经济学视角下雕版印刷术起源问题的再探讨

Rethinking the Origin of Woodblock Printing in the View of Economics

本文主要从经济学角度探讨雕版印刷术起源问题。印本的市场需求量高于其生产量的临界值对印刷术的运用具有重要影响。基于文献与前人研究成果,推测印本的生产量临界值介于400-500本之间。南北朝时期,单一书籍的市场购买力有限,印本的销量难以超过印本生产量临界值,印本成本高于抄本成本,因而雕版印刷术的发明缺乏经济动力。隋唐时期,科举制度的推行和佛教的兴盛,大众对科举文书和密教经咒的市场需求量上升;同时,图文并茂文书的流行,需要抄写文字和临摹图画,增加了文书抄本的制作成本和时间,从而降低了印本的生产量临界值,即降低了雕版印刷术发明的门槛;文书市场的兴起和成本的提高,为雕版印刷术的出现创造了“生态位”。

This paper analyzed the driving mechanism about the origin of woodblock printing in the view of economics.The market demand of a printed book,when higher than its threshold,would have a major impact on the application and popularization of woodblock printing technology.Based on historical records and previous research,it is deduced that the threshold of a printed book should be 400-500 copies.As the book market during the Southern and Northern Dynasties(AD 420-589)was immature,it would be difficult for the sale of a single book to exceed the threshold;thus,this situation did not stimulate the invention of woodblock printing,because the cost of a printed book was higher than that of a hand-copied book.In the Sui and Tang Dynasties(AD 581-907),the increasing demand for examination documents and Sutra mantras with the establishment of imperial examination system and the flourishment of Buddhism provided the market condition for the emergence of woodblock printing.Meanwhile,the prevalence of the illustrated style increased the cost and publishing efficiency of hand-copied books,which decreased the threshold of the printed book.The increasing demand for the book and the rising production cost of hand-copied books had created a niche for the f woodblock printing technology.