The first printed books - Concepts - Chapter 5 Class 10 History - Print Culture and the Modern World - History

The earliest print technology was developed in China, Japan and Korea. It was a system of hand printing.

PRINT IN CHINA :

•   China became the first country to start print, from AD 594 onwards.
•  The books were printed by rubbing paper against the inked surface of woodblocks.
•  The Imperial State in China was the major producer of printed material for a long time. The huge bureaucratic system in China recruited its personnel through civil service examinations and a vast number of printed material was required for these examinations.
•  From the 16 th century, the number of candidates for these examinations increased and Hence, the demand of print increased too.
•  As Urban Culture bloomed, uses of print diversified. The print was now used by merchants, to collect trade information . And the sense of a reading culture emerged. It became a leisure activity.
•  Rich women began to read and publish their poetry and plays. Even courtesans began to write about their lives.
•  This reading culture was accompanied by new technology imported from the west. Western printing techniques were adopted and mechanical presses were imported in the late 19 th century. There was a gradual shift from hand printing to mechanical printing.
• SHANGHAI became the hub of new print culture.

A page from DIAMOND SUTRA.

    PRINT IN JAPAN :

•  Hand Printing Technology in Japan was introduced by Chinese Buddhist missionaries around AD 768-770.
• The oldest Japanese book was called the Buddhist  DIAMOND SUTRA , was printed in 868 AD and contained six sheets of text and woodcut illustrations.
•  Pictures were printed on textiles, playing cards and paper money. Books were cheap and abundant.
•  In the late 18 th century,in flourishing urban circles at Edo (later renamed to Tokyo), housed collections of paintings, which depicted an elegant urban culture.
•   Libraries and bookstores had variety of hand printed material of various types- books on women, musical instruments, calculations, cooking, proper etiquette, tea ceremonies and even famous places.

Portrait of Marco Polo