Print culture and the Modern

World

PRINT IN CHINA AND JAPAN

Why Volume of print increase in China from 6th Century to 16th Century?

China had a large bureaucratic system which recruited through through civil
service exam

It increase the demand of Printed Textbooks in vast number for this exam. Which
was sponsored by the imperial state of China.

Therefore volume of print increase in China during 16th Century

By the 17th century urban culture boom in China which diversify the use of
printing

Merchant use print for Record of trade information

Rich women read and published poetry and play

Wives of scholar officials published their works

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 Courtesans wrote about their lives

How does hand printing technology introduce in Japan

Buddhist missionaries from China introduced hand printing technology into

Japan around 7th Century AD

The oldest Printed Japanese book was Buddhist Diamond Sutra

Printing of Virtual material (like Photos, Art) leads to interesting publishing

practice in Japan

In EDO(Tokyo), illustration of paintings depicted urban culture

Libraries and Bookstores were packed with Printed materials where books on
Women, Musical Instrument, cooking and famous places, etc.

Kitagawa Utamaro, A artist, developed a Artform called Ukiyo (pictures of the

floating world) or
depiction of ordinary human experiences, especially urban one. These prints
travelled to US and Europe and influenced artists like Manet, Van Gogh.

❓ How Print came to Europe?

PRINT IN EUROPE
Chinese paper traveled through Silk route to reach Europe - Manuscript in
Europe

In 1295, Marco Polo the Great explorer brought the knowledge of woodblock
printing technology in Italy from China

Now Italians begin to produce printing books and soon the technology spread on
other other part of the Europe

Why manuscripts were not widely used in everyday life? Give 3 Reasons

Manuscript were highly Expensive

creating Manuscript is time consuming Business

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 They could not be carried around and read easily

After Woodblock printing came to Europe,

The Demand for Printed books was very high, So High
that even Woodblock printing became slow

"Necessity is the Mother of Invention"

- Quotation

Then comes Johann Guttenburg :elmofire:

He develops Mechanical Printing press, Then starts a Printing Revolution

How did Gutenberg get the idea of printing press? What was his first printed
book?

Guttenburg was son of a Rich Merchant

From his childhood, he had seen Wine and Olive press

he learnt the art of polishing stones, became a master goldsmith, and also
acquired the expertise to create lead moulds used for making jewelries (trinkets)

Inspired by olive press, he developed the model printing press

Moulds were used for casting the metal types letter of the alphabet

In 1448, The first book he printed was the BIBLE

(It was so famous, He thought of a Sequel, But...)

180 copied were printed and it took 3 years

(180/3 = 60 per year; 60/12 = 5 per month)

New technology did not entirely displease exiting art

Printing books closely resembled with the Written Manuscript

Borders of the letter were illustrated by Hands

Books printed for rich get space for decoration, they could draw anything
(anything means anything 😏 )

Print Revolution and it's Impact

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 It started when people started making books with Guttenburg Printing Press and
left the Woodblock Printing Methods

Now, People's life became happy and easy, They thought they could print in
Large Scale using
Guttenburg Press, Woodblock Printing was slow since it was using Hands, Since
Guttenburg model is a Machine Press, It will happen quickly

Impact of Print Revolution

A New Reading Public:

Earlier reading was only restricted to elite class, common people lived in the
world of oral culture

But with the printing press, Multiple copies could be reproduced and in
reduced cost of printing

Now there was a transition of hearing public to the reading public

However due to the low literacy rate of Europe, the transition from hearing
public to reading public was not simple and not that quick

Therefore printers began publishing popular ballads and folk tales so that it
reaches to the
public who do not read can enjoy listening to the book by being read out

The Protestant Revolution:

In 1517, the religious reformer Martin Luther wrote 95 theses (He wrote
about what is happening in the name of Religion, How people were being
fooled
and all) to criticize the practice and the rituals of Roman Catholic Church

The printed copy of this was pasted on the church door in Wittenburg

He challenged the church to debate on his ideas

His writings were immediately reproduces in large number and read widely

This led to the division within the church and beginning of the protestant
reformation

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 ❓ Write Briefly why some people feared that the development of print
could lead to the growth of dissenting ideas

Print and dissenting Ideas:

Print and popular religious literature stimulate individual interpretation of faith

among little
educated working people

Menocchio, a miller in Italy, read books from his locality and re-interpreted
the message of the Bible

So he was came for Inquisition twice and ultimately executed by Roman

Catholic Church

Index of prohibited books was published in 1558 by Roman Catholic Church

(The books which are not going to be printed at all and the books which
should not be available books = prohibited books)

💡 Summary of Impact of Printing Revolution:

First: A New Reading Public was born, because of which people

developed many interests
Second: Protestant movement how Martin Luther who was a literate
person and opposed the practices of the Roman Catholic Church

Third: People started having Dissenting Ideas which were against the
religious thoughts and practices

❓ How did Print revolution lead to the development of reading Mania in

Europe

What is reading Mania? Which factors led to the reading Mania in the
17th and 18th centuries in Europe?

