Wang Chen’s method of woodblock type continued to be used by printers in China. It was exported to Europe and, coincidentally, documented many Chinese inventions that have been traditionally attributed to Europeans. Nung Shu is considered the world’s first mass-produced book. He then created a revolving table for typesetters to organize with more efficiency, which led to greater speed in printing. Wang Chen devised a process to make the wood more durable and precise. Woodtype made a comeback in 1297 when Ching-te magistrate Wang Chen printed a treatise on agriculture and farming practices called Nung Shu. Massive printed book collections also became a status symbol for the wealthy class.
The baked clay cleaned-up better for reuse.īy the time of the Southern Song Dynasty, which ruled from 1127 to 1279 A.D., books had become prevalent in society and helped create a scholarly class of citizens who had the capabilities to become civil servants. Shen Kuo explained that Bi Sheng did not use wood because the texture is inconsistent and absorbs moisture too easily, and also presents a problem of sticking in the ink. The earliest mention of Bi Sheng’s printing press is in the book Dream Pool Essays, written in 1086 by scientist Shen Kuo, who noted that his nephews came into possession of Bi Sheng’s typefaces after his death. The first moveable type was carved into clay and baked into hard blocks that were then arranged onto an iron frame that was pressed against an iron plate. Moveable type, which replaced panels of printing blocks with moveable individual letters that could be reused, was developed by Bi Sheng, from Yingshan, Hubei, China, who lived roughly from 970 to 1051 A.D. READ MORE: 7 Ways the Printing Press Changed the World Bi Sheng Woodblock printing was also used in Japan and Korea at the time, and metal block printing was also developed at some point during that period, typically for Buddhist and Taoist texts.
It was during this period of early printing that rolled-up scrolls began to be replaced by book-formatted texts.