PRINT CULTURE AND THE MODERN WORLD

THE FIRST PRINTED BOOKS

Print in China
1. Print technology was developed in China, Japan and Korea first.
2. It was a system of hand printing. From end of 6th century, books were printed by rubbing paper
against the inked surface of wood blocks. Chinese books were folded and stitched at the sides
because the sheets were thin and porous. Both sides of the paper could not be printed. They are
called ‘Accordion Book’ .
3. For a very long time, China was the major producer of printed material. The Chinese
government recruited its personnel through civil services examinations. The government gave
the money for the large scale printing of textbooks for this examination. The number of
candidates for the examinations increased from the sixteenth century, and this increased the
volume of print.
4. The skilled workers who copied the books accurately are called calligraphists and this art of
copying was called calligraphy.
5. 17th century : Print diversified. Merchants used print in their everyday life. Reading became a
popular leisure activity. The people preferred stories, poetry, autobiographies and romantic plays.
Rich women, wives of scholar-officials, published their plays and poetry.
6. By the 19th century : China learnt new print technology from Western countries. Shangai city
became the new printing hub. Printing changed from hand printing to mechanical printing.

Print in Japan

1. Buddhist missionaries from China introduced hand printing technology in Japan around 768-AD.

2. The oldest printed book in Japan is a Buddhist book, the Diamond Sutra printed in AD 868.
It contained six sheets of text and woodcut pictures.
3. Pictures were printed on textiles, playing cards and paper money. Prose and poetry books were
cheap and printed in large numbers during the middle ages.
4. In the 18th century :
4a. Kitagawa Utamaro of Edo (Tokyo) published hand printed paintings showing ordinary
experiences of urban culture. His art form was called Ukiyo. From Japan, this art travelled to
Europe and USA. He inspired the Western artists Manet, Monet and Van Gogh who lived in his
time.
4b. Tsutaya Juzaburo hired artists to draw the objects of his choice. He used a woodblock carver to
carve in a woodblock and make copies. He then destroyed the original drawing and only the copies
were kept.
4c. In Tokyo (Edo), paintings on urban culture developed. Hundreds of books were published on
cooking, famous places, women, musical instruments, etc.

Print in Europe
1.a) Chinese paper reached Europe through the silk route. Manuscripts using paper were written by
scribes.
1.b) In 1295, Marco Polo, a great Italian explorer, brought the art of wood block printing from
China to Italy. From Italy it spread to other European countries. Merchants and students used
cheaper books that used wood block printing
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2. Handwritten expensive books were written on vellum. Vellum is a parchment made from the
skin of animals. The rich used only books printed on vellum. They did not like books printed on
paper.
3. Book fairs were held. Europe exported books to other countries.As the demand for books
increased, booksellers employed many scribes to copy books quickly.
But handwritten books had some disadvantages. They were expensive, time-consuming, easily
damaged , difficult to carry and they could not meet the increasing demand.
4. Books printed using woodblock did not have these disadvantages and so they became popular in
early 15th century.

Gutenberg and the Printing Press

Gutenberg was from Strasbourg in Germany. He was the son of a German merchant. Since his
childhood he had seen wine and olive presses. He was a goldsmith and also became an expert in
creating lead moulds. Such moulds were used for making trinkets.(small inexpensive pieces of
jewellery).

Gutenberg used this knowledge to bring changes to the print technology. He used the olive press
as the model for the printing press and used the moulds for casting the metal types for the letters.
Gutenberg perfected the system by 1448. The first book printed by him was the Bible. His press
could print 250 sheets on one side in one hour.
First printed Bible
1. Gutenberg printed 180 copies of the Bible. He took three years to print them. Only 50 copies
could be found.
2. Using his press he printed the text in black. But the borders were designed and painted on hand
by artists in beautiful colours.
3. Initially, the printed books were like the written manuscripts in appearance and layout.
4. Each copy was designed differently. Rich people did not like their bible to look like others.
5. The holy words were highlighted with different colours. Space would be left while printing for
colouring.
Sudden growth of Print
In the hundred years between 1450 and 1550, printing presses were set up in most parts of
Europe. 20 million books were printed in Europe in the late fifteenth century. In the sixteenth
century, this number went up to about 200 million copies.
PRINT REVOLUTION AND ITS IMPACT
1. The shift from hand printing to mechanical printing led to Print revolution. Print Revolution
changed the lives of the people; increased their information and knowledge; opened up new ways of
looking at things and changed their relationship with the authorities. ***

