Things like printing and papermaking, which are among the four great inventions of ancient China, are epoch-making technologies that have greatly promoted the development of Chinese civilization.
Later, many people were reluctant to talk about them, mainly because they knew their shame and then became brave.
No matter how glorious a civilization is, there will be a moment of decline. Only by rising up can there be a way out. Immersing in the past is not advisable, but from another perspective, remembering history can enhance the cohesion of the nation.
As long as they are not conservative, a nation actually needs these things very much to give everyone a sense of glory. At the same time, this is also the root of the nation, because a nation that has lost its history has no future.
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And Li Po, who was in the torrent of history, was running wildly on a wide avenue. Because he didn't have to adjust his direction, his speed was very fast.
Sometimes he even had to slow down and take a look to see if there was something wrong with the wheel.
Take papermaking, for example. After Cai Lun formally established the process of papermaking in the Eastern Han Dynasty, by the pre-Sui Dynasty, paper had become basically popular.
The technical problem lies in cost-effectiveness. Since the invention of papermaking, efforts have been made to reduce costs until it replaces the old technology.
Li Po knew very little about this, but his ministers all had their own achievements. Some people knew the history of papermaking very well. Even if they didn't remember that much, they could look up the information and report it to the emperor.
Therefore, when he mastered the imperial power and could greatly mobilize social resources, Li Po had a certain confidence in promoting social progress.
Since Dou Shilun and others said that the papermaking process was extremely mature and difficult to change, they had to think of ways to reduce the cost of the expensive paper to further popularize it.
This is extremely important for the dissemination of knowledge, and paired with printing, it is a perfect match.
Especially during the war period at the end of the Jin Dynasty, despite the wars and wars, some technologies were still progressing, and the situation was much better than during the war period at the end of the Sui Dynasty.
This may be because Jiangnan was not too damaged, who knows.
Anyway, papermaking has made great progress from the Five Dynasties to the Sui Dynasty. In the Han Dynasty, hemp could only be used as a material, but now various types of paper appear.
Then it is a matter of trial and error. Use various materials to make paper and find a material with low cost and guaranteed quality.
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A very bad habit of the Central Plains Dynasty was that many technologies were invented among the people and popularized, but the imperial court sat back and enjoyed the results.
If you are happy, promote it. If you are not happy, just let it develop on its own. It is called, Tao follows nature.
The previous dynasties were better, but the later two dynasties simply blocked the road to technological innovation and were unwilling to even sit back and enjoy the success. It was very disappointing.
Li Po was naturally different. When he was conquering the world, he couldn't take care of these things, and the resources at hand were not enough. But it is different now. For example, the number of craftsmen and supervisors has increased by more than ten times since he came to the throne.
This does not include Taichang Temple. The young master recruited craftsmen, doctors and other people of all kinds, and the status of the craftsmen was rising rapidly.
Originally, during the Sui Dynasty, the status of craftsmen was very strong, otherwise there would not have been great builders such as Yu Wenkai and He Chou.
Nowadays, from the perspective of those with a longer-term perspective, the Tang Dynasty will definitely be better. Who made the founder of the Tang Dynasty pay so much attention to various craftsmanship?
In fact, the effect has not yet appeared, after all, it has only been a few years since the princes were wiped out.
But as long as we continue to do this, a trend will definitely be formed, just like all the subjects are now practicing martial arts. Since craftsmen are valued by the government, more and more people will devote themselves to it.
After the trend gradually formed, no one would talk about strange skills and tricks anymore, and they were not worth mentioning.
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And because of the support of the imperial court and investment regardless of cost, there has been some progress on the prison side this year.
Dou Shilun wrote to report that a kind of bamboo paper that appeared in the south seemed to be quite good. The actual product was sent from Fujian Road, and some were also discovered in South Sichuan Road.
It is ridiculous to say that people in southern Fujian used bamboo pulp to make paper. It was not used for writing at first, but instead of silk cloth, they used it to worship ghosts and gods.
To put it simply, it means burning paper money. People there have a more difficult life and there are many ghosts and gods, so they thought of ways to reduce costs, and fire paper, also known as bamboo paper, appeared.
Li Po didn't know whether to laugh or cry when he heard this. The creativity of the people is indeed endless and they can do anything.
The fire paper in their mouths has appeared for a long time, and the source cannot even be verified.
The nobles over there have actually used high-quality bamboo paper, but if you don't discover it, you may not know when it will be introduced to the Central Plains.
The situation in Sichuan is similar, but because there are more barbarians, they don't burn any paper money, so it is not as popular as there.
Of course, this incident has been reported, and it has to wait for the craftsmen who supervise it to test it.
There is no shortage of bamboo forests in Chang'an City, but it is different from the bamboo in the south, and I don't know if it is useful. Fortunately, it is close to Shuzhong, and there is no shortage of experimental materials.
After hearing this, Li Po felt that bamboo is really a good thing. It is full of treasures and can be fed to pandas... He hasn't eaten delicious bamboo shoots for many years. Maybe he can try it?
The emperor's concern was naturally a top priority. Dou Shilun had already sent people to Chengdu some time ago. If the results were good, then the papermaking industry in the south could be expanded.
Li Po was a little worried about the fate of the national treasure, but he had no idea of protecting animals. He only urged his ministers to work hard and ignored everything else.
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The craftsmen and supervisors are also very busy this year. After the spring plowing is over, they will join officials from the Ministry of Works, Sinong Temple and other places to repair roads and ditches in various places.
Li Po also issued an edict in April to clean up the canal channels this year. After the world settled down, the problem of water transportation became increasingly prominent.
In fact, most of the legacy of the former Sui Dynasty is concentrated on the canal. No matter how laborious and costly the construction of the canal was, and what serious consequences it caused, the canal is one of the most precious legacies of the former Sui Dynasty.
It's just that the imperial court has learned the lessons of the previous dynasty and has been restrained from recruiting civilians. This year is different. Most of the imperial court's promises of tax exemption have expired.
Only the most severely damaged areas remained protected, but the court could activate garrisons to complete designated tasks.
Soldiers and civilians are family members. This is not a unique scene in later times. It is a tradition. There are records of soldiers providing disaster relief and participating in various projects in all dynasties.