He brought movable type printing to the screen, allowing Chinese characters to "surf" the Internet

70 years since the founding of New China

Electronic information technology is developing rapidly

In every corner of the world

As long as you use electronic devices

Get Chinese information

You should think of one person

He brought the printing press after movable type

The "Second Revolution" in China's Printing Industry

Because he

The inheritance and development of Chinese characters and Chinese culture

Entering the information age

February 13, 2006

On the day he died

People from all over the country

Rushed to Peking University to pay his respects to him

Express respect for him

This person is Wang Xuan

Who is Wang Xuan?

Why can it cause

So many eyes of attention?

This matter started from his

How to get admitted to the Department of Mathematics at Peking University

Screenshot of the video "Contemporary Bi Sheng - Wang Xuan".

【The country’s needs are my choice】

Screenshot of the video "Contemporary Bi Sheng - Wang Xuan".

then

Mathematics major at Peking University

Like a jewel in the crown

But computational mathematics was unpopular at that time.

Because choosing it

It means working with computers.

In that era

Few people have ever seen a computer.

Not to mention studying it.

Wang Xuan is guiding young scientific and technological workers to develop new technologies.

But Wang Xuan resolutely chose computational mathematics

He said

“Developing computing technology

Not only an international trend

It is also a national need

If a person puts his work

and the future of the country

Connected

It is likely to create greater value.”

Screenshot of the video "Contemporary Bi Sheng - Wang Xuan".

1958

Wang Xuan graduated with honors

Stay at school as a teaching assistant

And devoted himself to the independently designed

Research and development of the "Red Flag" aircraft

Due to the huge workload

Prolonged physical exhaustion

His body collapsed

Summer 1961

Wang Xuan had to return to his hometown in Shanghai to recuperate.

Is it yourself

Full of knowledge and ideas

In the future, I can only

Have you been soaking up the sun here?

He is unwilling

Screenshot of the video "Contemporary Bi Sheng - Wang Xuan".

At this time

The development of world science and technology

Constantly changing

In the era of global information explosion

Electronic typesetting is adopted abroad

Already under development

Laser phototypesetting system fourth generation machine

But China

Still using more than a thousand years ago

Movable Type Printing

According to incomplete statistics

The Chinese characters used in casting at that time

Lead alloys reached 200,000 tons

Copper molds reach 2 million

Serious environmental pollution

Unbalanced industrial structure

The Chinese people have been unable to raise their heads

Screenshot of the video "Contemporary Bi Sheng - Wang Xuan".

Wang Xuan suddenly realized

If all this

Can be operated by computer

The results will be very different

Wang Xuan based his bold idea

Directly propose

Develop products that the West does not have yet

The fourth generation of laser typesetting technology

Screenshot of the video "Contemporary Bi Sheng - Wang Xuan".

[No blood, no counterattack]

Chinese character laser typesetting system

That is, every Chinese character

Encode into a specific code

Save to computer

Output

Scan directly into words using laser technology

But at that time, China was still

Lead Printing Era

my country plans to develop its own

Second generation and third generation aircraft

Because the technology is too advanced

Wang Xuan has long been under suspicion

Some even say he

“Playing tricky math games”

“You want to develop the fourth generation

I also want to develop the eighth generation."

Wang Xuan said

“It was at that time

Learn to grow up amidst the scolding

Screenshot of the video "Contemporary Bi Sheng - Wang Xuan".

The Road to Laser Typesetting of Chinese Characters

Just like Tang Monk's Journey to the West

Difficulties

Especially when facing the most difficult

Digital storage of Chinese characters

To make computers accept Chinese characters

Easier said than done

Western writing has only 26 letters

The number of Chinese characters is huge

Hundreds of times more than English

And the printed Chinese characters

There are also changes in font size

To build a Chinese character library

This is related to the

Computer development level

Totally inconsistent

This became the

Recognized world problem

Screenshot of the video "Contemporary Bi Sheng - Wang Xuan".

The days of tackling key problems are difficult

But it is difficult

To achieve great things

In order to overcome the difficulties of laser typesetting technology

Those Years

He gave up almost all his holidays.

He pondered the stroke pattern of each Chinese character

Discovery of Chinese characters

Regular strokes such as horizontal, vertical and fold

It is composed of irregular strokes such as left, right, right, and right.

He based on Chinese characters

Starting, ending, turning, etc.

and the starting position of the strokes, etc.

Combined with mathematics

Knowledge of computer hardware and software

Invented high-resolution fonts

High-rate information compression technology

and high-speed recovery method

Be the first to design a corresponding dedicated chip

The first use in the world

"Parameter Description Method"

Describing stroke characteristics

And obtain China and Europe

Invention Patent

In 1994, Wang Xuan and his wife Chen Kunqiu looked at the typesetting film output by the Chinese character laser typesetting system. Image source: Xinhuanet

These achievements have created

A new era of Chinese character printing

It triggered the Chinese newspaper industry

and printing and publishing

"Say goodbye to lead and fire, and step into light and electricity"

This technological revolution

Completely transformed our country

Lead printing technology that has been used for hundreds of years

my country's traditional publishing and printing industry

In just a few years

From typesetting

Straight to laser phototypesetting

After decades of traveling in the West

The road to technological transformation has just been completed

Recognized as

After Bi Sheng invented movable type printing

The second revolution of printing technology in China

【A Heart Chasing Dreams】

The Development of Chinese Character Laser Typesetting System

There are some little-known details

August 1974

Approved by Premier Zhou Enlai

China has started a

The scientific research project named "Project 748"

The project is divided into three sub-projects

Chinese character communication, Chinese character information retrieval

and Chinese character precision typesetting

With Wang Xuan's insistence

Develop products that the West does not have yet

The fourth generation laser typesetting system

Successfully "squeezed" into the "Project 748"

Wang Xuan is checking the newspaper film produced by the Chinese character laser typesetting system.

July 27, 1979

In the computer room of Peking University

Researchers developed their own

Laser phototypesetting system

One sheet was outputted at a time

Composed of various font sizes

Complex layout

Eight-page newspaper sample paper

The header is "Chinese Character Information Processing"

Six big characters

This is the first time that laser imagesetters have been used

Output of Chinese newspaper layout

It is the fourth generation

Major achievements in laser typesetting systems

In January 1994, Peking University Founder Group successfully developed a high-end color publishing system. Wang Xuan (left) introduced this scientific research achievement. Image source: Xinhuanet

July 1981

my country's first

Computer Chinese Character Laser Typesetting System

Principle Prototype Huaguang I

State Computer Industry Administration

Held jointly with the Ministry of Education

Ministerial appraisal

1992

Wang Xuan successfully developed

The world's first

Chinese color phototypesetting system

On November 6, 1995, UNESCO Deputy Director-General Badran presented the award to "UNESCO Science Award" winner Wang Xuan (right). Image source: Xinhuanet

Wang Xuan

Describing stroke characteristics using "contour + parameters"

Solved the Chinese character glyph information

The challenge of computer storage

The rise of my country's newspaper industry

and the technological revolution in printing and publishing

Let today's Chinese mobile phone text messages

and email became a reality

Let our ancient Chinese characters

Glow in new life

Source: Communist Youth League Central Committee

Editor: Yu Feiyue

Proofreading丨Luo Yihe

Proofread by Jia Wencheng

On-duty editor: Dong Junjie