Drive to the Tang Dynasty, where supplies are refreshed daily!

Chapter 125 Printing the Thousand Character Classic!
After finishing his work, Li Tai heard that Sun Simiao was giving a lecture, so he went to listen to it.

I was deeply shocked after listening to it!

Sun Simiao taught children about common and frequently used medicinal herbs in a simple and easy-to-understand way.

It also includes treatments for common ailments, such as headaches, fevers, and stomach discomfort.

“I never expected it to be like this, sir, this is wonderful,” Li Tai said.

"Brother, what are your thoughts?" Princess Yuzhang asked from the side.

"This teaching model should be known to more people. Ideally, we should invite an old gentleman to write a book, and then use the young man's printing skills to print it out so that more people can learn about it."

"The old gentleman should be very happy to do this, but I don't know if he has the time." Li Lizhi also thought it was a good idea.

I'll ask about it tonight!

After dinner, Li Tai went to Sun Simiao's room.

"Sir, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."

"Shiro, just say it!"

After listening to Li Tai's words, Sun Simiao nodded. "Good idea. I'll prepare as much as I can, though it might take a while."

"Thank you, sir. It's alright if you take your time." Li Tai was very satisfied that Sun Simiao agreed.

There are indeed many things about Sun Simiao, and others have also discovered them.

I only do these things in my spare time each day, because I have a lot of other things to do.

Aside from treating patients and chatting with them, Sun Simiao was rarely seen idle; he always had endless things to do.

Despite having a lot to do, she remains very self-disciplined, has a great attitude, and is always cheerful.

As previously agreed upon by the group, the printing press was put into operation.

As dawn broke, sawdust began to float in the courtyard of the printing workshop. A dozen or so pear wood planks were placed side by side on a wooden frame. These were the materials that had been selected a few days ago. After being peeled, they were sanded three times with fine sandpaper, and now they felt as smooth as a baby's palm.

Wang Shen stood to the side with three village craftsmen, holding carving knives in their hands, their eyes showing a hint of tension.

Li Tai held a handwritten copy of the Thousand Character Classic, his fingertips pressing on the four characters “天地玄黄” (Heaven and Earth, Black and Yellow), checking each line against the reversed version written on hemp paper.

"Young master, what do you think of the size of these characters?" Li Tai asked as he saw Xiao Ran and Li Lizhi approaching. He held up the draft and handed it to them. "I wrote the characters in reverse, according to a size that a child can see clearly. If they were any larger, I'm afraid a single printing block wouldn't be able to fit two sentences."

Xiao Ran took the sample and looked at it against the light—the reversed regular script was neat and the characters were almost twice the size of those in a regular copy. He nodded and said, "Perfect. It won't strain the children's eyes to recognize it. When carving it, have the craftsmen carve the strokes deeper to prevent them from smudging when applying the ink."

The technology is not mature yet, so it's okay if it's a little bigger now; we can make it smaller later.

We are currently in the exploratory stage.

Wang Shen immediately came over, laid the draft on the wooden board, and used a fine needle to poke shallow marks along the characters: "As the young master said, poke the marks first and then carve, and you're guaranteed not to lose the shape."

The craftsmen held their carving knives and first carved out the outline along the needle marks. The sound of the blades cutting through the wood was "shush-shush". At first, some people even chipped the strokes. Li Tai squatted down next to them and taught them how to adjust the angle of the carving knife: "When carving horizontal strokes, be flat. When you start, be light. Then put a little more force at the end. Don't rush."

Before long, Sun Simiao and Zhang Mingde arrived, leaning on their canes. Zhang Mingde squinted at the craftsman carving the characters backwards and couldn't help but ask, "Si Lang, if these characters are carved backwards, will they print right out?"

Sun Simiao chimed in with a smile, "It's the same principle as stamping an official seal. Look at the seals of the government; they're engraved with characters in reverse, so when you stamp them on paper, they're upright, right?"

Zhang Mingde suddenly realized, moved even closer, and gently tapped the wooden board with the tip of his cane: "This is amazing, much faster than copying by hand."

Once the first wooden board engraved with "Heaven and Earth are dark and yellow, the universe is vast and boundless" was completed, Li Tai personally took a fine brush, dipped it in the prepared ink, added a small amount of glue, making it thicker than the previous test, and brushed it evenly onto the wooden board. Then he took a piece of hemp paper and covered it, gently pressing it down with a clean palm brush.

When you peel it off, the words on the paper aren't particularly bright, but the strokes are clear and there's not a trace of ink bleeding.

"It's done!" Wang Shen couldn't help but shout out, and the craftsmen breathed a sigh of relief, their faces breaking into smiles.

In the following days, the workshop became increasingly lively: some people were dedicated to polishing wooden boards, some followed Li Tai to write reversed drafts, some were in charge of carving, and others prepared hemp paper and ink in advance.

Li Tai stayed in the workshop every day, inspecting each carved wooden board. If he found any characters that were carved incorrectly, he would have the craftsmen carefully cut them out and recarve them.

