Chemical profiling of a 130-year-old manuscript reveals the early use of synthetic lead white correction fluid in ancient China

In practice, correction fluid to mask text errors has been continuously in demand since papers began to be predominantly used since the late fourth century AD in ancient China. However, research on the trajectory of correction fluid composition has been largely overlooked and has not been revealed currently. In this study, a multianalytical approach was used to investigate a thin whiteout layer, used as correction fluids applied in 1890, on a book page from the famous Imperial Encyclopedia (1726 bronze-type repaint version). The results showed that the white layer was composed of hydrocerussite ((PbCO₃)₂·Pb (OH)₂) in mixture with plant oil and a tiny portion of calcium carbonate, which had been applied to conceal the originally printed Chinese characters upon which they were rewritten in preparing photographic negatives for reprinting using photolithography. The analysis results also suggest that lead white was likely domestically made using a local lead ore source by the wet synthetic process. Considering the prolonged use of orpiment (As₂S₃) as a correction fluid ingredient in Chinese tradition, a trajectory to lead white suggests not only advances in pulping and papermaking technology but also a shift in cultural habits and aesthetic psychology in the late Qing Dynasty.