2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25
The invention of printing is one of the key events in the history of civilization. The decrease in the cost of the book led to its distribution and an increase in the level of education of the population. And even in our time, when most of the text has been transferred to electronic format, the printed book remains in demand.
Beginnings of Emperor Wen-di
The first mention of printing in China dates back to 593. Emperor Wen-di (Sui Dynasty) issued a decree in which he ordered the printing of sacred Buddhist scriptures and images. They were made using wooden clichés. Each page of text required a separate block to be cut out, but once the necessary stamps were completed, the rate of impression creation increased to 2,000 per day.
By the end of the 9th century, printing had already spread throughout China. In the province of Shu (modern Sichuan), printed books were sold from private traders. Among them were dictionaries, Buddhist texts, mathematics, Confucian classics and others.
Who invented the printing press
The creator is consideredJohannes Gutenberg. Indeed, in the field of printing, the merits of this German printer are difficult to assess. However, the history of the invention began long before the 15th century.
As far back as the 9th century, Chinese books were created by monks using the block printing method. Wooden blocks covered with ink were pressed against a sheet of paper and left an imprint. In this way, the Diamond Sutra, an ancient Buddhist text created in China, was printed in 868.
The next milestone in the development of printing is the invention of a movable type of machine. For the first time in the world in the XI century, it was created by the Chinese peasant Bi Shen. Moving parts were created from baked clay. The events of that time were documented by his contemporary, the scientist and researcher Shen Guo.
In the 14th century, the official Wan Chen created a movable wooden press. The motivation for the invention was the desire to print an extensive series of Chinese agricultural books.
The Diamond Sutra
The main text of Indian Buddhism is one of the earliest surviving books written in Chinese characters, created using the block printing method. At the end of the scroll is the date of printing. Translated from Sanskrit to Chinese around 400 AD.
In 1900, it was found by archaeologist Mark Aurel Stein near Dunhuang, China. In the Cave of a Thousand Buddhas, there was another cave, fenced off by a wall. In it, scientists found a library sealed around 1000 AD. The Diamond Sutra is just one of 40,000copies among other manuscripts. Today the book is stored in the British Library in London.
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