Discussion of 杀青/殺青 [shā qīng] to heat the green bamboo strips before writing on them (in ancient times), (fig.) to complete a book or film; baking process (of green tea) - Trainchinese

1 - One interesting fact: the ancient Chinese people wrote on bamboo strips before writing-paper was invented. In order to better preserve the bamboo strips and prevent them from being eaten away by moth, the ancient people heat the bamboo up using fire. This way, the water content would be removed from the bamboo, and it would be easier to store.

一则引人入胜的史实：在书写纸张发明之前，古代中国人曾在竹简上记录文字。为了更有效地保存竹简并防止其被蛀虫侵蚀，古人采取以火加热竹简的方法。如此一来，竹简中的水分得以去除，便于长期保存。