PRINT CULTURE AND THE MODERN WORLD

Short Answer Questions

Q.1. What do you mean by “Accordion book”?

Ans.1. ‘Accordion book’ was the traditional book of China.
(i) Chinese Accordion books were handprinted. They were printed by rubbing paper
against the inked surface of wooden blocks.
(ii) As both sides of the thin, porous sheet would not be printed, the traditional
Chinese ‘Accordion book’ was folded and stitched at the side.
(iii) The superbly-skilled craftsmen could duplicate with remarkable accuracy even
the beauty of calligraphy in this accordion.

Q.2. Why was the Imperial state of China the major producer of printed material?
Ans.2. The imperial state in China was the major producer of printed material for a long time
due to the following factors:

(i) China had a large bureaucratic system which recruited its personnel through
civil service examinations.
(ii) Textbooks for this examination were printed in vast numbers under the
sponsorship of the imperial state.
(iii) From the sixteenth century, the number of examination candidates went up and
that increased the volume of print.

Q.3. How did the gradual shift come from hand -printing to mechanical printing?
Ans.3. In the 17th century, many cities had come up in China. As the urban culture spread, the
uses of print also increased. It was used in different fields as mentioned below:

(i) It was used by scholar officials. Merchants used it to collect trade information.
(ii) Reading printed material became a leisure activity. So, people started reading
fictional narratives, poetry, autobiographies, anthologies of literary
masterpieces, and romantic plays.
(iii) Women began publishing their poetry and plays. Wives of scholar-officials
published their works and courtesans wrote about their lives.

The new reading culture brought western printing techniques and mechanical
presses into China. Shanghai became the hub of the new print culture. Thus, there
was natural change from hand-printing to mechanical printing.

Q.4. Discuss the progress of print in Japan.

Ans.5. The following is the progress or development of print in Japan:

(i) Buddhist missionaries from China introduced hand-printing technology in

Japan around AD 768-770.The oldest Japanese book printed in AD 868 was the
Buddhist Diamond Sutra. It contained six sheets of text and woodcut
illustrations.
(ii) Pictures were printed on textiles, playing cards and paper money, In medieval
Japan, the poets and prose writers regularly published their works.
(iii)Printing of visual material led to interesting publishing practices. For example,
in the late eighteenth century, at Edo (modern Tokyo) illustrated collections of
paintings depicted an elegant urban culture, involving artists, courtesans, and
teahouse gatherings.
(iv) Libraries and bookstores were full with hand-printed material of various types
such as books on women, cooking, famous places, musical instruments,
calculations, tea ceremony and flower arrangements.

Q.5. What strategies were adopted by publishers to sell their books?

Ans.5. The printers and publishers developed the following strategies to sell their
products:

(i) Booksellers all over Europe began exporting books to many different countries as
the demand for books increased.

(ii) Book fairs were held at different places. Production of handwritten manuscripts
was also organised in new ways to meet the expanded demand.

(iii) Scribes or skilled handwriters were no longer solely employed by wealthy or

influential patrons but increasingly by booksellers as well. More than 50 scribes
often worked for one bookseller.

Q.6. Why production of hand-written manuscripts could not satisfy the increasing
demand for books?
Ans.6. Manuscript is a document or book written by hand. The production of handwritten
documents could not satisfy the ever-increasing demand for books for the reasons as
mentioned below:
(i) Copying was an expensive, laborious and time-consuming business.
(ii) Manuscripts were fragile, awkward to handle, and could not be carried around or
read easily.
(iii) As a result of the above factors, the circulation of manuscripts remained limited
and by the early 15th century, woodblocks were being widely used in Europe.
Q.7. "The new technology did not entirely displace the existing art of producing books
by hand." Explain
Ans.7. It is true that the new technology did not displace the existing art of producing books
by hand. At the same time Gutenberg personalised the printed books suiting to the tastes and
requirement of others as mentioned below:

(i) The metal letters imitated the ornamental handwritten styles. Borders were
illuminated by hand with foliage and other patterns, and illustrations were
painted.
(ii) In the books printed for the rich, space for decoration was kept blank on the
printed page.
(iii) Each purchaser could choose the design and decide on the painting school that
would do the illustrations. No two copies of the first printed Bible were same
and every copy could be claimed as unique, for no one else owned a copy that
was exactly the same.