Wang Shen kept a close eye on the progress, ensuring that he could carve two or three blocks each day to keep up with the schedule.

Xiao Ran and Li Lizhi would occasionally come over, either to help organize the carved wooden boards or to hand the craftsmen bowls of hot water. Seeing how skilled they became, they felt reassured.

About ten days later, all thirty-odd printing blocks for the Thousand Character Classic were finally engraved.

On the day of the mass printing, the workshop was packed with people—Li Tai stood at the front and personally applied the first ink.

Wang Shen held the wooden plank to prevent it from wobbling.

Two craftsmen were responsible for laying out the paper and pressing it down. Their movements became more and more skilled, and in no time they had printed a stack of them.

Sun Simiao picked up a newly printed copy of the Thousand Character Classic, held it up to the light by the window to look at it, and nodded with a smile: "The characters are clear, and the paper is thick. It won't tear easily when the children hold it and flip through it."

Zhang Mingde touched the words on the paper, which were much neater than those in the handwritten copy, and couldn't help but sigh, "From now on, all the children in the village will have this book, and they won't have to copy it with their hands covered in ink anymore."

Li Tai picked up the printed book, flipped through a couple of pages, and turned to ask Xiao Ran, "Young master, what do you think of the quality? Is there anything that needs adjusting?"

Xiao Ran took the notebook, looked at the handwriting and ink, and said, "It's good. If we print it next time, we can add a small circle next to each sentence as a pause, so that the kids can read it more smoothly."

Wang Shen nodded in agreement: "That's a good idea. I'll write it down and add it next time we print it."

Sunlight streamed through the workshop windows, falling on stacks of brand-new copies of the Thousand Character Classic. The pages were a pale off-white, and the ink on the characters was glossy black. These were the first books printed in Kaolao Village, and also the first door that Xiao Ran and the others used printing technology to open for "universal access to knowledge."

The Arabic numerals that Xiao Ran used before are now being used to mark page numbers.

Li Lizhi looked at the book in her hand with great excitement.

If we want to print the Thousand Character Classic in the future, it will be much faster than copying it.

Li Kecheng, Chu Mo, and a few others also came to join in the fun.

The first batch of books will definitely be sent to schools for the children.

Li Shimin and Li Lizhi had sent quite a few before, but one copy for each person was not enough.

That's more than enough for now.

"I feel this can be improved. Should we continue printing it, young master?" Li Tai felt that many aspects could be improved.

“We can carve another batch of even better ones. The technology isn’t mature yet, but we can keep working on it and print some more!” Xiao Ran said with a smile. “There are quite a few children in the surrounding villages, so we can give some away.”

"Alright, we'll do as the young master says." Li Tai instructed the printing crew to continue.

The reason why books were expensive before was because they were copied by hand, which was relatively slow.

It's different now.

These papers aren't that expensive.

Li Lizhi took a book, wrote a letter, and asked Li Wu to send it to Chang'an City for Li Shimin as soon as possible.

Li Shimin had been concerned about this matter, and now that it was printed, he was bound to say something. Inside the Taiji Hall, Li Shimin was reviewing memorials with a vermilion brush, his desk piled high with scrolls, but he would occasionally glance outside the hall.

He had long heard that printing had begun in Kaolao Village, and he had been eagerly awaiting news about printing technology.

Zhang Anan stepped forward quickly, holding a plain cloth package, and presented it to the table with both hands: "Your Majesty, there is a letter from Kaolao Village, and some items sent by Her Highness the Princess."

Li Wu also came in with them.

Li Shimin personally untied the bundle and first took out the letter inside. Li Lizhi's delicate handwriting stood out on the paper:
"Father, the Thousand Character Classic has been printed in Kaolao Village. However, the initial engraving technique is still rudimentary; the characters are engraved a bit too large, and there are occasional uneven ink marks. We will gradually improve it later. Young Master didn't hold back; the craftsmen can all learn the engraving and printing process."

Before he had even finished reading the letter, Li Shimin's gaze had already fallen on the brand-new "Thousand Character Classic" in the package.

He reached out and took it, his fingertips first touching the paper—thicker than the paper used for ordinary handwritten copies, but also smoother, without a single wrinkle.

Upon opening the cover, the glossy black ink characters immediately catch the eye. Although the four characters "天地玄黄" (Heaven and Earth, Black and Yellow) are nearly twice the size of those in the palace manuscript, the strokes are clear and there is no ink smudging, which is common in handwritten copies.

He suddenly stopped halfway through the page, pointed to the number "5" in the corner, and asked, "What is this crooked symbol?"

After a moment's thought, I recalled the symbols that Third Sister and the two little princesses had drawn on the ground before, which Princess Yuzhang had also mentioned in the Lizheng Hall.

Li Shimin did not expect Xiao Ran to use it so quickly.

Li Shimin lightly traced the page numbers with his fingertips, turned a few more pages, and his smile deepened: "Good, good... Although there are flaws, it is more than ten times faster than hand-copying!"

He stood up, holding the book, paced a few steps in the hall, and muttered to himself:
"Lizhi said it was 'immature,' but it's already quite remarkable that it's printed so clearly at the very beginning."

