Chinese Invention: World’s First Known Movable Type Printing
A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com - German printer Johannes Gutenberg did not invent movable type printing; he contributed movable type mechanical printing technology in Europe in 1450.
More than four centuries earlier, the Chinese inventor Bi Sheng (990-1051 AD) created the world's first known movable type system for printing.
Left: Bi Sheng (about 970 - 1051) is a native of Yingshan, Hubei. He is the inventor of Movable-Type Printing. Image source
Without the importation of paper and printing from China, Europe would have continued to copy books by hand for much longer, in a painstaking and slow process that could take more than a year for each book
His printing system was invented between 1041 and 1048 during the Song dynasty.
Block printing was an expensive and time-consuming process, for each carved block could only be used for a specific page of a particular book; additionally, a single carving mistake could ruin the whole block.
The new innovative printing system created by Chinese porcelain made books faster to print.
Bi Sheng carved individual characters on identical pieces of fine clay. Each movable type had only one Chinese character carved in relief on a small block of moistened clay.
After the block had been hardened by fire, the type became durable and could be used anytime and anywhere. The movable type pieces could be glued to an iron plate and easily detached from the plate.
Contrary to many claims, Bi Sheng's clay types were not fragile but 'hard and tough as horn' as described by Bao Shicheng (1775-1885).
Bi Sheng's (about 970 - 1051) invention paved the road for cultural and economic development of China, and also contributed to the improvement of world civilization. Image credit: General Office of Hubei Provincial People's Government
Characters could be assembled to print a page and then broken up and redistributed as needed. When the printing was finished, the pieces could be put away for future use.
Bi Sheng's invention was recorded by Shen Kuo (1031-1095), the Chinese polymath, scientist, and statesman, in his book The Dream Pool Essays in 1088 AD.
'[Bi Sheng] took sticky clay and cut in it characters as thin as the edge of a coin. Each character formed, as it were, a single type. He baked them in the fire to make them hard. He had previously prepared an iron plate and he had covered his plate with a mixture of pine resin, wax, and paper ashes. When he wished to print, he took an iron frame and set it on the iron plate. In this, he placed the types put close together.
Bi Sheng's invention was recorded by Shen Kuo (1031-1095), the Chinese polymath, scientist, and statesman, in his book The Dream Pool Essays' in 1088 AD. Image credit: General Office of Hubei Provincial People's Government
When the frame was complete, the whole made one solid block of type. He then placed it near the fire to warm it. When the paste [at the back] was slightly melted, he took a smooth board and pressed it over the surface so that the block of type became as even as a whetstone.
If one were to print only two or three copies, this method would be neither simple nor easy. But for printing hundreds or thousands of copies, it was marvelously quick.
As a rule, he kept two forms going. While the impression was being made from the one form, the type was being put in place on the other. When the printing of one form was finished, the other was then ready. In this way, the two forms alternated and the printing was done with great rapidity...'(Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 5)
It did not take Bi Sheng long to make 30,000 characters in everyday use.
Movable type printing developed very fast and spread to Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and finally to Europe, while based on the clay type, the type made of wood, lead, tin, and copper gradually appeared.
Written by – A. Sutherland AncientPages.com Staff Writer
Updated on January 13, 2024
Copyright © AncientPages.com All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of AncientPages.com
More From Ancient Pages
-
Mayas Utilized Market-Based Economics – New Study
Archaeology | Jan 6, 2023
-
Early Farmers On The Baltic Coast Incorporated Fish Into Their Diets 6,000 Years Ago
Archaeology | Oct 17, 2023
-
3,000 Years Ago Human Activity Destroyed Vegetation And Irreparably Damaged The Timna Valley Environment
Archaeology | Sep 23, 2022
-
On This Day In History: King James I Of Scotland Was Assassinated – On Feb 21, 1437
News | Feb 21, 2017
-
Sogdian Temple Of Jartepa II On Caravan Road Of The Silk Road
News | Sep 3, 2020
-
Archaeological Evidence Amazon Warrior Women Did Exist Found At Nakhchivan Necropolis, Azerbaijan
Archaeology | Mar 27, 2024
-
Londinium: Ancient Roman Outpost That Became Powerful City Of London
Featured Stories | Aug 16, 2018
-
Ancient City Of Uxmal And Magnificent Pyramid Of The Magician
Featured Stories | Dec 19, 2015
-
Perperikon – Ancient Secrets Of Bulgaria’s ‘Machu Picchu’ And Europe’s Largest Megalithic Sanctuary
Featured Stories | May 3, 2017
-
Why The Legend Of Robin Hood Is More Complex Than Previously Thought And Possibly Wrong
Featured Stories | Jul 30, 2022
-
Neolithic Farmers Invented Methods To Fight Pests 8,000 Years Ago
Archaeology | Jun 30, 2022
-
Excavations In Ancient City Of Cremna – One Of The Five Colonial Cities In Pisidia
Archaeology | Sep 26, 2023
-
Lost Mayan City Hidden Deep In The Peten Jungle Discovered By Expedition Team
Archaeology | Mar 21, 2022
-
Scientists Explore How Neanderthals Caught Birds In Caves For Food
Archaeology | Sep 16, 2021
-
Bacho Kiro Cave: Genomes Of The Earliest Europeans – Sequenced
Archaeology | Apr 8, 2021
-
Genes For Learning And Memory Are 650 Million Years Old – Study Shows
Evolution | Jul 19, 2023
-
Magnificent Pre-Dynastic City Of Sais And Its Lost Neglected Ruins
Civilizations | Sep 29, 2020
-
5,000-Year-Old Perga City And Kommagene Civilization: Most Of Treasures Are Still Underground
Archaeology | Dec 30, 2017
-
Climate In The Andes Has Driven 7,000 Years Of Dietary Changes – New Study Reveals
Archaeology | Feb 9, 2022
-
Mystery Of Ancient New York Giants – Who Was Really Buried In The Druid Barrow?
Featured Stories | Oct 28, 2017