Q.8. What is meant by the print revolution?

Ans.8. The shift from handwriting to mechanical printing led to the print revolution.
In the hundred years between 1450 and 1550, printing presses were set up in most countries
of Europe. Printers from Germany travelled to other countries-seeking work and helping start
new presses.

Effects-

(i) As the number of printing presses grew, book production boomed.

(ii) The second half of the fifteenth century saw 20 million copies of printed books
flooding the markets in Europe. The number of books went up in the 17th
century to about 200 million copies.
(iii) The above shift from hand printing to mechanical printing led to the print
revolution.

It was a new way of producing books. It transformed the lives of people, changing
their relationship to information and knowledge and with institutions and authorities.
It influenced popular perceptions and opened up new ways of looking at things.

Q.9. Why does the publisher persuade the common people to welcome the printed
book?
Ans.9. The publishers persuaded the common people to welcome printed books in Europe by:
(i) Trying to reach those who did not read but could certainly enjoy listening to books being
read out.
(ii) Publishing popular ballads and folktales and such books were profusely illustrated with
pictures. These were sung and recited at gatherings in villages and in taverns in towns.
(iii) They blurred the line that separated the oral and reading cultures. Hearing and reading
public became intermingled.

Q.10. " Not everyone welcomed the printed books" Explain.

Ans.10. (i) The printed book was not welcomed by all. Even those who did it also had some
fears about it.

(ii) On the other hand, many were apprehensive of the effects that the easier
access to the printed word and the wider circulation of books, could have on
people’s minds.
(iii) It was feared that if there was no control over what was printed and read then
rebellious and irreligious thoughts might spread. If that happened the authority
of ‘valuable’ literature would be destroyed. This fear or anxiety was the main
basis of criticism of the new printed literature.

Q.11. Why did the publishers and booksellers begin to maintain an index of prohibited
books from 1558?

Ans.11. It was because of the following reasons:-

(i) Printed religious literature stimulated a variety of interpretations of faith, even among the
little educated working class in the early 16th century.

(ii) Manocchio, an Italian miller, reinterpreted the Bible in a way that enraged the Roman
Catholic Church.

(iii) Such instances worried the Church about people reading the various interpretations of the
religion and questioning the Church.

Hence, it imposed severe controls over publishers and booksellers and began maintaining an
index of prohibited books.

Q.12. Why did the literacy rate go up in most parts of Europe in the 17th and 18th
century?
Ans.12.

(i) Through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries literacy rates went up in most parts
of Europe. Churches of different denominations set up schools in villages, carrying
literacy to peasants and artisans.
(ii) By the end of the eighteenth century, in some parts of Europe literacy rates were as high
as 60 to 80 per cent.
(iii) As literacy and schools spread in European countries, there was a virtual reading mania.
People wanted books to read and printers produced books in ever increasing numbers.

Q.13. Explain the new forms of popular literature that appeared in the present targeting
new audiences?
Ans.13. (i) In England, penny chapbooks were carried by petty pedlars known as chapmen,
and sold for a penny, so that even the poor could buy them. In France, were the ‘Biliotheque
Bleue’, which were low-priced small books printed on poor quality paper, and bound in
cheap blue covers. Then there were the romances, printed on four to six pages, and the more
substantial ‘histories’ which were stories about the past. Books were of various sizes, serving
many different purposes and interests.
(ii) The periodical press developed from the early eighteenth century, combining
information about current affairs with entertainment. Newspapers and journals carried
information about wars and trade, as well as news of developments in other places.
(iii) Similarly, the ideas of scientists and philosophers now became more accessible to
the common people. Ancient and medieval scientific texts were compiled and published, and
maps and scientific diagrams were widely printed.

Q.14. Examine the role played by the print revolution in the spread of ideas of scientists
and philosophers?
Ans.14. (i) Spreading of new ideas: After the coming of the print culture, the ideas of
scientists and philosophers now became more accessible to the common people. Ancient and
medieval scientific texts were compiled and published.
(ii) Scientific discoveries: Maps and more accurate scientific diagrams were widely
printed. When scientists like Issac Newton began to publish their discoveries, they could
influence a much wider circle of scientifically-minded readers.
(iii) Writings of scholars: The writings of thinkers such as Thomas Paine, Voltaire and
Jean Jacques Rousseau were also widely printed, and could gain popularity. Thus, their ideas
about science, reasoning and rationality found their way into popular literature.
(iv) Books as a medium of progress: By the mid-18th century, books became a
medium of spreading progress and enlightenment which could change society and the world.
It was also believed that the books could literate society from despotism and tyranny.

