Chinese Woodblock Printing
Who would’ve thought that it was possible to print out text using wood and ink? Well that’s exactly what happened decades ago in China, with the cultural phenomenon of Chinese woodblock printing. Chinese woodblock printing enhanced the way of copying multiple texts of up to many copies, including dramas, poems, histories, and novels. Chinese literature was such a great way for the Asian culture to express their art through text, whether it was linguistically or with artwork. The only problem was figuring out a way to spread their work and pass it on for others to see. Imagine, it’s the 600s and there are countless hours of hand copying, especially how expensive paper was back then. Seems exhausting. But then, woodblock printing became a thing and it was such an advantage for those who wanted to publish their work and have copies of their text printed for all to see. This was even true for artwork. Chinese woodblock printing had an impact on society because of its history and culture.
Beginning around the early 600s, Chinese woodblock printing was a way of the people to print and press text and make copies of up to thousands of volumes, prayers, images, etc. According to Chinese Literature, “Woodblock printing was a kind of printing press whereby a text could be copied quickly and easily by carving the characters in relief on wooden blocks which were then inked and pressed to paper” (Mark). Woodblock printing was such a convenient way of getting word out about anyone’s creation. Take Wang Wei for example. In Chinese Literature, “…poets like the great Wang Wei (c. 701-761 CE) were read and appreciated by people who would have never heard of his work before” (Mark). Not only was Chinese woodblock printing good for printing copies of someone’s poems, but it also was great for copying beautiful artwork. According to Chinese Literature, during the Tang Dynasty, there was a scroll of the “seated Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara…the bottom part contains a long prayer. Printed in ink on paper” (Mark). Woodblock printing was a popular type of printing technology that had an impact on China.
Chinese woodblock printing was used for only some of the literature used, but then as time went on it became an efficient way to copy many other things. According to Asian Education, “At first woodblock printing was mainly used for printing books on agriculture and medicine, as well as printing calendars, calligraphy, and auspicious charms”. Chinese literature was an interesting way of expressing words and emotions especially through paintings, poems, histories and prayers. According to Ancient History Encyclopedia’s Chinese Literature by Emily Mark, “The creation of woodblock printing, which became widespread during the Tang Dynasty under the second emperor Taizong (626-649 CE), made books more available to people” (Mark). Before this invention, technology was not advanced and not many copies were created because of the time-consuming effort of hand copying. Not to mention the expense of paper.
It’s difficult to say how popular woodblock printing is at this point since there are other printing techniques used in this day in age. Technology has evolved so much that there is also 3D printing, which is used in architecture for printing 3D models. But that’s just dealing with architecture. There are other forms of printing, but the most common way of printing nowadays is through a copying machine. Now, many copies of all sorts of text can be created through printing and copying. And the best part, no hand copying and there is affordable paper.
In conclusion, Chinese woodblock printing was a technique used around the 600s in which character were carved onto wood, and then pressed and inked onto paper. This cultural phenomenon started during the Tang dynasty and many used it to copy text and artwork. Famous poets such as Wang Wei became a famous poet because if it weren’t for this form of printing, it would probably take years to make so many copies of his poems. It’s amazing to know that you can also press art-filled masterpieces from a woodblock. Around this time, Chinese woodblock printing had a big impact on the Chinese culture and it wouldn’t be surprising if many across the country were still using this form of printing.
Work Cited
- Mark, Emily. “Chinese Literature”. Ancient History Encyclopedia, 11 Apr. 2016, https://www.ancient.eu/Chinese_Literature/.
Emily Mark has an English degree and has studied the Chinese culture, especially the Chinese Literature. The intended audience is for those who are interested in learning more about the Chinese woodblock printing. A secondary audience could be for those interested in the general topic of Chinese literature. This website was relevant and supported my topic because it gave knowledge on Chinese woodblock printing. This is also why it’s considered bias because it’s mainly on the good things about Chinese literature. But all in all, it was knowledgeable and talked about the history.
2. Mark, Emily. “Chinese woodblock print”. Ancient History Encyclopedia, 11 Apr. 2016, https://www.ancient.eu/image/4560/chinese-woodblock-print/.
Emily Mark has an English degree and has studied the Chinese culture, especially the Chinese Literature. The intended audience is for those who are interested in learning more about the Chinese Woodblock Printing and how the artwork was created since it’s a scroll with someone sitting criss cross and has a long prayer at the bottom of the scroll. A secondary audience would be for those studying the Chinese art. This image was relevant and did support my topic because it shows an art piece that was made and copied using woodblock printing. The good side to the website is that it has the image that shows the work that was made with this printing technique, but the downside is that there is not too much information on the scroll itself.
- “The Invention of Woodblock Printing in the Tang (618-906) and Song (960-1279) Dynasties”. Asian Education, 2012. http://education.asianart.org/explore-resources/background-information/invention-woodblock-printing-tang-618%E2%80%93906-and-song-960%E2%80%931279.
Art Education is a website based off art from different museums and the history on them. In this case, it’s on the invention of Chinese woodblock printing. The intended audience is for those who wish to learn more about the history of Chinese woodblock printing. This website is relevant and supported my topic because it has historical information on woodblock printing. Although that’s one of its strengths, the information however is not too in depth.