Woo, I’m on a roll this week. I can’t vouch for the accuracy of the history here, not being a pencil history expert myself, but this read has a lot of good words for larnin’. I’d put this in the lower-advanced spectrum, as the sentence structure isn’t over-the-top literary, but there are a ton of [...]
铅笔的历史非常悠久，它起源于2000多年前的古罗马时期。那时的铅笔很简陋，只不过是金属套里夹着的一根铅棒，甚至是铅块，倒真是名副其实的“铅”笔。而我们今天使用的铅笔是用石墨和黏土制成的，里面并不含铅。
现代铅笔诞生于16世纪的英国。1564年，有人在巴罗代尔发现了一种名叫石墨的黑色矿物。石墨能像铅一样在纸上留下痕迹，而且比铅的痕迹要黑得多，因此，人们称石墨为“黑铅”。巴罗代尔一带的牧羊人常用石墨在羊身上做记号。后来，人们又将石墨块切成小条，用于写字、绘画。不久，英王乔治二世将巴罗代尔石墨矿收归皇室所有，把它定为皇家的专用品。
不过，石墨条也有它的缺点：容易弄脏手，还容易折断。1761年，德国化学家法伯用石墨粉同硫磺、松香等混合起来，制成条，这比纯石墨条的韧性大得多，也不大容易弄脏手。18世纪末时，只有英、德两国能够生产铅笔。
后来，法国也在自己的国土上找到了石墨矿，但矿的质量不高，储量也少。法国科学家孔德便在石墨中掺入黏土，放进窑里烧制，制成了既好用又耐用的铅笔芯。石墨中掺入的黏土的比例不同，铅笔芯的硬度也就不同。我们常看到铅笔头上标着B、HB一类的字母，表示的就是铅笔芯的硬度和颜色深浅。B表示黑度，H表示硬度，所以，HB就是软硬和颜色深浅都适中的铅笔芯，适合写字。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 铅 | qiān | old variant of 鉛|铅[qian1]; lead (chemistry) |
| 笔 | bǐ | writing brush; writing implement (pen, pencil etc) (CL:支[zhi1],枝[zhi1]); brushstroke; stroke (in painting or calligraphy); (bound form) style of writing; literary manner; technique… |
| 的 | de | of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to… |
| 历 | lì | old variant of 曆|历[li4]; old variant of 歷|历[li4]; calendar; to experience; to undergo; to pass through; all; each; every; history |
| 史 | Shǐ | surname Shi |
| 非常 | fēi cháng | very; really; unusual; extraordinary |
| 悠 | you | long or drawn out; leisurely; pensive |
| 久 | jǐu | (of a period of time) long |
| 它 | tā | it; it (pronoun for an animal) |
| 起 | qǐ | to rise; to raise; to get up; to set out; to start; to appear; to launch; to initiate (action); to draft; to establish; to get (from a depot or counter); verb suffix, to start; sta… |
| 源 | yuān | root; origin |
| 于 | Yú | surname Yu; (of time or place) in; at; on; (indicating any indirect relation) to; toward; vis-à-vis; with regard to; for; (indicating a source) from; out of; (used in comparison) than; (used i… |
| 多年 | duō nián | many years; for many years; longstanding |
| 前 | qián | front; forward; ahead; first; top (followed by a number); future; ago; before; BC (e.g. 前293年); former; formerly |
| 古罗马 | gǔ Luó mǎ | ancient Rome |
| 时期 | shí qī | period; phase; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 那时 | nà shí | then; at that time; in those days |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element) |
| 简 | jiǎn | simple; uncomplicated; letter; to choose; to select; bamboo strips used for writing (old) |
| 陋 | lǒu | low; plain; mean |
| 只不过 | zhǐ bu guò | only; merely; nothing but; no more than; it's just that ... |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4] |
| 金属 | jīn shǔ | metal; CL:種|种[zhong3] |
| 套 | tào | to cover; to encase; cover; sheath; to overlap; to interleave; to model after; to copy; formula; harness; loop of rope; (fig.) to fish for; to obtain slyly; classifier for sets, co… |
| 里 | lǐ | variant of 裡|里[li3]; lining; interior; inside; internal; also written 裏|里[li3]; surname Li |
| 夹 | gā | used in 夾肢窩|夹肢窝[ga1 zhi5 wo1]; variant of 夾|夹[jia2] |
| 着 | zhāo | variant of 著|着[zhao1]; a move in chess (Taiwan pr. [zhuo2]); trick; tactic; (dialect) okay; all right; (dialect) to put in; to add |
| 一 | yī | one; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out … |
| 根 | gēn | root; basis; classifier for long slender objects, e.g. cigarettes, guitar strings; CL:條|条[tiao2]; radical (chemistry) |
| 棒 | bǎng | excellent, amazing |
| 甚至 | shèn zhì | even; so much so that |
| 块 | kuài | lump; chunk; piece; classifier for pieces of cloth, cake, soap etc; (coll.) classifier for money and currency units |
| 倒 | dǎo | to fall; to collapse; to lie horizontally; to fail; to go bankrupt; to overthrow; to change (trains or buses); to move around; to resell at a profit |
| 真是 | zhēn shi | indeed; truly; (coll.) (used to express disapproval, annoyance etc) |
| 名 | míng | name; noun (part of speech); place (e.g. among winners); famous; classifier for people |
