print culture and the modern world

ancient print in china

the earliest kind of print technology was developed in china

from AD 594, books in china were printed by rubbing paper against the inked surface of wood blocks

the traditional chinese book was folded and stiched at the side. both sides of the thin, porous sheet could not be printed. the skilled craftsmen could copy calligraphy with remarkable accuracy

for a long time, the imperial state in china was the major producer of printed material. they recruited personnel through civil service examinations, for which a vast number of text books were printed

changes in the print in china

the new readership preferred fiction, poetry, biographies, romantic plays etc.

rich women began to read and many women began to publish their poetry and plays. wives of scholars published their writings

western printing techniques and mechanical presses were imported to china

shanghai became the hub of new print culture

from hand printing, there was now a gradual shift to mechanical painting

print in japan

buddhist missionaries from china introduced hand-printing technology into japan

the oldest japanese book is the buddhist diamond sutra printed in 868

pictures were printed on textiles, playing cards and paper money

in medieval japan, poets’ works were regularly published and books were cheap and abundant. printing of visual material was popular

libraries were packed with various types of books on diverse topics

kitagawa utamaro

he was a japanese artist born in edo, japan, and was famous for his contributions to an art form called ukiyo

his works influenced artists like van gogh

in his printing method, the original painting would be destroyed and only the prints would survive

how print came to europe

in 1295, marco polo returned to italy and brought the technology of wood block printing from china after his ventures in the silk route

italians began producing books with woodblocks, although luxury editions were still handwriting on very expensive parchment

as the demand for books increased, woodblock printing got more popular

by the early 15th century, woodblocks were used all across europe to print textiles, playing cards and religious pictures

gutenberg and the printing press

gutenburg was the son of a german merchant. he developed the printing press in the 1430s

in the model for his printing press, moulds were used for casting the metal types for the letters of the alphabet

the first book he printed was the bible

this printing press spread to many parts of europe. the shift from hand printing to mechanical printing led to a print revolution. books could now be printed much faster than before

the print revolution and its impact

the print revolution arose after the shift to mechanical printing. it transformed the lives of people by changing their knowledge

= a new reading public: with the printing press, the cost of books reduced and more people could afford them. the rates of literacy were low in europe so printers began publishing ballads and folktales which were recited at gatherings in villages and taverns

= religious reforms: it was feared that if there was no control over what was printed and read, rebellious ideas would be spread. in 1517, martin luther wrote ‘ninety five theses’ criticising many practices of the roman catholic church. it lead to the beginning of protestant reformation. additionally, menocchio reinterpreted the message of the bible but it made the church angry and got him executed

the reading mania

in the 17th and 18th century, the literacyrates in europe rose. churches set up schools in villages, carrying literacy. by the end of the 18th century, people wanted to read books and printers produced more books

new forms of literature like almanacs or ritual calendars were introduced. in england, penny chapbooks were sold for a penny. in france, biliotheque bleues were cheap books printed on cheap paper. the discoveries of isaac newton and writings of thinkers were printed and read

a lot of people believed that books could change the world and liberate it from despotism. louise-sebastian mercier, a novelist, declared that the printing press is the most powerful engine of progress and public opinion

print popularised the idea of french revolution

children, women and workers in european print

as primary education became compulsory in late 19th century, children became an important category of readers. the grimm brothers in germany compiled folktales for children to read. a childrens press was also set up in france which published fairy tales and folk tales

women became important readers as well as writers. penny magazines were made for women, as they were full of essays about proper behaviour and housekeeping. some of the best known female writers included jane austen, george eliot and the bronte sisters

lending libraries in england helped educating white-collar workers and lower middle class people

after working hours were shortened in the 19th century, workers had time for self-improvement and wrote a large number of books

further innovations in printing

by the mid-19th century, richard m hoe of new york made a power-driven cylindrical press which could print 8000 pages per hour

in the late 19th century, the offset press was developed which could print 6 colors at a time

in 20th century, electrically operated presses were invented, methods of feeding paper improved, quality of paper became better

strategies to sell books

periodicals with serialised novels

cheap/ shilling series

cheap paperback editions

manuscripts before the age of print in india

india had a very rich and ancient tradition of handwritten manuscripts in sanskrit, arabic, persian and other vernacular languages

these manuscripts were made on palm leaves or handmade paper

they were very expensive and got damaged easily. thus they were not used in everyday life

how print came to india

the first printing press came to goa with the portuguese missionaries in the mid 16th century. priests learnt konkani and printed several books. catholic priests printed the first tamil book in cochin and the first malayalam book sometime later. by 1710, the dutch protestants had printed 32 tamil books

contribution of james augustus hickey

the english east india company imported presses from the late 17th century in india. from 1780, a weekly english magazine was edited by james augustus hickey. he published a lot of gossip about the company’s senior officials, so the governor general warren hastings prosecuted him

by the end of the 18th century, many local newspapers began to publish. the first was the weekly bengali paper ‘bengal gazette’ by gangadhar bhattacharya (who was close with raja rammohun roy)

religious reforms and public debates in india

from the early 19th century, the religious debates were carried out in print

there were intense controversies about hindu orthodox people over widow persecution, monotheism, priesthood and idol worship. raja rammohun roy published the sambad kaumudi in 1821 and the hindu orthodox commissioned ‘samachar chandrika’ to oppose his views

in north india, the ulama were concerned about the collapse of muslim dynasties. they feared that colonial rulers would encourage conversion. thus, they published persian and urdu scriptures in religious newspapers

in north indim the deoband seminary was founded which published thousands of fatwas telling the muslims how to live their lives

women in print in india

liberal husbands and fathers began educating their women folk at home and sent them to school. women schools were set up in cities and towns. many journals carried writing of women and explained why they should be educated

rashsundari debi: east bengali, a young married girl in a very orthodox family, learnt to read secretly in her kitchen. she wrote her autobiography ‘amar jiban’

kailashbashini debi: bengali, began highlighting the experiences of women and how they were imprisoned at home, forced to do hard domestic work

tarabai shinde and pandita ramabai: maharashtrians, wrote about the miserable lives of upper case widowed women

begum rokeya sakhawat hussain: disapproved men for withholding education from women in the name of religion

print and casteism

from the late 19th century, issues about caste discrimination began to be written

to social reformers like jyotiba phule wrote about injustices of the caste system in his book ‘gulamgiri’

BR ambedkar and EV ramaswamy naicker wrote about casteism which were read all over india

kashibaba, a kanpur millworker, wrote and published ‘chhote aur bade ka sawal’ which suggested links between caste and class exploitation

sudarshan chakr, another kanpur millworker, wrote and published poems called ‘sacchi kavitayan’

by the 1930s, bangalore cotton mill workers set up libraries to educate themselves. they were sponsored by social reformers

vernacular press act

after the revolt in 1857, the attitude to freedom of the press changed. as vernacular newspapers became nationalist, the colonial government began debating measures of strict control

in 1878, the vernacular press act was passed which provided the government the rights to censor vernacular press

despite these measures, nationalist newspapers grew in all parts of india

balgangadhar tilak wrote about the punjab revolutionaries who were deported in his newspaper ‘kesari’

censorship in print

the calcutta supreme court passed regulations to control press freedom

in 1835, governor-general bentinck faced urgent petitions by editors of english papers. he agreed to revise press laws

thomas macaulay, a liberal colonial officer, formulated new rules that restored earlier freedoms