卢塞恩Weltformat设计节：

中国装帧——中国书籍设计展 

Chinese Binding - Chinese Editorial Design Today

地点：Kulturkeller Winkel, Winkelriedstrasse 12, 6003 Lucerne

展期：2018年9月29日-10月7日（12:00-18:00）

开幕式：2018年9月29日（六） 14:00

Venue: Kulturkeller Winkel, Winkelriedstrasse 12, 6003 Lucerne

Exhibition's Duration: 29th September – 7th October 2018 (daily, 12:00-18:00) 

Opening: Introducion with Jianping He 29th September (SAT), 14:00 

CHINESE BINDING - CHINESE EDITORIAL DESIGN TODAY

The exhibition presents the work of Chinese book designers today, which is characterised by a hybrid of traditional methods and modern means. Contemporary aesthetics are shaped by centuries-old craftsmanship as well as advanced technologies.

The exhibition presents an overview of Chinese book design and bookbinding today. The works shown in the exhibition are influenced by the designers’ various backgrounds and origins but also by traditional craftsmanship as well as modern techniques. The different approaches and aesthetics proof that contemporary Chinese editorial design is as dynamic and vibrant as ever.

Participating Designers: 

Guang Yu, Xiao Mage & Chengzi, Liu Xiaoxiang, He Jianping, Zhao Qing, Pan Yanrong, Fang Jianping & Ding Fan, Qu Minmin, Zhou Weiwei, Ma Shirui, Sun Xiaoxi, Wang Xu, Mei Shuzhi, Lian Jie, Hou Ying, Xia Yu

Curation: Jianping He (Berlin)

Scenography: Wanja Manzardo (Lucerne) and Samuel Steiner (Lucerne)

Chinesische Bindung

The term "Chinesische Bindung", for the people of China, basically belongs to the past, all of a sudden going back to the Ming Dynasty, around 1400 AD. Most of the classic woodcut- lined books have a sapphire blue cover, glued with white rice papers, with the book name inked by a vintage woodcut. Of course, that was the first heyday of book distribution and design in Chinese history. That era even matched with the views put forward by John Ruskin and William Morris during The Arts & Crafts Movement, emphasizing the combination of art and crafts, promoting the use of small factories and manual labor instead of impersonal machine production. In the Ming Dynasty in the 15th century, the mode of employing skillful craftsmen and small workshops was most prevailing. Almost all the production via means of hand-made made each version subtly different, creating the unique book binding mode of “ Chinesische Bindung" : taking a long time to write the text on the board, and printing on the thin and fluttering rice paper with ink. Because the paper was very thin, it was folded in half to increase the thickness, and stitched with soft lines. This " Chinesische Bindung" book print and design model has become the most important knowledge carrier in Asia, continuing the cultures of the continent. 

The contemporary Chinese book design, from a model point of view, is almost indirectly related to the tradition of "Chinesische Bindung" . In today's Chinese printing factory, the printing machines‘ brand is either Heidelberg or Mitsubishi; for papers, Antalis or Monken; the designer's tools are almost all replaced with the Mac, using nothing more than Adobe software. We are in an era where there is no information lag. What happened today in Luzern was also spread in Hangzhou. The power of the media and its convenience saturate the confidence. The overflow of design information is disrupting the traditional design style of each country. The pursuit of personal styles has become a prerequisite of ambitious designers for building a professional career. The contemporary Chinese book design, on the whole, is not very different from that of any European country. If you don't believe it, you can find conclusive evidence in Chinese bookstores, the ELLE magazine just undergoes a language change; Taschen's multilingual catalogue doesn't even replace the language; Helvetica's 50th anniversary book looks almost the same as in Switzerland. 