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 The Reading Mania

It means a sudden increase in the reading of books by the People due to

increasing literacy rate and printed books

The factors for Increase of reading public:

Literacy rate in Europe increase from 60% to 80% in 18th century

Churches open schools in villages for peasants and artisans

New form of popular literature is were printed with low prices

Almanacs (Ritual Calendars)

Penny chapbook (Pocket Size Book) - England

Bibliothèque bleue (Blue color book) - French

Reading of magazine newspaper and general is very popular in early

18th century

Ideas of scientist and philosophers now became more accessible to

common people

Such as people who were interested in Science were excited to read

about the Scientific Experiments done by Isaac Newton

🔍 Despotism - A System, in which the one individual has the power to

govern, which is not followed with a Constitution or a Set of Rules
(Basically Monarchy or Dictatorship)

Louise Sebastien Mercier

A Famous Novelist in France, He gave a quote about Despotism and How Print
benefitted Us, the world, Everyone 🔽
“The Printing Press is the most powerful engine of progress and
public opinion is the force that will sweep despotism away”

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 “Tremble, therefore, tyrants of the world! Tremble before the
virtual writer!”

❓ How did Print culture contribute in the French Revolution

Contribution of Print in French Revolution

Print became a medium to spread the ideas of the enlightenment philosophers,

thinkers like Rousseau and Voltaire criticized The Holy authority of church and
absolute power of the state. (Enlightenment means knowing what is good and
What is bad)

Print create a new culture of dialogue and debate which question the existing
ideas and beliefs

By 1780s, literate people mocked royalty and criticize their morality because
monarchy enjoy the pleasure while common people suffered from hardship

The 19th Century

Condition of Children:

Primary education became compulsory in European countries from the late

19th century.

A children’s press devoted to literature for children alone was set up in

French in 1857

Grimm brothers in Germany published their version of rural folk tales after
spending years with peasants

Condition of Women:

Women became important as readers as well as writers

When Novels began to be written in 19th century women were the target
audience / important readers

There are some well-known Novelist in Women - Jane Austen, Bronte sisters

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 Condition of Workers:

Lending libraries came into existence from 16th century onwards

Those had become a instrument for educating the Blue-collar workers,

artisans and lower middle-class people

They became self educated working-class who wrote political tracts and
autobiographies

❓ Explain five inventions in Print technology in Europe - 19th Century

Five Inventions in Print technology in Europe in 19th Century:

Cylindrical Press was developed by Richard M. Hoe for printing newspapers

which are capable of printing 800 sheets *per hour*

Offset Press - Which could print up to 6 color at a time

Electrically Operated Press - Increased the speed of the Printing Operations

A series of other developments followed:

Method of feeding paper improved

Quality of plates became better

Automatic paper reels and photoelectric controls of the color registered

were introduced

Printers and publishers are continually developed new strategies to sell their
product:

Serialized important novels

Dust cover or book jackets were introduced

Cheap paperback edition of book were published

INDIA AND THE WORLD OF PRINT

Manuscripts before the age of print

India has a old tradition of handwritten manuscripts in Sanskrit, Arabic and

Persian

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 Manuscripts were copied on palm leaves

Pages were beautiful Illustrated

They are preserved by wooden cover or sewn together

Manuscripts were continue to produce till after the introduction of print

Disadvantages of Manuscripts

Manuscript were highly expensive

creating Manuscript is time consuming Business

They could not carried around and read easily

Print came to India 🥳

The printing press first came to Goa with Portuguese missionaries in the mid-
sixteenth century

Series of books were published in different regional languages

50 books printed - Konkani and Kanara languages in 1674

First Tamil book in 1579

First Malayalam book was printed in 1713

Bengal Gazette was the first English weekly magazine published by James
Augustus Hickey from 1780

Later Gangadhar Bhattacharya started publishing Indian newspaper Bengal

Gazette weekly

“Commercial Paper open to all but influenced by None”

- James
Augustus Hickey

It describes the weekly magazine Bengal Gazette published by James Augustus

Hickey

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 It was The Slogan of First English Printing Press in India

Bengal Gazette was a Private Enterprise independent from Colonial Influence

It is Criticized the company officials and colonial Government

(James Augustus was Eliminated, Welp Yeah, from the world)

