when was movable type printing invented in china
Movable type The world's first movable type printing press technology for printing paper books was made of porcelain materials and was invented around AD 1040 in China during the Northern Song Dynasty by the inventor Bi Sheng (990–1051).[1] Subsequently in 1377, the world's oldest extant movable metal print book, Jikji, was printed in Korea during the Goryeo dynasty. Because of this, the diffusion of both movable-type systems was, to some degree, limited to primarily East Asia, although various sporadic reports of movable type technology were brought back to Europe by Christian missionaries, traders and business people who were returning to Europe after having worked in China for several years and influenced the development of printing technology in Europe. Some of these medieval European accounts are still preserved in the library archives of the Vatican and Oxford University among many others.[2] Around 1450, Johannes Gutenberg introduced the metal movable-type printing press in Europe, along with innovations in casting the type based on a matrix and hand mould. The small number of alphabetic characters needed for European languages was an important factor.[3] Gutenberg was the first to create his type pieces from an alloy of lead, tin, and antimony—and these materials remained standard for 550 years.[4]
Alonso Álvarez de Pineda
Buddhism in Southeast Asia
Printing press Johannes Gutenberg, a goldsmith by profession, developed, circa 1439, a printing system by adapting existing technologies to printing purposes, as well as making inventions of his own. Printing in East Asia had been prevalent since the Tang dynasty,[3][4] and in Europe, woodblock printing based on existing screw presses was common by the 14th century. Gutenberg's most important innovation was the development of hand-molded metal printing matrices, thus producing a movable type based printing press system. His newly devised hand mould made possible the precise and rapid creation of metal movable type in large quantities. Movable type had been hitherto unknown in Europe. In Europe, the two inventions, the hand mould and the printing press, together drastically reduced the cost of printing books and other documents, particularly in short print runs.