There is a saying in China, the unique features of a local environment always give special characteristics to its inhabitants. After all, the culture is delicate with some temperamental differences. Designers are quick to find such subtle differences because of the keen need for careers. Chinese people's respect for words makes designers generally have the habit of thorough reading in advance concerning the content in designing, and the understanding of content becomes the main support for their design forms. In terms of printing, although there is no way to make major changes due to hardware (printing machine) restrictions, they are more willing to present the printed content on different papers. This kind of attempt, at printing plants in Europe, is not tried first due to insiders‘ unwillingness generally intended to maintain the machine or retain the standard printing process. But in Chinese printing houses, these attempts have attracted designers, indirectly bringing huge printing business. Paper and binding are the two major characteristics of Chinese book design, the prerequisite of which is that labor is much cheaper than in Europe. The greater the paper change in the same book, the more components are manually manipulated, which is difficult to achieve in an environment where more and more machines are utilized in manufacturing in Europe. Meanwhile, in the binding process, it is found that the pattern of the stitching after folding the paper in the “Chinesische Bindung” has been retained. However, contemporary Chinese book designers have hardly made today's book production in full accordance with the traditional “Chinesische Bindung”. They often take one of these elements, such as the elements of the line, stitching, the paper-folding, the paste amongst others, while combining with the contemporary design to carry out the modern interpretation of the traditional way. In any case, bit by bit, the craftsmanship of these ancient “Chinesische Bindung”was not only inherited, but also re-generated from the destruction of the Cultural Revolution. 

The unique feelings of the Chinese people on the books have played a significant role in the special aesthetics accordingly, which lies at the exchange of paper and hand touch in reading, the subtle hues of white paper, a book with different papers, the matching amongst calligraphy, text and rice paper and other details, leading to the prosperity of book design in China nowadays. 

Of all the Chinese book designers who participated in the Weltformat Design Festival this time, some specialize in design books as a single profession, some might accept various graphic design work in daily life, and book design is one of his jobs, some write and publish books and design their own books as both author and designer, some also work as a full- time book designer in the publishing house while being a freelance designer...... they are graphic designers with different identity from diverse cities and regions in China, showcasing unlike cultures in life and large gaps in ages. Among the participants, there are even mentoring relationships. However, their book designs represent the most dynamic and influential group in contemporary China. 

At last, I’d like to make some correction. In German, the binding method of the wire-bound book is called "Japanische Bindung", which should be called "Chinesische Bindung", as the wire-bound book model was introduced into Japan during the Edo period (17th century) from China. This has been passed for so many years, and no one has raised any doubts. At least, it is misunderstood in the West that the line-bound book started in Japan. Perhaps, the long-time closure of the country in China's history has blocked cultural exchanges between the country and overseas, leaving misunderstandings and regrets in history. Communication is not only the best way to solve problems, but also a way of self-learning. Jung once said that others' understanding of us is often better than our understanding of ourselves. I hope that this exhibition will become a favorable way to enhance communication. 

Jianping He

5th July 2018, Berlin

中国装帧——中国书籍设计展

展览将展出当代中国书籍设计师的作品，其特点是将传统工艺和现代科技相结合。中国当代书籍审美也是由古老工艺和先进技术所塑造。

展览介绍了中国书籍装帧设计的现状，这些参展作品不仅受到设计师不同背景和出身的影响，也受到传统工艺和现代技术的影响。不同的处理方法和审美证明，当代中国书籍设计一如既往的充满活力，富有生气。

参展设计师：广煜、小马哥+橙子、刘晓翔、何见平、赵清、潘焰荣、方建平+丁凡（United Design Lab）、曲闵民、周伟伟、马仕睿、孙晓曦、王序、梅数植、连杰、侯颖、夏宇 

策展人：何见平（柏林）

展览空间设计：Wanja Manzardo（卢塞恩）、Samuel Steiner（卢塞恩） 

中国装帧

“线装”这个词，对于中国人来说，基本属于过去式。仿佛突然上溯到明代，公元一千四百年左右。那些经典的木刻线装本，大多有着宝蓝色封面，贴着白色宣纸，用老式木刻墨印的书名。当然，那是中国历史上书籍发行和设计的第一次鼎盛时期。那个时代甚至吻合John Ruskin和William Morris在“艺术与手工艺运动”时提出的观点。强调艺术与手工艺的结合，提倡启用小工厂和手工劳动，代替没有个性的机器生产。在公元15世纪的明代，几乎都是用娴熟的手工艺人和小作坊的模式，几乎全部是手工的制作，令每个版本都有细微区别。却开创了“线装”这种独一无二的书籍装帧模式：耗时良久地在木板上刻出文字，用墨印刷在薄如蝉翼的宣纸上，因为纸张薄，居中对折来增加厚度，再用柔软的线，进行缝合。这种“线装”的印刷和设计书的模式，成为在亚洲最重要的知识承载物，延续了亚洲的文化。

