PRINT CULTURE AND MODERN WORLD

1.Where was the earliest kind of print technology developed in the world?
The earliest kind of print technology was developed in China, Japan and Korea.
2.Name the Chinese traditional book, which was folded and stitched at the side.
The Chinese traditional book, which was folded and stitched at the side, was known was accordion book.
3.Who brought the print-culture to Japan?

Buddhist missionaries from China introduced print culture into Japan around 768-770 AD.
4.Name the oldest Japanese book.

The oldest Japanese book is the Buddhist Diamond Sutra.

It was printed in AD 868.
It is containing six sheets of text and woodcut illustrations.
5.What is the ancient name of Tokyo?
Edo
6.How did the knowledge of wood-block printing come to Europe? Explain.

The knowledge of wood block printing came to Europe in the following ways.
 Paper reached Europe in the 11th century from China through Silk Route. This made possible the
production of manuscripts.
 China already had the technology of wood-block printing.
 Marco Polo brought this knowledge to Italy.
 Now Italians began to produce books with this technology.
 Soon it spread to other parts of Europe.
7. Why was the circulation of manuscript was limited? Or Why couldn’t the production of handwritten
manuscripts satisfy the ever increasing demand for books? Give any three reasons.
The ever increasing demand for books could not be satisfied by the production of handwritten manuscripts
because of the following reasons.
 Copying was an expensive, laborious and time consuming business.
 Manuscripts were delicate and difficult to handle.
 It could not be carried around or read easily.
8. Who invented the first printing press.
First printing press was developed by Johann Gutenberg of Strasbourg, Germany on 1430.
9. Name the first printed book.
Bible
10.In what three ways did the printed books at first closely resemble the written manuscripts?

The printed books closely resembled the written manuscripts in the following ways.
 Both printed books and manuscripts looked similar because metal letters imitated the ornamental
handwritten style.
 Like written manuscripts, the borders of printed books were also illuminated by hand with foliage and
patterns were painted.
 Both in written manuscripts and printed books, space for decoration was kept blank so that the buyer
could choose their designs.
11.How did print bring the reading public and hearing public closer?Or What was Print revolution.

Print brought the reading public and hearing public closer in the following ways.
 Printing reduced the cost of books and multiple copies could now be produced easily. Books flooded in
the market and led to the increase of reading public.
 The literacy rate of Europeans was very low. Publishers reached out to people by making them listen to
books being read out by a literate person. People gathered around the reader and listened.
 To keep the hearing public intact, publishers published popular ballads and folktales. Oral culture thus
found route into print. Printed material was orally transmitted, which blurred the line separating reading
and hearing public.
12.Explain the effects of print culture in the religious sphere in early modern Europe. Or what was the
fear of print?

The following were the effects of print culture in the religious sphere in early modern Europe
 Print created the possibility of wide circulation of ideas, and introduced a new world of debate and
discussion.
 It was feared that if there was no control over what was printed and read then rebellious and irreligious
thoughts might spread.
 After reading the literature people developed the attitude towards reasoning, debate and discussion
and began to challenge the existing norms of religion and society.
 Because of criticizing practices and rituals of Roman Catholic Church, there was a division in religion—
Catholics and Protestants.
 Severe controls were imposed over publishers and booksellers for circulating irreligious ideas.
13. Who wrote Ninety Five Theses?
Martin Luther wrote Ninety Five Theses in 1517.
14. Who said, ‘Printing is the ultimate gift of God and the greatest one.’?
Martin Luther
15.Explain with examples the role of print culture in the bringing of French Revolution.
The following points show the role of print culture in the bringing of French Revolution.
  Print popularised the ideas of the enlightenment thinkers. The writings of Voltaire and Rousseau were
read widely.
 These thinkers argued for the rule of reason rather than custom and demanded that everything should
be judged through the application of reason and rationality.
 Print created a new culture of dialogue and debate. All values, norms and institutions were re-evaluated
and discussed by a public that had become aware of the power of reason and recognised the need to
question existing ideas and beliefs.
 By the 1780s, there was an outpouring of literature that mocked the royalty and criticised their morality.
In the process, it raised questions about the,existing social order.
 Cartoons and caricatures suggested that the monarchy remained absorbed only in sensual pleasures
while the common people suffered immense hardships
 Print did not directly shape their minds, but it did open up the possibility of thinking differently.
16.Why did some people in 18th century Europe think that print culture would bring enlightenment and
end despotism?
Many people in the 18th century Europe thought that the print culture would bring enlightenment and end
despotism because of the following reasons:
 It would help in spreading of literacy and knowledge among all class of people.
 The ideas of scientists and philosophers became more accessible to the common people.
 The writings of thinkers such as Thomas Paine, Voltaire and Jean Jacques Rousseau were widely
printed, and could gain popularity. With this, their ideas about science, reasoning and rationality
became a part of popular literature.
 Social reformers like Louise, Sebastian Mercier, and Martin Luther were also of opinion that the print
culture is the most powerful engine of progress that would bring enlightenment and an end to
despotism.
17. When did Index of Prohibited Book maintain by the Roman Church?
1558
18.How were Bibliotheque Bleue different from penny chapbooks?

Penny chapbooks were carried by petty pedlars known as chapmen in England. These books were sold for a
penny, so that even the poor could buy them. “Bibliotheque Bleue’, were low-priced small books printed in
France. Both were low priced books printed on poor quality paper but the Biliotheque Bleue were bound in
cheap blue covers.
19.Explain any five reasons for bringing in large number of new readers among children, women and
workers during the late 19th century.

The five reasons are

 compulsory primary education;
 women became important as readers;
 lending libraries became instrumental for educating white collar workers, artisans and lower middle
class people;
 self educated working novelist were women who defined a new type of strong woman; and
  best known novelist were who defined a new type of strong woman.
20..Mention the contribution of Richard M. Hoes (New York) in print culture in the mid-nineteenth
century.

