Who invented movable type printing? When did it first appear?

Movable type printing was first invented by Bi Sheng in China and first appeared in the Northern Song Dynasty.

Bi Sheng, an inventor in the Northern Song Dynasty, invented movable type printing and improved block printing. He summed up the rich practical experience of block printing in past dynasties. After repeated experiments, he made clay movable type in Song Renzong in the Qing Dynasty (A.D. 104 1- 1048) and made typesetting and printing, thus completing a major revolution in the history of printing.

Bi Sheng's method is as follows: make a blank with the same specification from clay, engrave the reverse character at one end, the height of the character is as high as the thickness of the copper coin edge, and then harden it with fire to become a single clay movable type.

Printing, as one of the "four great inventions" in ancient China, had a great influence on the progress of world civilization and the development of human culture. The invention of movable type printing is a great technological revolution in the history of printing. It is a printing method, which replaces the traditional copied or non-reusable printing plate with movable metal or mud.

Extended data:

Advantages of movable type printing

Block printing can print hundreds or even thousands of copies, which has played a great role in the spread of culture. However, engraving is time-consuming and laborious, and large volumes often take several years, and the storage of plates takes up a lot of space, and it is often damaged by deformation, moth-eaten and corrosion.

Small quantities of books that don't need to be reprinted become waste. In addition, typos found in lettering are very difficult to correct, and it is often necessary to re-engrave the whole lettering.

Movable type plate making just avoids the shortage of engraving. As long as enough single movable type is prepared in advance, you can make up at any time, which greatly speeds up the plate making time. After printing, movable type can be disassembled and reused. Moreover, movable type occupies less space than lettering and is easy to store and keep.

In this way, the superiority of movable type is revealed. The idea of printing with movable type has a long history. Bi Sheng invented movable type printing, which improved the printing efficiency.

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