Accordion book

An accordion book (Chinese: 經摺裝, pinyin: Jīngzhé zhuāng, Japanese: 折り本, rōmaji: Orihon) codex—a historic precursor to modern books—with an accordion-folded structure, which is known also as concertina binding.

Originating in China during the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907), the accordion-fold format evolved as an alternative to scrolls, making texts easier to handle and read. In particular, this form of binding was widely used for Buddhist scriptures, calligraphy, and illustrated works. This format also spread to Japan and Korea with the importation of Buddhism.^[1]^[2]^[3]

The history of the accordion book, known in Chinese as jingzhe zhuang, begins with earlier forms of bookmaking in ancient China. Before the invention of paper, texts were typically recorded in two main formats. The first format is one where texts were written on silk cloth and stored as scrolls—a format known as shoujuan (Chinese: 手卷, pinyin: Shǒujuàn, lit: "hand roll"). The other format is one where texts were inscribed on wooden materials, especially bamboo. These bamboo strips were cut into thin vertical slats and then laced or knotted together with cord, allowing them to be either rolled like a scroll or folded in a stacked, back-and-forth manner. This folded version was called jiandu (Chinese: 簡牘, pinyin: Jiǎndú) and dates back as early as the 5th century BCE.^[6]^[7]

After the invention of paper in the second century CE, Chinese bookmakers began adapting the jiandu structure to the new medium. This innovation led to the development of the jingzhe zhuang binding style during the Tang Dynasty. The new format maintained the folded structure of jiandu but used paper instead of bamboo, making books lighter, more flexible, and easier to reproduce.^[6]^[7] Jingzhe zhuang books consisted of long rolls consisting of sheets of paper pasted together began to be folded alternately one way and the other to produce an effect like a concertina.^[8] At the same time, the Tang era was a period of significant development for Buddhism in China. During this time, a sinicized Buddhism was widely accepted and practiced throughout the empire, with many monasteries and temples, and the Tang Imperial Court commissioned the translation of many new Buddhist texts from Sanskrit to Chinese. As such, the accordion book binding became a popular format for printing Buddhist scripture.^[9] One of the earliest surviving examples of a jingzhe zhuang book—a miniature version measuring 10 x 14 cm—was discovered at the Dunhuang archaeological site in western China. Dating to before 900 CE, it is the oldest known miniature accordion book, marking a significant step in the evolution of East Asian bookmaking.

As the Tang dynasty in China was highly influential in terms of technology and culture on its surrounding polities, particularly in Korea and Japan, this style of binding eventually spread to those respective areas, where it was also similarly heavily associated with the printing of Buddhist sutras.^[1]^[10] Besides Buddhist texts, the accordion book style of binding also eventually became used for other types of writing. For instance, one of the most popular books to appear in concertina format in 12th-century Japan was the Tale of Genji. The accordion book style of binding also subsequently further spread into other regions such as Tibet and the Western Xia during subsequent Chinese dynasties such as the Yuan and Ming dynasties.^[11]

Uses

Cyril James Humphries Davenport notes in his 1898 lecture that "writing upon a roll was found to be the most convenient at a very early date by the Chinese, Japanese and [K]oreans, they were also the first to find out that if the rolls were simply folded backwards and forwards between the 'pages' of writing or printing, the whole book became easier to read, and this form... is used in those countries to the present day."^[12]

Construction

History

Uses

Gallery

See also

References

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