PRINT AND CULTURE
3.What is caligraphy?What gave rise to accordian books?
The art of beautiful and stylised writing
As both sides of the thin, porous sheet could not be printed, the
traditional Chinese ‘accordion book’ was folded and stitched at the
side.Superbly skilled craftsmen could duplicate, with remarkable
accuracy,the beauty of calligraphy.
4.Who was the major producers of print?why?
The imperial state in China was, for a very long time, the major
producer of printed material. China possessed a huge bureaucratic
system which recruited its personnel through civil service
examinations.
Textbooks for this examination were printed in vast numbers under
the sponsorship of the imperial state.
From the sixteenth century, the number of examination candidates
went up and that increased the volume of print.
5.Discuss (or)How did print diversified in China (or)Explain By the
seventeenth century, as urban culture bloomed in China, the uses
of print diversified.
Print was no longer used just by scholarofficials.Merchants used
print in their everyday life, as they collected trade information.
Reading increasingly became a leisure activity.The new readership
preferred fictional narratives, poetry,autobiographies, anthologies of
literary masterpieces, and romantic plays.
Rich women began to read, and many women began publishing
their poetry and plays. Wives of scholar-officials published their
works and courtesans wrote about their lives.
6.Who introduced hand printing technology in China? Or
7.Which was the oldest Japanese book printed?
Buddhist missionaries from China introduced hand-printing
technology into Japan around AD 768-770.
The oldest Japanese book,printed in AD 868, is the Buddhist
Diamond Sutra, containing six sheets of text and woodcut
illustrations.
8.What is Vellum?
A parchment made from the skin of animals
Luxury editions were still handwritten on very expensive
vellum,meant for aristocratic circles and rich monastic libraries
which scoffed at printed books as cheap vulgarities.
, Merchants and students in the university towns bought the cheaper
printed copies.
9.Who introduced print in Europe?
Marco Polo,a great explorer, returned to Italy after many years of
exploration in China.
China already had the technology of woodblock printing. Marco Polo
brought this knowledge back with him.
Now Italians began producing books with woodblocks, and soon the
technology spread to other parts of Europe.
10.How was the demand for books meant in Europe?
As the demand for books increased, booksellers all over Europe
began exporting books to many different countries.
Book fairs were held at different places.
Production of handwritten manuscripts was also organised in new
ways to meet the expanded demand.
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.
11.Explain:Jikji
The Jikji of Korea is among the world’s oldest existing books printed
with movable metal type.
It contains the essential features of Zen Buddhism. About 150
monks of India, China and Korea are mentioned in the book.
It was printed in late 14th century.
While the first volume of the book is unavailable, the second one is
available in the National Library of France.
This work marked an important technical change in the print
culture. That is why it was inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the
World Register in 2001.
12.Defects of manuscripts (or) Why did wood block printing
become more popular?
The production of handwritten manuscripts could not satisfy the
ever-increasing demand for books.
Copying was an expensive,laborious and time-consuming business.
Manuscripts were fragile,awkward to handle, and could not be
carried around or read easily.
Their circulation therefore remained limited. With the growing
demand for books, woodblock printing gradually became more and
more popular.
By the early fifteenth century, woodblocks were being widely used
in Europe to print textiles, playing cards, and religious pictures with
simple, brief texts.
3.What is caligraphy?What gave rise to accordian books?
The art of beautiful and stylised writing
As both sides of the thin, porous sheet could not be printed, the
traditional Chinese ‘accordion book’ was folded and stitched at the
side.Superbly skilled craftsmen could duplicate, with remarkable
accuracy,the beauty of calligraphy.
4.Who was the major producers of print?why?
The imperial state in China was, for a very long time, the major
producer of printed material. China possessed a huge bureaucratic
system which recruited its personnel through civil service
examinations.
Textbooks for this examination were printed in vast numbers under
the sponsorship of the imperial state.
From the sixteenth century, the number of examination candidates
went up and that increased the volume of print.
5.Discuss (or)How did print diversified in China (or)Explain By the
seventeenth century, as urban culture bloomed in China, the uses
of print diversified.
Print was no longer used just by scholarofficials.Merchants used
print in their everyday life, as they collected trade information.
Reading increasingly became a leisure activity.The new readership
preferred fictional narratives, poetry,autobiographies, anthologies of
literary masterpieces, and romantic plays.
Rich women began to read, and many women began publishing
their poetry and plays. Wives of scholar-officials published their
works and courtesans wrote about their lives.
6.Who introduced hand printing technology in China? Or
7.Which was the oldest Japanese book printed?
Buddhist missionaries from China introduced hand-printing
technology into Japan around AD 768-770.
The oldest Japanese book,printed in AD 868, is the Buddhist
Diamond Sutra, containing six sheets of text and woodcut
illustrations.
8.What is Vellum?
A parchment made from the skin of animals
Luxury editions were still handwritten on very expensive
vellum,meant for aristocratic circles and rich monastic libraries
which scoffed at printed books as cheap vulgarities.
, Merchants and students in the university towns bought the cheaper
printed copies.
9.Who introduced print in Europe?
Marco Polo,a great explorer, returned to Italy after many years of
exploration in China.
China already had the technology of woodblock printing. Marco Polo
brought this knowledge back with him.
Now Italians began producing books with woodblocks, and soon the
technology spread to other parts of Europe.
10.How was the demand for books meant in Europe?
As the demand for books increased, booksellers all over Europe
began exporting books to many different countries.
Book fairs were held at different places.
Production of handwritten manuscripts was also organised in new
ways to meet the expanded demand.
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.
11.Explain:Jikji
The Jikji of Korea is among the world’s oldest existing books printed
with movable metal type.
It contains the essential features of Zen Buddhism. About 150
monks of India, China and Korea are mentioned in the book.
It was printed in late 14th century.
While the first volume of the book is unavailable, the second one is
available in the National Library of France.
This work marked an important technical change in the print
culture. That is why it was inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the
World Register in 2001.
12.Defects of manuscripts (or) Why did wood block printing
become more popular?
The production of handwritten manuscripts could not satisfy the
ever-increasing demand for books.
Copying was an expensive,laborious and time-consuming business.
Manuscripts were fragile,awkward to handle, and could not be
carried around or read easily.
Their circulation therefore remained limited. With the growing
demand for books, woodblock printing gradually became more and
more popular.
By the early fifteenth century, woodblocks were being widely used
in Europe to print textiles, playing cards, and religious pictures with
simple, brief texts.