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Hearing public and Reading public
2. Earlier only rich and educated people read books. The common people only heard ballads (story
in poetry form) which were recited and folk tales which were narrated. They were given knowledge
orally. **
3. Since books flooded markets, hearing public started to become reading public.**
4. Publishers chose themes like popular ballads and folk tales that the common people would enjoy
listening to because the rate of literacy was low till the 20th century in most European countries.
Books were sung and recited in gatherings in villages and taverns(restaurants) in towns.
Fear of Print
5. People could express their ideas in print and spread them. Rebellious and irreligious thoughts
could be spread by new books. Earlier religious leaders, monarchs, nobles were able to control the
people because they could not read. **Now there was a fear of print because the rich and powerful
were worried that the common people will not obey if they became knowledgeable.**
6. Many writers, artists, and monarchs were worried that if anybody can print a book then it would
lead to loss of decent literature.
Religious reforms
8. **Martin Luther wrote Ninety Five Theses in 1517, criticising the Roman Catholic Church
for its many rituals.** He challenged the church to debate his ideas.It led to a division in
Christianity –Catholics and Protestants.
9. Luther translated the New Testament of Bible into German and 5,000 copies were sold in a few
weeks. He questioned the authority of the Pope of Roman Catholic Church. He asked to conduct
prayers in mother tongue German and not in Latin. Luther called Printing. “the ultimate gift of God
and the greatest one”.
10. Erasmus, a Catholic reformer, blamed the printers for filling the world with dirty, irreligious
books.
11. Menocchio, an Italian miller wrote the messages in the Bible in a different way. This angered
the Roman Catholic church because they thought that people who read that would question them.
The church finally executed him.
12. Catholic Church began to maintain a list of Prohibited Books from 1558.
Reading Mania
13. Literacy rate increased gradually in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries because the churches
set up schools in villages .
14. A New Reading Public came up due to low cost of books, quick printing, increasing literacy
rate.**
15. People wanted more books.
16. Ideas of scientists like Issac Newton and thinkers like Thomas Paine, Voltaire and Rousseau
reached the common- man through books. Ideas about science, reason and nation became
popular.**
17. a) Ancient scientific texts, maps and diagrams were printed.
17.b)Ballads, almanacs(ritual calendars), newspapers, magazines, journals were published.
18. They gave information about current affairs, prices of various commodities, new
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discoveries, and political functions.
19. **Booksellers sold books through hawkers, from village to village.**Chap books (cheap books
sold for a penny) were sold by hawkers. Those men were called chapmen in England.
20.Low-priced books called Biliotheque Bleue were sold in France. They were printed on poor
quality papers with cheap blue colour.
Reason for French revolution
21. By the mid-18th century books were believed to spreading awareness about individual rights
and logical reasoning. Scholars thought that books would free society from the tyranny and
despotism.
22. Mercier, a French novelist, said “The Printing press is the most powerful engine of progress and
public opinion is the force that will sweep despotism away”. In his novels, the heroes get
transformed by reading novels . So he said : ‘Tremble, therefore, tyrants of the world! Tremble
before the virtual writer!’
23. The books taught to question the authority of church and the despotic ruler. Debates were
published in Print.
24. The writings of Voltaire and Rousseau inspired the people to ask questions, criticize and think
logically.
25. The writings, cartoons of the time made the people to rise against monarchy and the powerful
nobles.
26. Many historians believe that it was the print culture that created conditions which led to the
French Revolution.**
Print in the 19th century
27. Richard M.Hoe made innovations in Print technology – (i) Power driven cylindrical press
produced 8000 sheets per hour, (ii) Offset press developed and printed up to six colours at a time
(iii) electrically-operated presses speedened printing.
28. New strategies in selling – (i) Novels were serialised so that public would buy the magazine
again and again. (ii) Popular works were printed in cheap series called the Shilling Series in
England.(iii) Attractive dust cover (book outer cover) were used. (iv). The Great Depression of the
1930s led to cheap paperback editions because people could not afford to buy books.
Impact of Print Revolution in Children, women and workers
29. Children, women and workers became new readers in 19th century.**
30. School textbooks for children had to be printed. Fairy tales for children, folk tales were
published by Children’s Press. Grimm brothers in Germany spent many years collecting folk tales
from farmers. They finally published it in 1812.
31a). Penny magazines were specially printed for women which taught proper behavior and
housekeeping.
31. b) Women not only became important readers but also writers. Some of the best known
novelists of the 19th century were women – Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, George Eliot. The
women in their books had self will, power to think and they were strong
32. Lending libraries in England became means of education for white-collar workers, artisans and
lower middle-class people.**

