Printing

=**Printing :]**= Julianna Goldring June 6th 2007


 * The** Song dynasty was during 960-1279 AD. This dynasty was the successor of the Five Dynasties and 10 Kingdoms. The Yuan dynasty followed the Song after it had met it's end. The Song was known for its strength in poetry, arts and writing. It focused on nature and had many paintings that contained little people and big landscape scenes. Printing was another major strength that held it's place in the Song dynasty. In 960-279 AD the printing industry thrived! That time period was the more or less high point of the Song dynasty. Printing could be done in many forms and using different materials on a variety of writing tools.


 * There** are many types of printing, that was used for different reasons. One of the most popular printings was Confucian Classics. These were Confucius’ teachings and poems. He had many of them and they were made into books to be re-taught to students in the future. Another major reason for printing would be paper money. Farmers needed a currency that was easier to carry but still held important value. They had different characters printed on clay, bamboo slips, or silk to signify money. Philosophy writings, History books, Belles-letters and advertisements were other things that required printing on them. Printing was used for all these tactics.


 * The** Chinese used different tools and materials for writing. Most printing was done on either bamboo slips or silk, wood was used to print on as well. Chinese people started using paper as early as the 3rd century! By the 14th century real brushes and ink had been available to the public and were also being used. During the time 772-21 B.C the quality in ink improved. Clay tablets and other materials like that were used for paper money before they had silk and bamboo slips. The Chinese also used impression seals, which signifies the first step toward a more complex and advance writing system. As the Chinese characters grew more advanced the writing system became stronger and printing gained from it.
 * It** wasn’t just about the printing; it had to be made into something! Books for education and just enjoyment were what the printing was made for. They read right to left instead of what we Americans are used too, left to right. Sometimes the Chinese used stamps on templates for printing. Once they got a base for their character system they were able to make seals and stamps with those characters on them. Chinese books were written in columns up and down. They were made out of different materials depending on the time period. The Confucian Classics were major educational books that taught Confucius sayings and “words of wisdom”.


 * Printing** was important to the Song Dynasty and now today. Books, history, Confucian Classics are today’s Magazines, Newspapers and E-mail. Brushes, Seals and Stamps are today’s Sharpies, keyboards and Pencils. Printing originated in China and thrived during 960-279 AD. We are connected to ancient China in many ways, one being printing. The Chinese gave us many of our everyday traditions. For example, respecting our elders, working hard in school and of course writing. Though the Chinese used different ways of typing they are still connected to our lives today.

=Quiz Questions!=

(I hope you studied!)
1. According to what you just read, when did the Chinese printing industry thrive?

2. What were three things printing was used for?

3. In this article it talked about how certain printing types (confucian classics, history etc.) were compared to our every day uses for printing to make a connection from ancient China to everyday life. What do we and the ancient Chinese share, what do we do differently.

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