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 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.
The beginnings of Emperor Wen-di
The first mention of printing in China dates back to 593. Emperor Wen-di (Sui Dynasty) issued a decree ordering Buddhist scriptures and images to be printed. They were made using wooden cliches. Each page of the text required cutting a separate block, but after the completion of the necessary stamps, the speed of creating prints increased to 2000 per day.
By the end of the 9th century, typography had already spread throughout China. In Shu province (modern Sichuan), printed books were sold by private merchants. Among them were dictionaries, Buddhist texts, mathematics, Confucian classics and others.
Who invented the printing press
The creator is Johann Guttenberg. Indeed, in the field of printing, the merits of this German printing house are difficult to evaluate. However, the history of the invention began long before the 15th century.
Back in the 9th century, Chinese books were created by monks using the block printing method. Wooden blocks coated with ink were pressed against a sheet of paper and left an imprint. In this way, in 868, the Diamond Sutra, an ancient Buddhist text created in China, was printed.
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 - a scientist and researcher Shen Guo.
In the fourteenth century, official Wan Chen created a movable wooden press. The motivation for the invention was the desire to print an extensive series of Chinese books on agriculture.
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 into Chinese in about 400 AD.
In 1900, it was found by archaeologist Mark Aurel Stein near the city of Dunhuang, China. In the Cave of a Thousand Buddhas hid another cave, fenced off by a wall. In it, scientists found a library, sealed around 1000 AD. The Diamond Sutra is just one of 40,000 copies among other manuscripts. Today the book is kept at the British Library in London.