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INDIA AND THE WORLD OF PRINT
1. India has a very old tradition of handwritten manuscripts – in Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian as well as
vernacular languages. The manuscripts were made in palm script or handmade paper. Sometimes
they have beautiful pictures. They are either sewn together or pressed between wooden covers to
preserve them.
2. Problems of Handwritten books : (i) very expensive (ii) very fragile, (iii) had to be
handled carefully and (iv) script written in different styles – could not be read easily. Due to these
drawbacks even in village schools there were no text books. The teachers dictated from memory and
students noted them down and learnt the lessons.
3. Print came to India in the mid-16th century to Goa, brought by the Portuguese. About 50 books
were printed in Kanara and Konkani languages by Christian priests.
4. In 1579, Catholics printed first Tamil book at Cochin. In 1713, the first Malayalam book was
printed by them. Dutch Protestant missionaries printed 32 Tamil texts but many of them were
translations of the older books.
Newspaper and magazine come to India
5. First regular magazine in India was James Hickey’s Bengal Gazette, in English in the late 18th
century. He described the magazine as “open to all but influenced by none”. He published lot of
advertisements including slave trade. He published gossips about East India Company’s officials.
This angered Warren Hastings and he wanted Hickey to publish only the matter acceptable to
Company. Hastings also encouraged some newspapers which printed matter supporting the
Company.
6. First Indian Newspaper to appear was the weekly, Bengal Gazette by Gangadhar Bhattacharya
who was Raja Rammohun Roy’s friend.
Religious reforms and public debates
7. Early 19th century in India was the age of religious reforms and debates in print.
8. Traditional practices criticized widow remarriage, abolition of sati, monotheism(there is only one
god). Reformers criticized idolatry and Brahmanical priesthood. The arguments were printed in
ordinary language of the people.
9. Rammohun Roy published Sambad Kaumudi from 1821 supporting his ideas. Hindu Orthodoxy
published Samachar Chandrika to oppose his ideas.
10. Two Persian newspapers were published – Jam-i-Jahan Nama and Shamsul Akhbar.
11. Gujarati newspaper Bombay Samachar was published.
12. The Ulama(Muslim law makers) were afraid of the English changing the Muslim Personal
Laws. They printed about Muslim laws in Urdu and Persian languages.
13. Deoband Seminary, founded in 1867, published fatwas telling Muslims how to behave.
14. Hindus also encouraged printing of Hindu texts like Ramcharitmanas. It was written by
Tulsidas in the 16th century but it was first printed from Calcutta in 1810. The Naval Kishore press
and Shri Venkateshwar Press published many Hindu religious books.
15. The Print helped to connect people in different parts of India and bring the identity of “Being
Indian” among people.

