Evidence of print can be seen everywhere around us – in books,

journals, newspapers, prints, paintings, theatre programmes, official

circulars, calendars, diaries, advertisements, cinema posters, printed
literature, printed images, newspapers. The history and development
of print technology has shaped our entire world.
This chapter will throw light upon the development of print, from East
Asia to Europe and in India. It will elaborate upon how social lives and
cultures across the world changed with the coming of printed word.

| TOPIC 1 |
THE FIRST PRINTED BOOKS

Learning Objectives
 Students will be learning about the invention of the earliest printers and
associated systems.
 Students will learn about the invention of paper, print technologies from
China, Japan and Korea, printed material and reading culture.
 Students will be introduced to the earliest books and other printed material
- printed on various materials like vellum, leaves, textiles using handprinting
technology and woodcut illustrations.
 Students will be able to trace the changes experienced in print technologies
from the last 100 years.
 Students will get an insight into the type and genre of literature that was
studied in the 17th and 18th century.
Learning Outcomes
 Students will be able to trace the journey of printing technologies from
hand printing to newer styles and technologies.
 Students will have understood how Chinese missionaries introduced
printing technology to Japan in 7th CE.
 Students will be able to enlist the names of earliest books published in
China, Japan and Korea.
 Students will also be able to recall more regarding new readership, newer
print cultures and technologies etc.

The earliest print technology—a system of hand painting—was developed in

China, Japan and Korea. Post AD 594, China started producing books and prints
by rubbing paper against the inked surface of woodblocks. As the paper was
porous, both the sides could not be printed. The traditional Chinese ‘Accordion
book’ was folded and stitched at the side.

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Superbly skilled craftsmen duplicated calligraphy accurately.
Example 1. Fill in the blank.
The term ‘calligraphy’ means ………………………...:
(a) the art of narrating a folk tale
(b) the art of beautiful, stylised writing
(c) the art of painting
(d) the art of drawing and sketching
(Understand)
Ans. (b) the art of beautiful, stylised writing
Explanation: Calligraphy was used to beautify different manuscripts and
books by skilled craftsmen.
Important
 The imperial state in China produced a huge amount of printed material. Since
China recruited most bureaucrats by Civil service examinations, it had to provide the
study material required for its aspiring students. The state sponsored the printing of
these books.
 The scale of production kept increasing due to rise in number of students from the
16th century onwards.
The 17th century saw diversification of the print due to the blooming of urban
culture. The printed material went beyond the scholar-officials.
Merchants collected trade information on paper. Reading became a leisure
activity.
Fictional narratives, poetry, autobiographies, anthologies of literary
masterpieces, and romantic plays fascinated the new readership. Wives
of the scholar-officials and women of the upper classes began to read and
publish their own works. Even courtesans reproduced accounts of their
lives.

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The new reading culture brought with it a new technology in the form of
mechanical printing. Western printing techniques and mechanical presses
were imported in the late nineteenth century as western powers established
their outposts in China. Shanghai was made the centre of the new print
culture. It catered to the Western-style schools.
Print in Japan
Buddhist missionaries from China introduced hand-printing technology into
Japan around AD 768-770.
The Buddhist ‘Diamond Sutra’ published in 868 AD, was the oldest Japanese
book to be printed. It had six sheets of text and woodcut illustrations.
Pictures were also printed on textiles, playing cards and paper money.
In medieval Japan, poets and prose writers regularly published their works.
Printing of visual material caused interesting publishing practices. During
the 18th century, in urban circles at Edo, paintings depicted an elegant
urban culture. Libraries and bookstores had various hand-printed materials
on women, musical instruments, calculations, tea ceremony, flower
arrangements, proper etiquette, cooking and famous places.

Frequently Asked
Edo came to be known as Tokyo later.

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Kitagawa Utamaro, born in Edo in 1753, contributed to an art form called Ukiyo
(‘pictures of the floating world’) or depiction of ordinary human experiences,
especially urban ones.
 The Tripitaka Koreana is a Korean collection of Buddhist scriptures. They were
inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 2007.

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•
•

Glossary
(1) Porous: Any substance that allows air or water to pass through.

(2) Calligraphy: The art of beautiful and stylised writing.

(3) Imperial state: A state that engages in imperialism- by controlling weak
but resourceful countries.
(4) Courtesan: Ladies who served the courts and the kings.

•
•
•

Who's Who?
(1) Kitagawa Utamaro: He was a Japanese artist and highly regarded
designers of ukiyo-e woodblock prints and paintings.
(2) Marco Polo: Italian explorer
(3) Johann Gutenberg: He was a German goldsmith, inventor, printer, and
publisher. He introduced the printing revolution with his mechanical
movable-type printing press in Europe.

Print Culture and the Modern World 5

 •
•
•
Books and their Authors
Authors Books/
Books/Collected
Collected Authors
Works
Work
(1) Martin Luther Ninety Five (3) Kashibaba Chhote Aur Bade Ka
King Theses Sawal
(2) James Augustus Bengal (4) Sudarshan Sacchi Kavitayan
Hickey Gazette Chakra

Who Said What?

(1) To what corner of the world do they not fly, these swarms of new
books?
—Erasmus, a Latin scholar and Catholic reformer.
(2) Printing is the ultimate gift of God and the greatest one. —Martin
Luther King
—Mahatma Gandhi

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•
•

Chronology
594 AD: China begins printing books by rubbing paper.
768-770 AD: China introduced hand-printing technology into Japan around.
868 AD: Diamond Sutra is printed
1295: Marco Polo returns to Italy.
1448: Gutenberg perfects the system of printing press.