当代的中国书籍设计，从模式上看，几乎和“线装”的传统没有直接关系了。今天的中国印刷厂中，印刷机不是海德堡就是三菱；纸张呢，不是Antalis就是Monken；设计师的工具，几乎也清一色地换上了Mac，用的不外乎Adobe软件。我们处在一个没有信息滞后的时代。今天在Luzern发生的事情，也同时在杭州被传阅着。媒体的强大，媒介的便捷，令自信饱和。设计信息的泛滥，正在瓦解每个国家传统的设计风格。个人的风格追求，成为有打造自己专业建树野心设计师的前提条件。从整体上来说，中国当代的书籍设计，和欧洲任何一个国家没有很大的区别。如果你不信，可以在中国的书店找到确凿的证据，ELLE杂志只是换了语言；Taschen的多语版画册甚至连语言都不用替换；Helvetica 50周年的书，看上去和在瑞士的几乎没有区别。

中国人说，一方水土养一方人。文化终究是细腻入微的，有着一些气质的区别。设计师因为职业需要的敏锐，也是最快能发现这种细微区别的。中国人对文字的尊重，令设计师普遍对设计书的内容有着先期阅读通透的习惯，对内容的理解成为他们设计形式的主要支撑。在印刷上，虽然因为硬件（印刷机器）的限制，没法进行很大的改变，但他们更愿意以不同的纸张进行印刷内容的呈现。这种尝试，在欧洲的印刷厂，一般都为了维护机器，或者维持标准的印刷工序的理由，而不愿首开先河。但在中国印刷厂，这些尝试吸引了设计师，可以间接带来巨大的印刷业务。纸张和装订，是中国书籍设计的两大特点。前提是人工相较欧洲便宜。同一本书中纸张变化越大，人工操作的成分就越多，这在欧洲越来越机器化大生产的环境中，也很难实现。而装订中，可以看到“线装”中，纸张对折后，再进行缝线的模式，也被保留下来了。但当代中国书籍设计师们，几乎没有完全按照传统“线装”的装订方式，进行今日的书籍制作。他们往往取其中的一个元素，比如线的元素；缝合的元素；折纸的元素；黏贴的元素；等等，再来结合当代的设计方式，进行传统方式的现代版演绎。不管怎样，丝丝缕缕地，点点滴滴地，这些古老的中国“线装”中的工艺，不但被延续下来，有的还被从文革中毁坏中重新再生出来。

中国民众对书的独特感情，对书的独特审美，起了很大作用。中国人对书的审美，讲究在阅读中纸张和手触感的交流，讲究白色纸张的微妙的色相差别；讲究一本书用不同的纸张；讲究书法文字应对宣纸；等等细节，造就了今天中国书籍设计的繁荣。

这次，参加Weltformat设计节的中国书籍设计师中，有专门以设计书作为单一职业的设计师；有平时接受各种平面设计工作的设计师，设计书，是他众多工作中的一个；也有自己写书，出版书，并自己设计书的，身兼作者和设计师两种身份的；还有在出版社担任专职书籍设计师，自己还自由创作设计的......他们是不同身份的平面设计师们，来自中国的各个不同的城市和地区。生活中的文化也不尽相同。年龄层次也非常大。参展设计师中，甚至有属于师徒关系的。但是，他们的书籍设计都代表了当代中国最有活力，最有影响力的一个群体。

最后。我想纠正一下，在德文中，把线装书的装订方式，称为“日本装（Japanische bindung）”，其实应该叫做“中国线装”。线装书模式是日本江户时代（17世纪）由中国传入的。这个称呼延续了那么多年，也没有人提出疑问。至少，在西方令人误会为，线装书是起始于日本的。也许，中国历史上多年的封海锁国，令中国和海外的文化交流受阻。历史中也有着误会和遗憾。交流不但是最好的解决问题方式，也是一种自我学习的方法。荣格说过，他人对我们的了解常常胜于我们对自己的了解。希望这个展览成为增加交流的一个方式。

何见平

2018年7月5日，柏林

本次展览详情及动态，请点击活动官网：

https://weltformat-festival.ch/en/2018/exhibitions/chinese-binding