Print Culture and The Modern World: Devlopment of Print China Japan Korea

CLASS 10 th Print Culture and the Modern World History
Print culture and the modern world

DEVLOPMENT OF
PRINT
CHINA JAPAN KOREA
The Earliest Kind Of Print Technology Was Devloped In China , Korea And Japan ( EAST ASIA )
 Then Its Expands To Europe And In India
Hand printing / woodblock printing ( 594 A.D )

 In this style of printing books were printed by rubbing paper against the inked surface or woodblocks
Accordion books : At that time paper cannot be printed at both side because paper is thin and porous . So this
style of printing is known as accordion style .
After this book was folded and stitched at the side. Superbly skilled craftsmen could duplicate, with remarkable
accuracy, the beauty of calligraphy
Calligraphy – The art of beautiful and stylised writing
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MRINAL JHA MOB NO- 7303419338 INSπRE CLASSES
Rise of print culture in China

 The imperial state of china was, for a very long time, the major producer of printed
material.
 China possessed a huge bureaucratic system which recruited its personnel through
civil service examinations.
 Textbooks for this examination were printed in vast numbers under the sponsorship
of the imperial state
 At the end of 16th century number of examination candidates went up and that
increased the volume of print
 By the 17th century, as urban culture bloomed in China .
 Print was no longer used just by scholar officials.
 Merchants used print in their everyday life, as they collected trade information
 Rich women began to read, and many women began publishing their poetry and play
 Wives of scholar-officials published their works and courtesans wrote about their
lives.
AT THE END OF 19TH CENTURY

 Western printing techniques and mechanical presses were imported in China .
 From hand printing there was now a gradual shift to mechanical printing.
 Shanghai became the hub of the new print culture .
Development Of Print Culture In Japan

 During ( 768-770 ) A.D Buddhist missionaries from China introduced hand-printing technology
into Japan .
 The oldest Japanese book printed in 868 A.D is the Buddhist diamond sutra .
 In medieval Japan, poets and prose writers were regularly published, and books were cheap and
abundant
 In the late 18th Century , in the flourishing urban circles at Edo ( Tokyo ) , illustrated collections of
paintings depicted an elegant urban culture, involving artists, courtesans, and teahouse gatherings.
Prints Come To Europe

th
 In 11 Century Chinese Paper Reached Europe Through Silk Route .
 Chinese Paper Made It Possible To Produce Manuscripts, Which Were Carefully Written
By Scribes .
 In 1295 Marco Polo Brought The Knowledge Of Woodblock Printing Technology From
China to Italy.
 And Soon The Technology Spread To Other Parts Of Europe .
 Merchants And Students In The University Towns Bought The Cheaper Printed Copies.
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 Aristocrats Uses Luxury Edition Of Paper Called Vellum Which Were Handwritten By
Scribes .
 Vellum : A Parchment Made From The Skin Of Animals .
 As The Demand For Books Increased, Booksellers All Over Europe Began Exporting Books
To Many Different Countries
 During That Time More Than 50 Scribes Often Worked For One Bookseller.
Johann Gutenberg ( German ) developed the first-known printing press in the 1430s.
 Platen – In letter press printing, platen is a board which is pressed onto the back of the paper to get the
impression from the type. At one time it used to be a wooden board; later it was made of steel .
 Compositor – The person who composes the text for printing .
 Galley – Metal frame in which types are laid and the text composed .
By 1448, Gutenberg perfected the system. The first book he printed was the Bible
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The Print Revolution and Its Impact

 Earlier, reading was restricted to the elites.
 Common people lived in a world of oral culture.
 Before print revolution  After print revolution
 Books were too expensive .  Books prices decreases & Common

people can now easily afford the
books .
 Also books are not be produced in  Books flooded the market reaching out
sufficient numbers . to an ever growing reader ship.
 Only rich people can afford books  Earlier there was a hearing public now
that time . a reading public came into being .
 The time and labour required to produce each book came down.
 But the transition was not so simple.
 Books could be read only by the literate, and the rates of literacy in most european
countries were very low till the twentieth century
 So to solve these problems publishers , publish ballads and folk tales, and such books
would be profusely illustrated with pictures.
RELIGIOUS DEBATE AND FEAR OF PRINT