| 副 | fù | secondary; auxiliary; deputy; assistant; vice-; abbr. for 副詞|副词 adverb; classifier for pairs, sets of things & facial expressions |
| 其实 | qí shí | actually; in fact; really |
| 而 | ér | and; as well as; and so; but (not); yet (not); (indicates causal relation); (indicates change of state); (indicates contrast) |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 们 | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals |
| 今天 | jīn tiān | today; the present time; now |
| 使 | shǐ | to make; to cause; to enable; to use; to employ; to send; to instruct sb to do sth; envoy; messenger |
| 用 | yòng | to use; to make use of; to employ; (coverb) with; using; to need; to have to (usu. used in the negative or in questions); usefulness; utility; (bound form) expense; outlay; (courte… |
| 石墨 | shí mò | black lead; graphite; plumbago |
| 和 | hé | old variant of 和[he2]; surname He; (literary) harmonious (variant of 和[he2]) |
| 黏土 | nián tǔ | clay |
| 制成 | zhì chéng | to manufacture; to turn out (a product) |
| 里面 | lǐ miàn | variant of 裡面|里面[li3 mian4] |
| 并 | bìng | and; furthermore; also; together with; (not) at all; simultaneously; to combine; to join; to merge; to combine; to amalgamate; short name for Taiyuan 太原[Tai4 yuan2]; variant of 並|并[bing4] |
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- |
| 含 | hán | to keep in the mouth; to contain |
| 现代 | Xiàn dài | Hyundai, South Korean company |
| 诞 | dǎn | birth; brag; to increase |
| 生 | shēng | to grow; to give birth; to produce; to be born; to arise; to occur; to light (a fire); to live; to be alive; life; raw; uncooked; unprocessed; unfamiliar; strange; (bound form) stu… |
| 世纪 | shì jì | century |
| 英国 | Yīng guó | United Kingdom (UK); Britain |
| 年 | Nián | surname Nian; grain; harvest (old); variant of 年[nian2] |
| 有人 | yǒu rén | someone; people; anyone; there is someone there; occupied (as in restroom) |
| 在 | zài | to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) |
| 巴 | Bā | Ba, a state during the Zhou dynasty (in present-day Chongqing and the eastern part of Sichuan); the east of Sichuan and Chongqing Municipality; surname Ba; (bound form) abbr. for 巴… |
| 罗 | Luó | surname Luo |
| 代 | dài | to be a substitute for; to act on behalf of; to replace; to substitute; generation; dynasty; age; period; (historical) era; (geological) eon |
| 尔 | ěr | variant of 爾|尔[er3]; thus; so; like that; you; thou |
| 发现 | fā xiàn | to notice; to become aware of; to discover; to find; to detect; a discovery |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly |
| 一种 | yī zhǒng | one kind of; one type of |
| 名叫 | míng jiào | called; named |
| 黑色 | hēi sè | black |
| 矿物 | kuàng wù | mineral |
| 能 | Néng | surname Neng |
| 像 | xiàng | to resemble; to be like; to look as if; such as; appearance; image; portrait; image under a mapping (math.) |
| 样 | yàng | manner; pattern; way; appearance; shape; classifier: kind, type |
| 纸 | zhǐ | variant of 紙|纸[zhi3]; paper (CL:張|张[zhang1],沓[da2]); classifier for documents, letters etc |
| 上 | shǎng | used in 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1] |
| 留下 | líu xià | to leave behind; to stay behind; to remain; to keep; not to let (sb) go |
| 痕 | hēn | scar |
| 迹 | jǐ | (bound form) trace; mark; vestige; clue |
| 且 | qiě | and; moreover; yet; for the time being; to be about to; both (... and...) |
| 比 | Bǐ | Belgium; Belgian; abbr. for 比利時|比利时[Bi3 li4 shi2] |
| 要 | yāo | (bound form) to demand; to coerce |
| 黑 | Hēi | short name for Heilongjiang 黑龍江|黑龙江[Hei1 long2 jiang1] |
| 得 | dé | to obtain; to get; to gain; to catch (a disease); proper; suitable; proud; contented; to allow; to permit; ready; finished |
| 多 | duō | many; much; more; a lot of; too many; in excess; (after a numeral) ... odd; how (to what extent) (Taiwan pr. [duo2]); (bound form) multi-; poly- |
| 因此 | yīn cǐ | thus; consequently; as a result |
| 人 | rén | person; people; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4],名[ming2] |