Q.15. "Tremble, therefore, tyrants of the world" Who wrote these lines and why?
Ans.15. (i) Louise-Sebastien Mercier, a novelist in 18th France proclaimed: ‘Tremble,
therefore, tyrants of the world! Tremble before the virtual writer!’ as he was convinced of the
power of print in bringing enlightenment and destroying the basis of despotism.
 (ii) Books were considered as a means of spreading progress and enlightenment by
the mid-eighteenth century.
(iii) According to Mercier, the printing press is the most powerful engine of progress
and public opinion.

Q.16. "Print did not directly shape the minds of the people but opened up the possibility
of thinking differently". Explain.
Ans.16. The following arguments are given in support of the given statement:

(i) There can be no doubt that print helps the spread of ideas. But we must remember
that people did not read just one kind of literature. If they read the ideas of
Voltaire and Rousseau, they were also exposed to monarchical and Church
propaganda.

(ii) They were not influenced directly by everything they read or saw. They accepted
some ideas and rejected others. They interpreted things their own way.

(iii) Means of mass communication like newspaper, journals, chapbooks carried

information about wars, trade as well as news of development in other places. All
this had a impact on the minds of the people. Print did not directly shape their
minds, but it did open up the possibility of thinking differently.

Q.17. Why did the publishers develop new strategies to sell their product?
Ans.17. The printers and publishers developed the following strategies to sell their products:

(i) Nineteenth century periodicals serialised important novels. This became popular
among the people.

(ii) In the 1920s in England, popular works were sold in cheap series, called the Shilling
Series.

(iii) It was also innovated and used in the 20th century. During the Great Depression in
the 1930s, publishers brought out cheap paperback editions in order to sustain buying
and to avoid a decline in book purchases.
Long Answer Questions

Q.1. How did Gutenberg develop the printing press?

Ans.1. Gutenberg was the son of a merchant and grew up on a large agricultural estate. From
his childhood, he had seen wine and olive presses.

(i) Subsequently, he learnt the art of polishing stones, became a master

goldsmith, and also acquired the expertise to create lead moulds used for
making trinkets.
(ii) Drawing on this knowledge, Gutenberg adapted existing technology to
design his innovation.
(iii) The olive press provided the model for the printing press.
(iv) Moulds were used for casting the metal types for the letters of the
alphabet.
(v) By 1448, Gutenberg perfected the system.

The first book he printed was the Bible. About 180 copies were printed and it took three years
to produce them. By the standards of the time this was the fast production.

Q.2. How did the Hearing public merge with the Reading public?

Ans.2. The Hearing public and Reading public intermingled although the transition from a
hearing public to reading public was far from simple.

(i) Books could be read only by the literate people.

(ii) Rates of literacy in most European countries were very low till the twentieth
century.
(iii) To reach and persuade the common people to welcome the printed books,
publishers had to keep in mind the wider reach of the printed work so that even
those who did not read could certainly enjoy listening to books being read out.
(iv) So, printers published popular ballads and folk tales and illustrated such books
with pictures. These were then sung and recited at gatherings in villages and in
taverns in towns.
(v) Oral culture thus entered print and printed material was orally transmitted.

As a result of all of above, the hearing public and reading public intermingled.

Q.3. Who was Martin Luther? What led to the protestant Reformation?
Ans.3. (i) In 1517, Martin Luther a religious reformer wrote 95 theses criticizing some of the
rituals of the Roman Catholic Church. He pasted a printed copy of this on the door of the
Wittenberg church. He Challenged the Church to debate on this.
 (ii) His writings were immediately reproduced and circulated which were widely read.
All this led to a division within the Church and this led to the beginning of Protestant
reformation.
(iii)The testament of Luther sold around 5000 copies within few weeks and a second
edition appeared within three months.
(iv) Luther was thankful to the technique of printing as it led to the coming of a new
intellectual atmosphere.
(v) Several scholars, in fact, think that the print brought about a new intellectual
atmosphere and helped spread the new ideas that led to the Reformation.

