aration of ink-Pens, and mode of writingcutting characters - Bookbindings - Chinese

m that eighteen centuries ago they cret and means of manufacturing invention, they used to inscribe n thin strips of bamboo, or sheets yle, or pen of iron for the purpose aracters; and this, they assert, had of their nation from the most remote e art of paper-making had arrived at Chinese adopted the practice of writing

or cotton, with a bamboo pen; this more convenient method than writing ps of bamboo or sheets of metal, as the could be folded into a small compass. st century of the Christian era, during the y, a mandarin, who was attached to the

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Emperor's court, and whose name was Sai-lun, discovered the art of paper-making. Tradition affirms that this mandarin took the bark of trees, pieces of old silk, and hempen cloth, and boiled them down until they came to the consistence of glue, or paste; he then spread the mass in thin layers upon the earth, and the sun's rays dried up the moisture, leaving a thin compact substance: thus the first paper was made. Shortly afterwards, the means were discovered by which a smooth surface is given to paper.

Kao-Song, who was the third Emperor of the Tang dynasty, had paper made from hemp, for its peculiar strength and durability, and this was used for the secret official despatches. The manufacture of paper gradually improved, until we find Father Ripa, in 1705, speaking of the paper of Corea, remarks upon the large size of the sheets, and durability of the texture;* the latter arises from the material of which it is made, which is the inner part of the cocoon of the silk-worm. In ancient times, the Coreans used to pay their tribute to the Emperor of China in this paper. Chow-ouen, a Chinese author of antiquity, asserts, that in the earliest ages there was a method known of manufacturing a sort of paper from the refuse of silk and cotton, which they could neither wind off nor spin; but this secret was lost, or the method fell into disuse during the various revolutions which occurred previous to the Tsin dynasty.

It is also asserted, that the Chinese have a method

*Father Ripa ought to have been an Irishman, as he often perpetrates a "bull :" writing of the Corea paper, he remarks, the sheets are as large as blankets.

MATERIALS USED IN MAKING PAPER.

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of giving paper the appearance of having been silvered, without employing that metal, the honour of this invention they attribute to the Emperor Kao-ti, of the Tsi dynasty. Paper is manufactured from various materials, each province or district having its own peculiar manufacture, that of Corea we have described, in Fo-kein province, paper is made from young soft bamboo, in the province of Che-keang, it is made from paddy straw, in the province of KiangNan, it is made from the refuse silk, and this paper is very fine and delicate, being highly valued for writing complimentary inscriptions upon.

The best and finest paper is made near Nan-kin, from the pulp of the sycamore tree, and the paper which we erroneously call rice paper, is made from the fine inner bark of a tree, unknown to Europeans; the Chinese also use, for the coarser description of paper the old fibres of hemp, and the barks of various trees. In an old Chinese work, full instructions are given as to the art of paper-making; and we must confess our astonishment is great, that the Chinese have remained so long stationary in a manufacture which they have been practising for eighteen hundred centuries, as the paper made in China is far inferior to that which is manufactured in Europe.

Instructions are given in the Chinese work above alluded to, for the method to be employed in drying paper, and as the Chinese, invariably follow old customs, never attempting to improve upon them, the mode here alluded to is practised at this time.

"A hollow wall must be built, hollow as a young moon of three days birth, the sides of this must be

white as a fleecy cloud, at one end of the hollow wall must be an opening, and a hollow tube or pipe must run along the wall, to impart the genial warmth of a neighbouring furnace or stove; at the other end there must be an opening in the form of the moon at the full, through this the vapour of smoke must escape. Silken, hempen, or bamboo lines must reach from end to end, and on these lines, the sheets of paper must be spread to dry."

To size the paper and render it fit for ink, they use the following preparation, they make a glue, somewhat similar to isinglass, from fish bones, these they chop up very small, and soak the mass in water which is continually renewed: when all oily impurity is extracted they add a due proportion of alum, which has been dissolved. Over the vessel in which this mixture is, a rod is laid, a cleft-stick is used for holding the sheet of paper during the process of dipping; as soon as the paper has been sufficiently saturated, it is withdrawn, by gently rolling it round the stick which has been laid over the vessel; the sheet of paper is afterwards hung to dry either near a furnace, as before described, or in the sun.

Tradition affirms that the use of ink was known to the Chinese 1,120 years before the Christian era, and the following trite but true remark, was made by the celebrated and learned Emperor, You-Yang, who reigned at the period before named :-

"As the stone from which ink is made, to blacken engraved letters, can never become white; so a heart, defiled with impurity, will always retain its black hue."

CHINESE MODE OF MAKING INK.

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The stone or earth here alluded to, is termed mee, by the Chinese, and is mixed with an equal quantity of water, being thus formed into a liquid sort of paste.

It is recorded that during the Tang dynasty, which was 625 years before the Christian era, the King of Corea used to send ink as well as paper, in payment of tribute to the Emperor of China. This ink was made from lamp-black, procured by burning aged pine-trees, and this substance was dissolved in size, made from hartshorn: this ink had a most brilliant lustre, appearing as if the character had been var

nished.

This Corean ink, excited the envy of the Chinese, as it was superior to their own, and they gradually improved upon their own manufacture, until in the tenth century of the Christian era, they made the ink which is now in use among them.

This ink is procured from lamp-black, which is obtained from various descriptions of wood, by burning the wood whilst oil is poured upon it to ignite the flame; during the period this mass is cooling, perfume is poured among it, to correct the unpleasant effluvia arising from the burnt oil. The mass is then pulverized, in a brazen vessel, water being mixed with it, until the liquid is the consistence of thick paste; this material is then put into moulds of various forms, which are tightly compressed, and are placed upon stoves to dry. When all moisture has completely evaporated, the ink is turned out of the moulds, being now a compact, hard, stony substance, requiring to be mixed with water for use; and known to most of our