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The Beginning of Printing in Korea
The Beginning of Printing in Korea
Needham, J. & Tsuen-hsuin, T. (1985). [Preparation of block for printing]. Science and Civilisation in China Volume V Chemistry and Chemical Technology Part I: Paper and Printing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 329
Korea was the first country that learnt from Chinese culture and even accelerated the cultural exchange between Japan and China. The development of printing in Korea was owing to the spread of Buddhism. In the 10th century, some printed copies of Tripitaka (大藏經) were sent from China to Korea. Korean printed the Tripitaka Koreana (高麗大藏經) by referring to Tripitaka. There was another supplemental version that was written by Korean, Kitan and Chinese authors. It consisted of 4000 chapters and was printed by the monk Gitan in 1101. After the first version of Tripitaka was destroyed during the Mongols invasion in 1232, a new version that included 6791 chapters was printed from 1237 to 1251. This version was named Eighty Thousand Tripitaka because it consisted of 81258 blocks of magnolia wood and was carved on both sides.
Besides the Buddhist printing works, the other printing works came later. In 1042, three Chinese historical works were printed by the imperial court. The rising tide of scholarship at that time boosted the development of printing in Korea. They bought books and even the engraved blocks for printing from China. However, some Chinese officials objected to exporting Chinese books to Korea for reasons of national security. It encouraged the self-sufficient supply of books like Confucian classics and medical works. In the 12th century, printing started to be developed rapidly in Korea. A printing office had been set up in the National Academy in 1011 to take over the woodblocks from the imperial court. At this point, the development of printing was still mainly related to the spread of Buddhism. After the overthrow of the Koryo dynasty, the Yi dynasty was established. It brought social reforms and promoted Confucianism rather than Buddhism. The civil examination had been adopted and created Han-gul, an alphabetic script. Thus, the demand for books was increased and promoted the use of metal type printing.
The Beginning of Printing in Japan
The Beginning of Printing in Japan
Needham, J. & Tsuen-hsuin, T. (1985). [Ise Monogatari a Japanese classic written in kama accompanied with illustration]. Science and Civilisation in China Volume V Chemistry and Chemical Technology Part I: Paper and Printing. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press. pp. 341
In the past, Japan had a close relation with China. In 630 to 834, 15 official missions including monks and students had been sent to China to study. It encouraged the spread of culture and religion to Japan, including printing. In 983, the Sung Emperor Thai-Tsung (宋太宗) gifted a Chinese imperial edition of the Tripitaka to a Japanese monk Chonen. Moreover, making enormous copies of a sutra is regarded as a pious work in the Buddhist custom. It is often regarded as a way to commemorate the dead. As those copies were not made to be read, the quality was not the primary priority. Thus, printing was the most efficient way to make many copies at that time. Printing was started to develop in Japan due to these two stimuli.
During the Kamakura period, the introduction of Buddhism and Neo-Confucianism from China to Japan was influential. In the 13th to 16th centuries, Japanese printing was centered in the temples in Kyoto and Kamaura, known as the Gozanji. All the materials published by these temples were called Gozamban. Gozamban demonstrated the new development of Japanese printing. First, Song calligraphic types were used on printed materials instead of handwriting types. Second, secular works like the reprints of Chinese books were published for the first time in Japan. For example, the poetry of Han-Shan in 1325, the Analects of Confucius in 1364. It contributed to the study of Chinese culture in Japan. Third, the Japanese script (kana) was used in printed material for the first time in the 14th century. It emerged for the first time in 1321 and was used from 1387 to 1589 in calendars.
In the late 14th century, many Chinese block carvers migrated to Japan to stay away from the unstable conditions of Yuan China. The arrival of Chinese block carvers helped to improve the quality of printing and increased the quantity of printed work significantly. Until the end of the 16th century, Printing was dominated by the Buddhist temples in Japan. The situation was changed from 1592 to 1595. The Japanese warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豐臣秀吉) tried to conquer Korea but failed. He brought back loot from the battles, the equipment for movable-type printing was among them. Movable-type printing became popular among the court, individuals and temples in about 1965. One of the well-known examples was the Ise Monogatari (伊勢物語), a famous classical work of Japanese literature. This is the first time that such kind of work has emerged in Japan. Moreover, an important technical innovation was made. The linked type which consisted of kana symbols had been developed at that time.
During the Edo period (1603-1867), the Japanese economy was prospered. More books were printed to satisfy the demands of townspeople, illustrated stories and novels were especially popular. The Japanese printing industry became the domain of commercial establishments in large cities like Tokyo and Osaka. Tokyo replaced Kyoto as the major printing centre. However, Chinese classical books and Buddhist works were still important printed works in this period. The Japanese government promoted Neo-Confucianism and a lot of Chinese books were printed as the teaching materials in schools. In the 17th century, several temples participated in large scale printings of the Buddhist Tripitaka with the support of the Shogunate. One of the examples is the Daizokyo (大藏經) in 6323 chuan(卷), it was printed with wooden movable type by the monk of the Kan’ei Temple (寬永寺) from 1637 to 1648. Another set of Tripitaka was printed from 1669 to 1681 with 60000 cherry woodblocks by Tetsugen, a disciple of Chinese priest Yin-Tuan. The entire set of blocks is kept properly today.
The Development of Printing in Vietnam
The Development of Printing in Vietnam
Needham, J. & Tsuen-hsuin, T. (1985). [Vietnamese nom writing mixed with Chinese characters for the dramatic text of The Marvellous Union of Gold and Jade]. Science and Civilisation in China Volume V Chemistry and Chemical Technology Part I: Paper and Printing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 352
Due to the geographical position and its political ties with China, Vietnam is influenced by China in different aspects. Vietnam adopted the Chinese pattern of life, thought, Chinese bureaucratic, family systems and even learned Confucianism and Buddhism from China. Printing was introduced to Vietnam early, it probably emerged in Vietnam by the 13th century. During the Le dynasty (1418-1789), Vietnam followed Chinese institutions closely. The first printed work was the Confucian Classics. For example, the Four Books (四書大全) was printed in 1467 and the blocks of the Five Classics (五經) were carved as well. In the second half of the 15th century, printing became popular in Vietnam. Enormous Confucian Classics, histories, dictionaries and poetry collections were printed for the civil service examination. The Vietnamese government even built a special house as the storage of the tremendous number of printed works at the Confucian temple.
Besides the official publication of printed works, there were private printing in Vietnam as well. The majority of private printings were similar to the official one, including Confucian Classics, histories which were printed for civil service examination. Moreover, fiction, medical works, literary collections and genealogies were printed. The Chinese fictions of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms were especially popular at that time.
There were three types of printed works in Vietnam. The first type is printed entirely in Chinese. The second is printed in Vietnamese characters or nom (喃). Lastly, the version that had Chinese texts with no annotation to facilitate the pronunciation. The majority of the Vietnamese version of Chinese works were Buddhist and Taoist books. The Confucian classics, histories, medical books took a smaller portion or Vietnamese printed works. Most of the Vietnamese works were printed from wooden blocks, some of them were printed with movable type.
Reference:Needham, J. & Tsuen-hsuin, T. (1985). Science and Civilisation in China Volume 5 Chemistry and Chemical Technology Part I:Paper and Printing (pp. 319-352). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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