| 称 | chèn | to fit; to match; to suit; (coll.) to have; to possess; Taiwan pr. [cheng4] |
| 为 | wéi | as (in the capacity of); to take sth as; to act as; to serve as; to behave as; to become; to be; to do; by (in the passive voice); variant of 為|为[wei2] |
| 一带 | yī dài | region; area |
| 牧羊人 | mù yáng rén | shepherd |
| 常用 | cháng yòng | in common usage |
| 羊 | Yáng | surname Yang |
| 身上 | shēn shang | on the body; at hand; among |
| 做 | zuò | to make; to produce; to write; to compose; to do; to engage in; to hold (a party etc); (of a person) to be (an intermediary, a good student etc); to become (husband and wife, frien… |
| 记号 | jì hao | mark; symbol; notation; seal |
| 后 | Hòu | surname Hou; back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later; post- |
| 来 | lái | to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2 lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3… |
| 又 | yòu | (once) again; also; both... and...; and yet; (used for emphasis) anyway |
| 将 | jiāng | will; shall; to use; to take; to checkmate; just a short while ago; (introduces object of main verb, used in the same way as 把[ba3]) |
| 切成 | qiē chéng | to cut up (into pieces); to slice; to carve; to dice; to shred |
| 小 | xiǎo | small; tiny; few; young |
| 条 | tiáo | strip; item; article; clause (of law or treaty); classifier for long thin things (ribbon, river, road, trousers etc) |
| 用于 | yòng yú | to use in; to use on; to use for |
| 写字 | xiě zì | to write (by hand); to practice calligraphy |
| 绘 | huǐ | to draw; to paint |
| 画 | huà | to draw; to paint; picture; painting (CL:幅[fu2],張|张[zhang1]); to draw (a line) (variant of 劃|划[hua4]); stroke of a Chinese character (variant of 劃|划[hua4]); (calligraphy) horizonta… |
| 不久 | bù jǐu | not long (after); before too long; soon; soon after |
| 英 | Yīng | United Kingdom; British; England; English; abbr. for 英國|英国[Ying1 guo2] |
| 王 | Wáng | surname Wang |
| 乔 | Qiáo | surname Qiao |
| 治 | zhì | to rule; to govern; to manage; to control; to harness (a river); to treat (a disease); to wipe out (a pest); to punish; to research |
| 二世 | èr shì | the Second (of numbered kings); second generation (e.g. Chinese Americans) |
| 矿 | kuàng | mineral deposit; ore deposit; ore; a mine; variant of 礦|矿[kuang4] |
| 收 | shōu | to receive; to accept; to collect; to put away; to restrain; to stop; in care of (used on address line after name) |
| 归 | Guī | surname Gui |
| 皇室 | huáng shì | royal family; imperial household; member of the royal family |
| 所有 | suǒ yǒu | all; to have; to possess; to own |
| 把 | bǎ | to hold; to grasp; to hold a baby in position to help it urinate or defecate; handlebar; classifier: handful, bundle, bunch; classifier for things with handles; (used to put the ob… |
| 定 | dìng | to fix; to set; to make definite; to subscribe to (a newspaper etc); to book (tickets etc); to order (goods etc); to congeal; to coagulate; (literary) definitely |
| 皇家 | huáng jiā | royal; imperial household |
| 专 | zhuan | for a particular person, occasion, purpose; special; particular (to sth); specialized |
| 用品 | yòng pǐn | articles for use; products; goods |
| 不过 | bù guò | only; merely; no more than; but; however; anyway (to get back to a previous topic); cannot be more (after adjectival) |
| 也 | Yě | surname Ye |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional) |
| 缺点 | quē diǎn | weak point; fault; shortcoming; disadvantage; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 容 | Róng | surname Rong |
| 易 | Yì | surname Yi; I Ching; Book of Changes (abbr. for 易經|易经[Yi4 jing1]) |
| 弄 | lòng | lane; alley; old variant of 弄[nong4]; variant of 弄[long4] |
| 脏 | zàng | viscera; (anatomy) organ; dirty; filthy; to get (sth) dirty |
| 手 | shǒu | hand; (formal) to hold; person engaged in certain types of work; person skilled in certain types of work; personal(ly); convenient; classifier for skill; CL:雙|双[shuang1],隻|只[zhi1] |
| 还 | Huán | surname Huan |