Richard M.Hoes had perfected the power-driven cylindrical press. This press was capable of printing 8,000
sheets per hour and was very useful for printing newspapers.
21. What were the problems of Manuscript ?
Manuscripts were highly expensive and fragile.
They had to be handled carefully,
They could not be read easily as the script was written in different styles.
22. Who brought printing press to India?
Portuguese missionaries brought printing press to Goa in the mid-sixteenth century.
23. Name the first English magazine?
Bangal Gazette was the first weekly magazine published by James Augustus Hickey.
24. “Print not only stimulated the publication of conflicting opinions amongst communities, but it also
connected communities and people in different parts of India.” Examine the statement.

 By the close of the eighteenth century, a number of newspapers and journals appeared in print. The
first newspaper to come out was the weekly Bengal Gazette, brought out by Gangadhar Bhattacharya.
 Printed tracts and newspapers not only spread new ideas, but they also shaped the nature of debate.
 There were intense controversies between the social and religious reformers and Hindu orthodoxy over
matters like widow immolation, monotheism, Brahmanical priesthood and idolatry. So that these ideas
and thoughts were printed in newspapers in the spoken language of ordinary people.
 Rammohan Roy published the Sambad Kaumudi from 1821 and the Hindu orthodoxy commissioned
the Samachar Chandrika to oppose his opinions.
 Two Persian newspapers, Jam-i-Jahan Nama and Shamsul Akhbar were also published.
 After the collapse of Muslim dynasties Ulama feared that colonial rulers would change the Muslim
personal laws. To counter this they published Persian and Urdu translations of holy scriptures and
printed religious newspapers and tracts.
 Newspapers conveyed news from one place to another and created Pan-Indian identities.
25.What did the spread of print culture mean to the women in 19th century India.

Women: The spread of print culture opened a new world of education and books for many Indian women who
had remained confined to their households and families due to the traditional Indian social set-up.
 Women’s reading increased in middle-class homes.
 Liberal husbands and fathers began educating their womenfolk at home and sent them to schools.
 Even girls and women took initiative to get liberated and educated. One such example is of a girl in a
conservative Muslim family of North India. Her family wanted her to read only the Arabic Quran which
she did not understand. So she insisted on learning of urdu language that was her own.
  Another such example was: Rashsundari Debi, a young married girl in a very orthodox household who
learnt to read in the secrecy of her kitchen. Later she wrote her autobiography Amur Jiban which was
published in 1876.
 From 1860, a few Bengali women like Kailashbashini Debi wrote books highlighting the experiences of
women about how they were illtreated on the domestic front.
 Tarabai Shinde and Pandita Ramabai wrote about the miserable lives of upper caste Hindu women,
especially widows.
 In the early twentieth century, journals, written women, became extremely popular and discussed
issues like women’s education, widowhood, widow remarriage and the national movement.
 Pedlars took the Battala publications (Central Calcutta) to homes, enabling women to read them in their
leisure time.
26.Evaluate the impact of print technology on the poor people in India.

The effects of the spread of print culture for poor people in nineteenth century India were:
 The poor people were benefited from the spread of print culture as they got access to the low-price
books.
 Many social reformers wrote books and essays enlightening the caste discrimination prevailing in the
country. These were read by people across the country.
 In 1871, Jyotiba Phule wrote about the poor condition of the low caste people. In the 20th century, BR
Ambedkar also wrote powerfully against the caste system.
 EV Ramaswamy Naicker, also known as Periyar, wrote about the caste system prevailing in Madras.
 The poor now became more aware of their rights and their place in society.
27.Write a short note on Vernacular Press Act. (2012)

The Vernacular Press Act.

 In 1878, the Vernacular Press Act was passed by the British Government in India to impose restrictions
on vernacular press.
 It was modelled on Irish Press Laws.
 The act gave the government extensive rights to censor reports and editorials in the vernacular press.
 When a report was judged as seditious, the newspaper was warned, and if the warning was ignored,
the press was liable to be seized and the printing machinery confiscated.
 The most discriminating aspect of the law was that though it put serious restrictions on the freedom of
Indian language newspapers, yet it spared the English newspapers from its purview.
28. Name the newspaper published by Balgangadhar Tilak?
Kesari
29. Explain how print culture assisted the growth of nationalism in India
The print culture assisted the growth of nationalism in India in the following ways:
 Books, magazines and newspapers helped in the spread of new ideas. They also shaped the nature of
debate that assisted the growth of nationalism.
  Gandhiji spread his ideas of Swadeshi in a powerful way through newspaper.
 Many vernacular newspapers reported oppressive methods of colonial rule and helped to spread the
nationalism in India.
 National leaders tried to mobilize public opinion of Indian masses through the national dailies to unite
them for the cause of nationalism.
 Printers like Raja Ravi Verma and Rabindranath Tagore produced images of Bharatmata which
produced a sense of nationalism among Indians. The ever increasing devotion to mother figure could
be seen as an evidence of people’s nationalism.
 Print culture not only encouraged nationalist activities, but it also connected communities and people
living in different parts of India.
30. Write a note on the ideas of Erasmus on printed book.

Erasmus’s idea of printed book: Erasmus was the Latin scholar and a Catholic reformer. He
criticized the printing of books because he was afraid that this would lead to the circulation of
books that were full of rebellious ideas. He thought that majority of the books were irrelevant
and illogical which would only spread the scandalous and irreligious ideas. According to him,
with such books coming in large numbers, the significance of valuable literature would be lost.

31. Who was Raja Ravi Vema?

Raja Ravi Verma was painter.