清康熙内府铜活字铸造初探

A Preliminary Study of Bronze Typecasting by Imperial Household Department at the Reign of Kangxi Emperor, Qing Dynasty

近年来对清内务府档案中有关史料的研究,解决了清康熙内府铜活字的数量、去向问题,十分重要。铜活字版中的“无字铜子”是用来填充空格、固定版面的,而不是用来刻字的。根据《古今图书集成》版面印迹反映的活字铸造特征,可知铜活字是连字一体铸造的,其方法是先雕刻一套木模,再整体翻铸成铜字。

The research into relevant historical materials in the files of the Imperial Household Department of the Qing Dynasty over the past few years is of great significance in that it has resolved the issues relating to the quantity and whereabouts of the bronze types produced by the Imperial Household Department at the reign of Kangxi Emperor,Qing Dynasty.The“No-character Types”were used to fill up space and fix the printed sheet instead of engraving characters.Based on the movable typecasting characteristics as shown in the prints of printed sheets of the Collection of Ancient and Modern Books,we can conclude that bronze types were cast with characters linked together by engraving a wood pattern first and then casting it into bronze types as a whole.