Q.4. “Print culture created the conditions within which French Revolution occurred".
Explain.
Ans.4.

(i) It is stated that print culture popularised the writings of Rousseau, Voltaire and
others. These thinkers were against the sacred authority of the Church and the
despotic power of the state. Rousseau’s ideal of ‘liberty, equality and fraternity’
became the motto of the revolutionaries. These ideas enlightened the masses.
(ii) With the coming of print culture, people became aware of the power of reason.
They started questioning the existing ideas and beliefs and authority of the
Church. Within this public culture, new ideas of social revolution came into
being.
(iii) New literature criticised royalty for their lavish life style at a time when people
were suffering from hunger. Cartoons and caricatures showed that the
monarchy was absorbed in sensual pleasures. The ordinary people i.e., peasants,
artisans and workers, had a hard time while the nobility enjoyed life and
oppressed the poor.
(iv) Such writings led to the growth of hostile sentiments against the monarchy. It
played a significant role by influencing the people to think in different ways
and questioning the authority of the monarchs as well as the Church.
(v) It may be added that print helped the spread of ideas but people read all types of
literature. There was monarchical and Church propaganda. They were not
influenced by one idea. They accepted some and rejected other ideas.

Q.5. Discuss the efforts to promote reading habit among:

(a) Women (b) Children (c) Workers
Ans.5. The following types of printed material was responsible for increase in readership of
children and women in the 19th century:
(a) Women:
 1. Women as readers: Lives and feelings of women began to be written in intense
ways. So, women became important as readers. Penny magazines were
especially meant for women, as were manuals teaching proper behaviour and
housekeeping.
2. Women as writers: Many women novelists like Jane Austin, Bronte Sisters,
George Eliot wrote about women. Novels and other journals began exploring
the world of women – their emotions, identities, their experiences and
problems. The writings of woman became important in defining a new type of
woman – a person with will, strength of personality, determination and the
power to think.
3. Novels and books on women: As the readership of women was increasing
publishers started producing novels and journals for women. Many journals
began carrying writings by women, and explained why women should be
educated.

(b) Children:

1. Primary education became compulsory from the late 19th century.

2. A children’s press set up in France in 1857 devoted to literature for children
alone.
3. Old fairy tales and folk tales were published.
4. The Grimm Brothers in Germany compiled traditional folk tales gathered from
peasants. A collection of stories was published in 1812.
5. Anything that was considered unsuitable for children or would appear vulgar to
the elites, was not included in the published version. Rural folk tales thus
acquired a new form. In this way, print recorded old tales but also changed
them.

(c) Workers:

1. Lending Libraries: Lending libraries had been in existence from the seventeenth
century onwards. In the nineteenth century, lending libraries in England became
instruments for educating the white-collar workers, artisans and lower-middle-class
people.
2. Autobiographies: Sometimes, self- educated working-class people wrote for
themselves. After the working day was gradually shortened from the mid nineteenth
century, workers had some time for self-improvement and self-expression. They
wrote political tracts and autobiographies in large numbers.
3. Novels on the lives of the workers: In the 19th century, Europe entered the
industrial age. Factories came up, profits increased and the economy grew. But at the
same time, workers faced problems of unemployment, low wages, poor working
conditions. Many novelists such as Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy wrote about
the adverse impact of industrialisation on the lives of workers.

Q.6. What new innovations were incorporated in the printing press in the late 19 th
century?
Ans.6. Through the 19th century, there was a series of new innovations in printing
technology.
(i) Power-driven cylindrical press: By the mid-19th century, Richard M Hoe of New York
had perfected the power-driven cylindrical press. It was capable of printing 8000 sheets per
hour which was especially useful for printing newspapers.
(ii) Offset Press: In the late 19th century, the offset press was developed which could print
up to six colours at a time.
(iii) Electrically operated presses: From the beginning of the 20th century, these presses
accelerated printing operations.
(iv) Other developments: Later, some other improvements were developed e.g. methods of
feeding paper improved, the quality of plates became better, automatic paper reels and
photoelectric controls of the colour register were introduced.
All the above innovations transformed the appearance of printed texts.
(v) The 19th century periodicals serialised important novels, which gave birth to a particular
way of writing novels.