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Bookmaking and Literature
Bookmaking and Literature
In the 8th century, Muslims learned the art of making paper from the Chinese and soon were creating bound books of their own. Bookmaking, in turn, encouraged the growth of Muslim literature.
Books became a big business in the Muslim world. In Baghdad, more than 100 bookshops lined Papersellers' Street. In addition to copies of the Qur'an, booksellers there sold many volumes of poetry and prose.
Arabs had a rich heritage of storytelling and poetry. Arab poetry often honored love, praised rulers, or celebrated wit. They often wrote epic poems, or long poems that tell a story. Prose eventually replaced poetry for recording history, special events, and traditions. Writers also composed stories in prose.
One famous collection of stories is called A Thousand and One Nights. Also known as Arabian Nights, this book gathered stories that originally came from many places, including India and Persia, as well as elsewhere in the Middle East. In the book, a wife tells her husband a new tale each night.
The stories take place in Muslim cities and in places such as China, Egypt, and India. Later, a European translator added tales that were not part of the medieval Arabic collection.
Among these added tales are those about Aladdin's magic lamp, Ali Baba, and Sinbad the Sailor, which remain well-known today.
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