Religious reforms and Public Debates

People started to have different ideas about Religions and Beliefs

Some people wanted Change the beliefs and Practices which were harmful to
the society (They are called Reformers)

Some people were still believing the Old traditions and Superstitions (They are
called Orthodoxy)

Reformers VS Orthodoxy 🔔
Hindu:

Controversy between social and religious reformer and Hindu Orthodoxy

Raja Ram Mohan Roy published Newspaper Sambad Kaumudi from 1821

Hindu orthodoxy published newspaper Samachar Chandrika at a same time

Muslim:

Ulamas deeply feared About:

Collapse of Muslim Dynasties

Colonial rulers would encourage conversion

Change in Muslim Personal Law

So to counter this Ulamas used Lithographic press to publish Persian and

Urdu translation of holy scripture and printed religious newspapers

🔍 Ulama - Legal Scholars of Islam and the sharia (the body of Islamic Law)

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 ❓ What is Deoband seminary

Deoband Seminary:

It was founded in 1867

Publish Fatwas, telling Muslim readers how to conduct themselves in their

daily life

Explaining the meaning of Islamic doctrines

Hindu Religious Books:

Many Hindu Religious Books were also printed to spread about Hinduism

First printed edition of Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas (16th Century Text) came

out from Calcutta in 1810

Newspaper publications which were related with Hinduism

In 1880, Naval Kishore press at Lucknow

Shri Venkateshwar press in Bombay

New form of Publications

Many types of Publications, Books, Novels, Newspapers were being Printed and
Published

Novels were published in Indian Forms and Styles

List of other new literary form are:

Lyrics

Short stories

Essays about social and Political matter

❓ How by the end of 19th century, a new virtual culture was taking
shape

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 Virtual/Visual Culture

With the increasing the number of printing press virtual images could be easily
reproduce in multiple copies

Painters like Raja Ravi Varma produce images for mass circulation

Poor wood Engravers who made woodblocks set up shops near the letter
presses and employed by the print shop

Cheap prints and calendars were easily available in the Bazaar which could be
brought even by poor to decorate the wall of their homes

These prints began shaping popular ideas about modernity and tradition, religion
and politics, and society and culture

Women and The Print

In Past, Women were suppressed by many factors, not giving much equality with
Men, But Print changed everything, Their voice was heard by educated people
which changed their mind about how Women were being suppressed

A Girl in a conservative Muslim family of North India secretly learnt reading and
writing in Urdu

Rashsundari Deri married in Orthodox Family but she secretly learnt reading in
her kitchen and later wrote her autobiography - Amar Jiban

Amar Jiban - First full length autobiography published in Bengali Language and
also written by a Woman

Another Bengali woman Kailashbashini Debi - wrote books highlighting the

experiences of women, Like How women

were imprisoned in their in-laws house

ignored and forced to do domestic work

mistreated by their own family members

In Maharashtra, There were two women, Tarabai Shinde and Pandita Ramabai
wrote about miserable life of upper classed Hindu women especially Widows

Ram Chaddha published a book Istri Dharm Vichar to teach women how to be a
Obedient wife

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 Print and the Poor People

Very cheap small books came in market in 19th century

Public libraries were setup from the early twentieth century, expanding the
access to books

From the late 19th century, many writers raise the issue of caste discrimination

Jyothiba Phule wrote Gulamgiri - Injustice of the caste system

Kashibaba, a Kanpur Millworker, wrote and published Chhote Aur Bade ka Sawal
in 1938 to show the links between caste and class exploitation

The poems of another Kanpur millworker, who wrote under the name of
Sudarshan Chakr between 1935 and 1955, which were brought together and
published in a collection called Sacchi Kavitayan

Print and Censorship

Before 1798, colonial rule was not concerned about the censorship however
Englishman in India regularly criticize the company officials and make threat to
the trade monopoly in India

By 1820s, certain regulations were imposed to control the press freedom and
Increase the publication of News who supported the British rule / colonial rule

But after The revolt of 1857, the attitude towards the freedom of press charge

Vernacular Press Act:

It was passed in 1878

It provided the government with extensive rights to censor reports and

editorials in the vernacular press

Government regularly track the newspaper publications of different

Provinces

When a report was judged as seditious, the newspaper publications was

warned

If the warning was ignored, the press was liable to be seized

Despite of the restrictions, nationalist newspaper grew in number in all parts of

India

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 Bal Gangadhar Tilak wrote with great sympathy about Punjab revolutionaries in
1907 this led to his imprisonment in 1908

THE END

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