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New forms of Publication
Initially, people had to read the novels written by European writers. But people could not relate to
those novels because they were written in the European background. Many writers began to write in
the Indian context. People could relate with the theme and characters of such novels in a better way.
Many other new forms of writing like lyrics, short stories, essays about social and political matters,
etc. were also printed. Many printing presses started to produce visual images in large numbers.
Works of painters like Raja Ravi Varma were produced for mass circulation through printing.
Even poor people could decorate their houses with cheap prints and calendars. Some cartoons
criticized Indians who liked western food, clothes etc.Cartoons in British magazines criticized
nationalists . On the other hand nationalist newspaper cartoons criticized British rule.
WOMEN AND PRINT
Women were affected by print culture. Literate fathers and brothers started educating
them. Schools for women were set up. Many journals explained why women should be educatd and
they also attached a suitable reading material for women to learn from home.
Hindus believed that an educated woman would be widowed soon.
Muslims believed she would be spoilt by reading Urdu love stories.
Some rebellious women refused to obey these restrictions. Examples:(i) A girl from conservative
Muslim family which wanted her to read only Arabic Quran learnt Urdu by herself. (ii) In the early
19th century, Rashsundari Debi, a young married Bengali girl learnt to read in the secrecy of her
kitchen. She later wrote her autobiography, Amar Jiban in 1876.
Women Writers from 1860 onwards :
(i) Kailashbashini Debi, a Bengali, wrote how women were imprisoned at home, refused
education, forced to do hard domestic work and were treated unjustly.
(ii) Tarabai Shinde and Pandita Ramabai of Maharashtra wrote in 1880s, about the sad state of
upper-caste Hindu women, specially widows, with great anger.
(iii) A Tamil novel expressed through a woman character about reading denied to
women.
(iv) Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossein, a noted educationist blamed men for denying education to
women.
(v). Many journals were written for women which discussed widow remarriage, women’s education,
household fashion etc.
(vi) Dharm Vichar published by Ram Chaddha and Khalsa tract society taught women to be
obedient wives.
(vii) Battala region of Kolkatta printed all sorts of books. Peddlers sold those books to housewives.

Print and Poor People : Poor people could now buy cheap small books sold at crossroads.
Public libraries were set up in early 20th century. Millworkers of Bangalore cotton mills set up
libraries to educate themselves.
Caste and Print

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Jyotiba Phule, a Maratha reformer, wrote about the low-castes. His Gulamgiri highlighted the
injustices of caste system.
In the 20th century, Dr B.R. Ambedkar of Maharashtra and E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker in
Madras (known as Periyar) wrote against the caste system.
Workers like Kashibaba wrote and published Chhote Aur Bade Ka Sawal in 1938. It was about
caste and class differences. Another worker Sudharsan Chakr published his poems as “Sacchi
Kavitayan”

PRINT AND CENSORSHIP

1. Before 19th century, colonial rulers (East India Company) did not impose censorship.
2. The Calcutta Supreme Court passed regulations to control freedom of press. Governor General
Bentinck agreed to change the laws. Thomas Macaulay wrote new laws which gave back the
freedom of press.
3. The Revolt of 1857 changed the attitude of the British. Englishmen wanted to control the Indian
Press.
4. In 1878, Vernacular Press Act was passed based on Irish Press Act.
5. It gave the government huge rights to censor reports and editorials in vernacular
newspapers. When a report was judged as seditious(against the government), the newspaper was
warned, and if the warning was ignored, the press was seized and the printing machinery were
confiscated.
6. In anger many more militants protested and many more nationalist newspapers were published.
7. Punjab revolutionaries were deported (sent away from that place)in 1907. Bal Gangadhar Tilak
wrote against the deportation in his newspaper Kesari and so he was imprisoned in 1908 .
8.Gandhiji condemned the Vernacular Press Act. He saw freedom of press as a powerful tool for
expressing public opinion.