Ordinary people used to have to ask someone to borrow a copy of the "Thousand Character Classic" from a wealthy family. Now, a single wooden board can print hundreds of copies. Why should poor children have to worry about not having books to read?

Just then, Empress Zhangsun brought in some warm soup with palace servants. Seeing his expression, she smiled and asked, "What good thing has Your Majesty seen that makes you so happy?"

Li Shimin quickly handed over the "Thousand Character Classic," his tone full of excitement: "Your Majesty, look! This is a book printed by Kaolao Village! Xiao Ran carved characters on wooden boards, brushed ink, and printed it. He finished carving the entire scroll in ten days. From now on, we will no longer need to rely on teachers to copy books by hand!"

Empress Zhangsun took the book and examined it carefully, her eyes filled with surprise: "Although the characters are large, they are neat and orderly, making it easy for children to recognize them."

"Exactly!" Li Shimin slammed his hand on the table. "The aristocratic families have controlled knowledge for so many years because of the scarcity of books. Now that printing technology has come out, books are plentiful and cheap. How can they still monopolize knowledge?"

He paused, then suddenly looked at Zhang Anan, his tone becoming increasingly solemn: "Anan, purchase five hundred copies of the Thousand Character Classic from Kaolao Village and deliver them to villages within ten miles of Chang'an. I will pay for it myself; it won't be from the national treasury."

"Have the Ministry of Works prepare enough pear wood, high-quality hemp paper, and pine soot ink. Then select ten skilled carpenters to set off immediately for Kaolao Village to learn woodblock printing from Xiao Ran. Li Zhi said in her letter that Xiao Ran is generous and will teach the craftsmen the skills so that other prefectures can follow suit and set up workshops."

"A decree of commendation shall be drafted, awarding Xiao Ran one hundred bolts of brocade and one thousand bushels of grain, and each household of the villagers of Kaolao Village who participated in the workshop shall be awarded two bolts of cloth."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Zhang Anan bowed and responded, then turned to deliver the imperial decree.

Li Wu also prepared to leave and return to Kaolao Village.

"Li Wu, wait a minute!" Li Shimin called him again, adding, "Tell Lizhi to let her know what Xiao Ran needs, and I will fully support her."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I have remembered!"

Upon hearing that Li Shimin wanted to buy the Thousand Character Classic, Li Tai led his men to print out a large number of copies.

The materials were provided by Li Shimin, and Xiao Ran did not pay them.

Xiao Ran paid the wages in advance.

Xiao Ran didn't know how much the previous materials cost, and Li Lizhi didn't give a specific price either.

It seems they don't intend to ask for money back.

Upon hearing that the imperial court had issued an edict and bestowed many rewards, the others were overjoyed.

In particular, the fact that everyone who participated received a reward made those who didn't participate extremely envious.

Xiao Ran, however, didn't seem particularly excited.

I'm a little numb.

"Is the young master unhappy?" Li Lizhi asked Xiao Ran.

Li Lizhi was quite happy, not because of the money, but because the event itself was very meaningful to the Tang Dynasty.

"I'm happy! It's just that there have been a lot of these kinds of things lately, but I'm used to it." Xiao Ran still couldn't help but ask, "Fifth Sister, how much did the materials cost before? You can give them to me now."

Li Lizhi hadn't expected Xiao Ran to be so honest.

"No rush, we can talk about it later."

Hearing Li Lizhi say this, Xiao Ran became even more certain of his previous guess.

I really don't plan to keep this money.

The variety of daily necessities available in this era cannot compare to that of later generations.

Xiao Ran really didn't know where to spend the money.

We have enough to eat and wear, but we don't know what else to buy.

The payment for the second batch of coal was also delivered to Kaolao Village.

This time, it wasn't Li Shimin who bought it; it was someone else in Chang'an.

The money was more than before, and just like before, Zhang Mingde led a group of people to divide the money, with a portion still kept as reserve funds.

The money from coal made many people who were clamoring to go into printing obediently go back to mining coal.

The three little girls are now wearing down jackets that have been altered to be smaller.

If this feels comfortable, I'm less inclined to wear anything else.

“Young master, you mentioned before that you would send the Thousand Character Classic to the nearby villages, and the imperial court also sent one.” Li Tai brought up this matter during the meal.

"Then we won't see you off," Xiao Ran said with a smile. "We'll talk about it later."

"Once there are no problems with the carving, how about printing the Four Books and Five Classics?" Li Tai asked.

These are the Confucian classics that have stood the test of time.

“Okay, there are many idle people in the nearby villages now, so we can find more people. Uncle Wang can arrange it.”

"Okay, I'll talk to the village head about this later."

Once these Confucian classics, such as the Four Books and Five Classics, are printed, they are never hard to sell.

As long as the price is cheaper than those handmade copies currently on the market, that's fine.

The people who copy books are probably going to lose their jobs.
As the printing technology from Kaolao Village spreads, books in other places will become increasingly cheaper.

(End of this chapter)