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Chinese Clay Movable Type Printing

Type Object Region China Time c. 1041

Movable type printing invented by Bi Sheng in the Qingli era of the Northern Song, using clay-carved characters hardened by fire for typesetting.

Timeline

  1. c. 1041–1050Northern Song printing workshop · ChinaBi Sheng carved characters in glue clay and hardened them by fire to make individual types, using pine resin, wax, and paper ash as adhesive for typesetting and printing, enabling types to be disassembled and reused, breaking the one-block-one-book limit of woodblock printing.
  2. c. 1088–1500Jiangnan and northern Chinese printing centers · ChinaShen Kuo systematically described the clay movable type process in Dream Pool Essays, advancing later understanding of movable type printing; in the Yuan and Ming, wooden and metal movable types gradually replaced clay types as the mainstream.

Sources