Chapter 126: Hand Copying, Woodblock Printing, and Moveable Type…

“Moveable type?”

Upon hearing this, the Eunuch-in-charge responded bitterly, “Your Majesty, that moveable type method isn’t very practical.”

Zhu Yunwen looked at the Eunuch-in-charge with confusion.

Moveable type printing is famous around the world, and you’re telling me it’s not practical?

The eunuch-in-charge explained earnestly, “Your Majesty, let’s take clay moveable type for example. The strokes are blunt, rigid, uneven in thickness, irregular in shape, and lacking in aesthetic appeal. Furthermore, the ink application is uneven, the edges are not smooth, and it often results in broken or missing strokes. After printing, it appears intermittently, blurry, and unclear, which is not suitable for reading.”

Zhu Yunwen furrowed his brow slightly.

“Furthermore, as for wooden moveable type, while it is convenient and cost-effective in terms of materials, the wood grain is uneven, and the carving process is difficult. Wooden type is prone to warping and distortion when exposed to water and tends to stick together with ink, making it challenging to separate. In comparison, woodblock printing is the most suitable option.”

The Eunuch-in-charge’s explanation left Zhu Yunwen deep in thought.

The Four Books and Five Classics, the Four Great Novels, the Four Great Scholars, the Four Great Beauties… um, these are all defined by the Chinese.

The “Four Great Inventions of Ancient China” are concepts introduced by Western scholars, primarily by British sinologist Joseph Needham.

For modern people, the “Four Great Inventions” are well-known: papermaking, the compass, gunpowder, and printing. When it comes to printing, the name of Bi Sheng, the inventor of moveable type printing, often comes to mind as the pioneer of printing technique.

However, within the category of printing among the “Four Great Inventions,” there are two methods: woodblock printing and moveable type printing.

What may surprise many is that moveable type printing, celebrated and praised by future generations, never dominated the historical landscape. It remained a minor player.

Unbelievable?

Well, that’s the historical truth.

In the Song Dynasty, although Bi Sheng invented the movable type printing technique using fired clay characters, it was still not widely used.

During the Yuan Dynasty, Wang Zhen addressed the issues related to wooden movable type, laying the foundation for practical woodblock movable type printing.

However, whether during the Yuan Dynasty or the early Ming Dynasty, movable type printing remained a negligible supporting role. For the Printing Office, the primary printing method was still woodblock printing.

In fact, in the methods of ancient book transmission, woodblock printing and movable type printing could only be considered as second or third options.

The real mainstream method was handwritten manuscripts.

But, handwriting cannot be considered an invention. Despite being the dominant method, it often gets overlooked.

However, handwriting couldn’t be considered an invention either. Despite being the most prevalent method, it’s often overlooked.

If you were to visit the study of a government official in the early Ming Dynasty, and there were a thousand books, tallying them up:

This one is a handwritten manuscript, oh, another handwritten manuscript…

After calculating it. There are 600 handwritten manuscripts.

For woodblock-printed books, there are 380 volumes, which is not bad.

As for books printed using moveable type, there are only 20 volumes.

If we calculate the proportions, books printed using moveable type make up only 2% of the total. Well, among them, there might be a few family genealogies…

Ancient people enjoyed copying books. It allowed them to improve their calligraphy, acquire knowledge, and, most importantly, save money, didn’t it?

Of course, there were exceptions where copying books wasn’t cost-effective, such as the Ming Dynasty’s “Yongle Encyclopedia.”

The “Yongle Encyclopedia” consisted of 22,937 volumes and 11,095 works. It required over 21,600 officials, scholars, and erudites to compile.

It’s arguably the largest handwritten book in the world, with around 370 million characters, all meticulously written by hand.

Zhu Yunwen established the China Bookstore to make money directly. If he chose the handwritten method, how long would it take to make a profit?

Moveable type printing is cost-effective and convenient, so it should be used, right?

