Elucidating the material foundation of the knowledge revolution in the West: Analysis of paper of European books during the 16th-18th century

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K00948
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 03010:Historical studies in general-related
• Research Institution: The Toyo Bunko
• Principal Investigator: XU Xiaojie 公益財団法人東洋文庫, 研究部, 研究員 (20537865)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 江南 和幸 公益財団法人東洋文庫, 研究部, 研究員 (70029106)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 東西交流史 / 書籍史 / 文理融合 / 紙質分析 / 非破壊調査

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study used a microscope to non-destructively examine the paper quality of classical books from the 16th century onwards, and shed light on part of the bidirectional exchange of materials and technologies relating to "paper" between East and West before the modern era. The paper used in books published in Amsterdam, Leipzig and Frankfurt in the 16th to 18th centuries was different from that used in Paris and London, and had a European regional "paper" characteristic. The former paper contained straw used in handmade paper in East Asia, overturning the claim that Europe was unable to make paper from plants until the end of the 18th century, and demonstrating that there was an exchange of papermaking technology between East and West after the Age of Discovery. From the mid-19th century onwards, craftsmen in Japan and China attempted to create new types of paper by imitating the properties of Western paper in order to adapt to Gutenberg printing.

Free Research Field

東洋史、書籍史、紙質分析

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は、科学分析によって、出版文化が急速に発達した16-18世紀ヨーロッパ内の各地域で使用されていた印刷用紙の地域差異、そして東アジアとのつながりの検証を物質証拠として提示することができた。歴史学的研究としての史料の限界を打開し、文理融合の手法で実証的な研究を発展させるうえでの新たな挑戦になった。
また、文献資料のデジタル化が急速に進むなか、電子端末でも資料や本が読めるような時代に、「モノとしての書物」に注目し、文字情報と比肩する「紙」の研究価値を本研究で見出したのである。