Woodblock printing 雕版印刷, one of the four great inventions of ancient China, is believed by scholars to have appeared no later than the early Tang dynasty (618-907). The creation and use of this printing technique have tremendously contributed to the wide dissemination of knowledge, information, and wisdom. Specialized woodblock printing techniques were developed in the later dynasties. Bi Sheng 畢昇 of the Song dynasty invented movable type printing 活字印刷 between 1041 and 1048, which substantially reduced the time for printing because of easy assembly of types for individual characters. Two-color printing 朱墨套印 in black and red began around the 14th century and the technique of more advanced multi-color printing with multiple wood blocks reached its peak during the late Ming dynasty (1368-1644), enabling the printing of texts and images in a variety of colors.

European missionaries introduced western printing techniques to China during the mid-late Qing dynasty (1644-1911). Copper plate printing 銅版印刷 originated in Europe in the 15th century and was first presented to the Kangxi 康熙 emperor (1654-1722) by Italian missionary Matteo Ripa (1682-1746). The adoption of the printing technique in publications occurred later in the 19th century. Lithography 石印 was invented by German actor and playwright Alois Senefelder (1771-1834) and was brought to Guangzhou 廣州 by British missionary Robert Morrison (1782-1834). This new printing technique allowed for faster and cheaper publishing, and hence led to the rapid development and prevalence of lithography publishers and publications during the late Qing and Republican periods.

Commonly-Used Techniques of Printing in the Collection

Special Techniques of Printing in the Collection