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Precursor Technologies of Song Movable Type

Type Object Region China Time c. 1040

Building on mature woodblock printing, the Song saw pioneering movable-type techniques centered on clay and wooden type;…

Timeline

  1. c. 1040–1060Northern Song Hubei · HubeiBi Sheng carved characters in clay, hardened them by fire, and set them for printing, pioneering reusable movable-type composition and breaking the one-block-one-book limit of woodblock printing.
  2. c. 1127–1220Southern Song Lin'an · HangzhouAfter the Southern Song moved the capital to Lin'an, woodblock remained dominant, but workshops and craftsmen continued experimenting with wooden and clay movable type to meet demand for classics and imperial-examination books.
  3. 1221–1230Southern Song Jiangnan printing centers · JiangnanThough movable type did not replace woodblock, craft details were preserved through artisan transmission and written records, providing precedent for Wang Zhen's Nong Shu in the Yuan and later metal type.

Sources