| 折 | zhē | to snap; (bound form) to sustain a loss (in business) |
| 断 | duàn | to break; to snap; to cut off; to give up or abstain from sth; to judge; (usu. used in the negative) absolutely; definitely; decidedly |
| 德国 | Dé guó | Germany |
| 化学家 | huà xué jiā | chemist |
| 法 | fǎ | variant of 法[fa3]; France; French; abbr. for 法國|法国[Fa3 guo2]; Taiwan pr. [Fa4]; old variant of 法[fa3]; law |
| 伯 | bō | uncle; the eldest among brothers; (honorific) count |
| 粉 | fěn | powder; cosmetic face powder; food prepared from starch; noodles or pasta made from any kind of flour; to turn to powder; (dialect) to whitewash; white; pink; (suffix) fan (abbr. f… |
| 同 | tóng | like; same; similar; together; alike; with; used in 衚衕|胡同[hu2 tong4] |
| 硫 | liū | sulfur (chemistry) |
| 磺 | ||
| 松香 | sōng xiāng | rosin; pine rosin |
| 等 | děng | to wait for; to await; by the time; when; till; and so on; etc.; et al.; (bound form) class; rank; grade; (bound form) equal to; same as; (used to end an enumeration); (literary) (… |
| 混 | hǔn | muddy; turbid (; ); Taiwan pr. [hun4] |
| 合 | gě | 100 ml; one-tenth of a peck; measure for dry grain equal to one-tenth of sheng 升 or liter, or one-hundredth dou 斗; variant of 合[he2] |
| 这 | zhè | (pronoun) this; these; (bound form) this; the (followed by a noun); (bound form) this; these (followed by a classifier) (in this sense, commonly pr. [zhei4], esp. in Beijing) |
| 纯 | chūn | pure; unmixed |
| 韧 | rěn | tough; tenacious; pliable |
| 性 | xǐng | nature; property; attribute; sex; suffix forming adjective from verb; essence |
| 大 | dà | big; large; great; older (than another person); eldest (as in 大姐[da4 jie3]); greatly; freely; fully; (dialect) father; (dialect) uncle (father's brother) |
| 不大 | bù dà | not very (clear, far away etc); not too; not often; infrequently |
| 世纪末 | shì jì mò | end of the century |
| 时 | shí | old variant of 時|时[shi2]; surname Shi |
| 只有 | zhǐ yǒu | only have ...; there is only ...; (used in combination with 才[cai2]) it is only if ... (that one can ...) (as in 只有通過治療才能痊愈|只有通过治疗才能痊愈[zhi3 you3 tong1 guo4 zhi4 liao2 cai2 neng2 qu… |
| 德 | Dé | Germany; German; abbr. for 德國|德国[De2 guo2]; variant of 德[de2] |
| 两国 | liǎng guó | both countries; the two countries |
| 够 | gòu | enough (sufficient); enough (too much); (coll.) (before adj.) really; (coll.) to reach by stretching out |
| 生产 | shēng chǎn | to produce; to manufacture; to give birth to a child |
| 国 | Guó | surname Guo |
| 自己 | zì jǐ | oneself; (attributive) one's own |
| 国土 | guó tǔ | country's territory; national land |
| 找到 | zhǎo dào | to find |
| 但 | dàn | but; yet; however; still; merely; only; just |
| 质 | zhǐ | character; quality; to pawn; hostage; Taiwan pr. [zhi2] |
| 量 | liáng | to measure |
| 高 | Gāo | surname Gao |
| 储 | chú | to store; to save; reserve; heir; surname Chu |
| 少 | shǎo | few; less; to lack; to be missing; to stop (doing sth); seldom |
| 科学家 | kē xué jiā | scientist |
| 孔德 | Kǒng dé | Auguste Comte (1798-1857), French philosopher |
| 便 | biàn | plain; informal; suitable; convenient; opportune; to urinate or defecate; equivalent to 就[jiu4]: then; in that case; even if; soon afterwards |
| 中 | Zhōng | (bound form) China; Chinese; surname Zhong |
| 掺 | ||
| 入 | rù | to enter; to go into; to join; to become a member of; (bound form) to conform to (as in 入時|入时[ru4 shi2]); abbr. for 入聲|入声[ru4 sheng1]; (on product packaging, after {number n} + {cl… |
| 放进 | fàng jìn | to put into |
| 窑 | yáo | kiln; oven; coal pit; cave dwelling; (coll.) brothel; variant of 窯|窑[yao2] |
| 烧 | shāo | to burn; to set on fire; to heat (over a fire); to boil (water, tea etc); to braise; to cook; to prepare food; to run a fever; fever; (coll.) to become full of oneself; to get carr… |
| 制 | zhì | system; to control; to regulate; variant of 製|制[zhi4]; to manufacture; to make |
| 既 | jì | already; since; both... (and...) |
| 好用 | hǎo yòng | useful; serviceable; effective; handy; easy to use |
| 耐用 | nài yòng | durable |
| 芯 | ||