Well, cost-effectiveness is just an illusion that hides behind small-scale printing. When it comes to large-scale printing, moveable type printing may not be cost-effective.

Looking at the process, moveable type printing requires typesetting and proofreading each time, and after printing, the type needs to be sorted back into place. It may seem simple, with no apparent costs, but typesetting and proofreading require literate individuals.

When everyone could read, who wouldn’t want to pass the imperial examination? Would they come to work in the bookshops?

Even if one doesn’t pass the imperial examination, there are still academies and private schools. Scholars have their pride; they would rather not become common craftmans.

The issue is merely in the recruitment.

Once they are recruited, the wages cannot be too low, or else they will go on strike…

But woodblock printing is different.

Woodblock artisans don’t need to know how to read; they only need to carve.

Furthermore, a single woodblock can be used for a very long time, up to more than thirty thousand times. After printing, a quick wash and drying, and it can be used again next time, without the need for typesetting or a second proofreading.

One-time payment, guaranteed for life.

In history, there even appeared ‘Three Dynasties Handing Down the Same Block,’ a woodblock that continued from the Song to the Yuan, and then into the Ming, used for several hundred years. Of course, after many uses, the printing effect is hard to determine.

In this way, when you compare, you will discover that, although woodblock printing is time-consuming and labor-intensive, whether from the overall cost, efficiency, or product quality, it is clearly superior to movable type printing.

This is also the reason why woodblock printing thrived during the Ming and Qing periods.

Even though copper movable type appeared in the mid-Ming dynasty, it was expensive and had limited scope, unable to play a larger role.

Zhu Yunwen took the woodblock handed to him by the eunuch-in-charge, gently caressed it, and asked, “What wood is this?”

“Report to Your Majesty, this is birchleaf pear wood; some woodblocks are made from jujube wood.”

“Take me to the woodblock printing room.”

Zhu Yunwen ordered.

The eunuch-in-charge did not dare to delay and led the way.

The woodblock printing area was next to a pond in the backyard, and Zhu Yunwen saw many logs pressed in the pond. He couldn’t help but stop and ask, “What are these logs used for?”

“Your Majesty, these are birchleaf pear wood, pearwood, and jujube wood. After selecting good wood, it needs to be soaked in water for half a year, then lifted out to air-dry before making printing blocks. The blocks are then planed and polished by craftsmen before they can be used for printing.”

The eunuch-in-charge, who knew everything about printing, explained more to Zhu Yunwen when he saw his interest.

Zhu Yunwen’s expression turned serious, and he said in a deep voice, “Many people read books, but they only see the characters. Who would have thought that behind each character, there is a complex process? These craftsmen have made contributions and should be rewarded.”

“On behalf of the craftsmen, thank you, Your Majesty.”

The eunuch-in-charge’s face lit up, and he quickly bowed.

“Get up and show me how the printing is done.”

Zhu Yunwen was completely unfamiliar with printing techniques. In the modern world, with inkjet printers and digital scanning, there were only a few who had personally witnessed ancient printing techniques, and they could only imagine based on seals and ink. It was quite superficial.

Many craftsmen were busy, and they didn’t have the opportunity to see Zhu Yunwen. Moreover, he was in plain clothes, so when the craftsmen glanced at him, they remained silent.

The eunuch-in-charge also understood that some processes could not be interrupted, and they operated like this on a daily basis. However, today the Emperor came in person, and these people didn’t bow. In case it offended the Emperor…

“Why aren’t you hurrying…”

The eunuch-in-charge had just spoken, but he was interrupted by Zhu Yunwen’s raised hand.

Zhu Yunwen looked at the craftsmen brushing paste onto a wooden block to the side and asked, “What are you doing?”

The craftsmen only calmly glanced at Zhu Yunwen, then turned his head and said casually, “Brushing paste.”

“Uh?”

Zhu Yunwen was at a loss. This person… so aloof.

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