•
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•

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 OBJECTIVE Type Questions
[ 1 mark ]
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Identify the traders/travellers who brought hand printing technology
to Japan.
(a) The Arab travellers in the 8th century
(b) Chinese silk merchants in the 6th century
(c) The Egyptians in the 800 AD
(d) Buddhist missionaries in 768-770 AD
Ans. (d) Buddhist missionaries in 768-770 AD
Explanation: They brought hand printing technology to Japan from
China.
2. (Observe the given picture and choose the correct statement about it.

(a) The given picture depicts the artist's anxiety about men and
women mingling with each other.
(b) The fear of artists about the cultural impact of western
education upon women has been shown in the picture.
(c) The picture shows the society of nineteenth century India.
(d) The picture describes a married relationship in an Indian
household during the nineteenth century.
[Mod. CBSE Question Bank 2022]
Ans. (b)The fear of artists about the cultural impact of western education
upon women has been shown in the picture.
Explanation: The image shows the artist’s fear that the cultural impact
of the West has turned the family upside down. The man is playing
the veena while the woman is smoking a hookah. The move towards
women’s education in the late nineteenth century created anxiety about
the breakdown of traditional family roles.

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 Caution
 Each picture in the chapter should be paid complete attention. Students
should always read the subtext and captions associated with these
pictures to be able to attempt such questions.

Identify
Identify the following on basis of the hints given:
3. Identify the personality:
(1) He grew up on a large agricultural estate and had been
surrounded by wine and olive presses.
(2) He was a master goldsmith.
(3) He revolutionised the printing industry.
(4) He printed 180 copies of the Bible.
Ans. Johannes Gutenberg
Explanation: He invented the printing press that completely shook the
entire printing industry.

Correct and Rewrite/True-False

State whether the statements are True or False. If false, correct the
statement:
4. When Punjab revolutionaries were deported in 1907, Balgangadhar
Tilak wrote with great sympathy about them in his Kesari.
Ans. True
Explanation: Nationalist newspapers reported on colonial misrule
and encouraged patriotic activities. Kesari was an account of the
hardships faced by Punjab revolutionaries written by Bal Ganghadhar
Tilak.
Related Theory
 Attempts to throttle nationalist criticism provoked militant protest. This
led to a renewed cycle of persecution and protests.

Fill in the Blanks

Fill in the blanks with suitable information:
5. This shift from hand printing to ………..……… led to the print revolution.
Ans. mechanical printing
Explanation: Mechanical Printing made printing easier, less expensive
and more accessible. The books were made available more easily to all
classes and sections of the society.

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Assertion-Reason
(A-R)
In the following questions, two statements in the form of an Assertion (A)
and a Reason (R) have been put forward. Read both statements carefully
and choose the most appropriate option:
(a) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
(b) Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
(c) (A) is true but (R) is false.
(d) (A) is false but (R) is true.
6. Assertion (A) :With the printing press, a new reading public emerged.
Reason (R) :Printing reduced the cost of books and they became
easily available.
Ans. (a) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).

CASE BASED Questions (CBQs)

[ 4 & 5 marks ]

Read the following passages and answer the questions that follow:
7. The power of the printed word is most often seen in the way
governments seek to regulate and suppress print. The colonial
government kept continuous track of all books and newspapers
published in India and passed numerous laws to control the press. During
the First World War, under the Defence of India Rules, 22 newspapers
had to furnish securities. Of these, 18 shut down rather than comply
with government orders. The Sedition Committee Report under Rowlatt
in 1919 further strengthened controls that led to imposition of penalties
on various newspapers. At the outbreak of the Second World War, the
Defence of India Act was passed, allowing censoring of reports of war-
related topics. All reports about the Quit India movement came under its
purview. In August 1942, about 90 newspapers were suppressed.
(A) Name two acts of GOI which was related to suppression of the
Press?
(B) What is sedition?
Ans. (A) 
The GOI Act, 1935 and the Vernacular Press Act were both closely
related to the subject of freedom of the press.
(1) They established complete government control over the press.
(2) They employed very stringent measures to control the

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 publication of nationalist views and articles.
(B) Sedition is the practice of inciting resistance to or insurrection against
lawful authority by using word or action.

VERY SHORT ANSWER Type Questions (VSA)

[ 1 mark ]

8. Explain the meaning of the term “calligraphy”? [CBSE 2014, 12]

Ans. Calligraphy is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and
execution of lettering with a broad tip instrument, brush, or other
writing instruments.
Related Theory
 This word has its roots in Greek language ‘kalli’ means beautiful and
‘graphia’ is the Greek word for writing.

SHORT ANSWER Type-I Questions (SA-I)

[ 2 marks ]

9. What did the Grimm brothers publish and how did it contribute
to bringing a change in the society?
Ans. The Grimm Brothers compiled traditional folk tales gathered from
peasants for years in Germany. Following are the materials which were
published by the brothers.
(1) Post editing the tales, the stories were published in a collection in
1812.
(2) Anything considered unsuitable for children or vulgar to the elites,
was not included in the published version. Rural folk tales, this
acquired a completely new perspective and content.
However, it only boosted personal interpretation and opinion.

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 SHORT ANSWER Type-II Questions (SA-II)
[ 3 marks ]

10. H
 ow had the Imperial State of China been the major producer of
printed material for a long time? Explain with examples.
[CBSE 2019]
Ans. (1) The Imperial State in China printed textbooks because it possessed
a huge bureaucratic system which recruited its personnel through
Civil Service examinations.
(2) The state printed the textbooks for this examination were printed in
vast numbers.
(3) 
These books were published so that students appearing for the
exam can study as they couldn’t afford them.

TOPPER’S CORNER
VERY SHORT ANSWER Type Questions (VSA)
[ 1 mark ]
1. How was hand printing technology introduced in Japan?
Ans.

[CBSE Topper 2019]

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