| 例 | lì | example; precedent; rule; case; instance |
| 不同 | bù tóng | different; distinct; not the same; not alike |
| 硬 | yìng | hard; stiff; solid; (fig.) strong; firm; resolutely; uncompromisingly; laboriously; with great difficulty; good (quality); able (person); (of food) filling; substantial |
| 度 | dù | to pass; to spend (time); measure; limit; extent; degree of intensity; degree (angles, temperature etc); kilowatt-hour; classifier for events and occurrences |
| 就 | jìu | (after a suppositional clause) in that case; then; (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediately after; (same as 就是[jiu4 shi4]) merely; nothing else but; simply; just; precise… |
| 常 | Cháng | surname Chang |
| 看到 | kàn dào | to see |
| 头 | tóu | head; hair style; the top; end; beginning or end; a stub; remnant; chief; boss; side; aspect; first; leading; classifier for pigs or livestock; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 标 | biao | mark; label; to bear (a brand name, registration number etc); award; target; (old) the topmost branches of a tree; classifier for military units |
| 类 | lěi | kind; type; class; category; (bound form) to resemble; to be similar to |
| 字母 | zì mǔ | letter (of the alphabet); CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 表示 | biǎo shì | (of sb) to express; to state; to show; (of sth) to indicate; to signify; to show; expression; manifestation |
| 就是 | jìu shì | exactly; precisely; only; simply; just; (used correlatively with 也[ye3]) even; even if |
| 颜色 | yán sè | color; countenance; appearance; facial expression; pigment; dyestuff |
| 深 | shēn | old variant of 深[shen1]; (lit. and fig.) deep |
| 浅 | jiān | sound of moving water |
| 所以 | suǒ yǐ | therefore; as a result; so; the reason why |
| 软 | ruǎn | soft; flexible; variant of 軟|软[ruan3] |
| 都 | Dū | surname Du |
| 适中 | shì zhōng | moderate; reasonable; conveniently situated |
| 适 | kuò | see 李适[Li3 Kuo4]; surname Shi |
The history of the pencil is very long, dating back 2000 years to ancient Roman times. The pencils of that time were very crude, being nothing more than a metal cover gripping a lead stick, or even a lead block, and it really was a “lead” pen (not just in name only). By contrast, the pencils we use toady are manufactured from graphite and clay, the inside doesn’t really contain lead.
Modern pencils were born in 16th Century England. In 1564, people in Borrowdale discovered a kind of black mineral called graphite. Like lead, graphite could leave marks on paper, and the marks it left were much darker than lead, thus, people called graphite “black lead”. Shepherds in the Borrowdale region commonly used graphite to mark seals on the bodies of sheep. Later, people carved it into little strips, using them for writing and drawing. After a while, the English king George the Second brought Borrowdale graphite ore back to the imperial household for the royal family’s particular use.
However, graphite strips also had their weak point: they dirty the hands, and they break easily. In 1761, German chemist Faber mixed graphite powder together with sulfur, pine resin and other things, and manufactured them as strips, which was much tougher than simple graphite, and didn’t dirty the hands as easily. At the end of the 18th century, only England and Germany were capable of producing pencils.
Later, France discovered [deposits of] graphite ore in their earth, but the ore’s quality wasn’t high, and the quantities weren’t great. French Scientist Conte mixed the ore with clay, fired it in a kiln, making a more easy to use and durable pencil wick. The amount of clay mixed with the graphite wasn’t always the same, and so the hardness of the lead [wick] also changed accordingly. We often see “B” and “HB” letters marked out on the head of the pencil, indicating hardness and light or darkness of color. “B” indicates color, H indicates hardness, therefore, “HB” indicates that hardness and darkness of the lead are both moderate, and are suitable for writing.