 Print Created the Possibility Of Wide Circulation Of Ideas, And Introduced A
New World Of Debate And Discussion
 It Was Feared That If There Was No Control Over What Was Printed and Read
Then Rebellious and Irreligious Thoughts Might Spread
 In 1517, The Religious Reformer Martin Luther Wrote “ 95 Theses “ .
 Theses Criticising Many of The Practices and Rituals of The Roman Catholic
Church
 It Challenged the Church to Debate His Ideas
 This lead to Division Between Catholics And Protestants
 Deeply Grateful to Print, Luther Said, ‘Printing Is The Ultimate Gift Of God
And The Greatest One.’
 In 1558 catholic church began to maintain an index of prohibited books .
 ( STORY OF MINOCCHIO , Print and Dissent )
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READING MANIA
 Through the 17th and 18th century literacy rates went up in most part of europes .
 Churches of different denominations started setups schools in villages .
 By the end of 18th century in some parts of the Europe literacy rates were as high as 60 to 80
percents .
 A children Press, devoted to literature for children alone, was setup in France in 1857
 This press published new works as well as old fairy tales and folk tales.
New form of popular literature appeared to print

 Almanacs : Rituals calendars .
 Ballads and folk tales
 Chapbooks ( In England ) : pocket books .
 Biliotheque Bleue ( In France ) : which were low-priced small books printed on poor
quality paper .
 By 18th century Newspapers and journals also came into the market providing
information about trade & wars .
 The writings of thinkers scientists and philosophers were also widely printed and read
 Thus their ideas about science, reason and rationality found their way into popular
literature.
‘Tremble, therefore, tyrants of the world!’

By the mid 18th century, there was a common conviction that books were a means of spreading progress
and enlightenment.
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Many believed that books could change the world, liberate society from Despotism and Tyranny.
Louise-Sebastien Mercier : ‘ The printing press is the most powerful engine of

progress and public opinion is the force that will sweep despotism away .’
Also he said that : ‘Tremble, therefore, tyrants of the world! Tremble before
the virtual writer!’
Print Culture and the French Revolution

Many historians have argued that print culture created the conditions within which French Revolution occurred
3 types of arguments given by historians :
1. Print popularise the ideas of the Enlightenment thinkers .
2. Print created a new culture of dialogue and debate .
3. 1780s there was an outpouring of literature that mocked the royalty and
criticised there morality .
The 19th Century

The 19th century saw vast leaps in mass literacy in Europe.
Bringing in large numbers of new readers among children, women and workers.
Children during 19th century
 As primary education became compulsory for the children .

 Production of school textbooks became critical for the publishing industry
 The Grimm Brothers in Germany spent many years compiling traditional folktales
gathered from peasants.
 Anything that was considered unsuitable for children or would appear vulgar to the
elites, was not included in the published version .
Women during 19th century
 Women became important as readers as well as writers

 Penny magazines were especially meant for women, as were manuals teaching
proper behaviour and housekeeping.
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 Some of the best known novelists were women: Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters,
George Eliot
 Their writings became important in defining a new type of woman: a person with
will, strength of personality, determination and the power to think.
Workers during 19th century
 Lending libraries had been in existence from the seventeenth century onwards
 In the nineteenth century, lending libraries in England became instruments for
educating white-collar workers, artisans and lower-middle-class people.
 After the working day they wrote political tracts and autobiographies in large
numbers.
Further Innovations in Printing press

Now the press came to be made out of metal
BY - Richard M. Hoe of New York
POWER DRIVEN CYLINDRICAL PRESS ( MID 19TH CENTURY )

1. This was capable of printing 8,000 sheets per hour.
2. This press was particularly useful for printing newspapers
Offset press : This could print up to six
colours at a time .
From 20th century : the entire printing press were

converted to electrical operated press .
 Paper feeding improved.
 Quality of plates become better .
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 Automated paper reels introduced .

 Book jackets also introduced .
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CLASS 10 th Print Culture and the Modern World History

Print culture and the modern world

CHINA JAPAN KOREA

Hand printing / woodblock printing ( 594 A.D )

Calligraphy – The art of beautiful and stylised writing

Rise of print culture in China

AT THE END OF 19TH CENTURY

Development Of Print Culture In Japan

Prints Come To Europe

The Print Revolution and Its Impact

 Books were too expensive .  Books prices decreases & Common

RELIGIOUS DEBATE AND FEAR OF PRINT

New form of popular literature appeared to print

‘Tremble, therefore, tyrants of the world!’

Louise-Sebastien Mercier : ‘ The printing press is the most powerful engine of

Print Culture and the French Revolution

3 types of arguments given by historians :

1. Print popularise the ideas of the Enlightenment thinkers .

2. Print created a new culture of dialogue and debate .

The 19th Century

 As primary education became compulsory for the children .

Women during 19th century

 Women became important as readers as well as writers

Workers during 19th century

Further Innovations in Printing press

BY - Richard M. Hoe of New York

POWER DRIVEN CYLINDRICAL PRESS ( MID 19TH CENTURY )

From 20th century : the entire printing press were

 Automated paper reels introduced .

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