Nathan

The Printing Press

 

I am researching  a technology in Dunhuang, China. For this research I am visiting a printing press and a wooden block printing factory in Dunhuang China. The earliest printing dates back to the 2nd century when ancient Chinese used wooden blocks to transfer images of flower on silk.  The Chinese began printing on paper in the 7th century and they created the Diamond Sutra which was the first book.  The printing press is a machine that you use to type letters on a newspaper.

The wooden blocks were made of wood that was carved into a chinese symbol. The workers would then cover the block with ink which was made out of pine resin, wax and paper ashes. Then they pushed the paper over the engraved characters and the text was printed. I can smell the fresh cut wood it reminds me of a saw mill. I can hear the paper crinkling as it is being pressed. It feels sticky from the pine resin and the wax. I can feel the paper in my hands as I press it into the ink and imagine getting paper cuts from working with paper all day.

Movable type printing was invented next between 1041 and 1048. Each character was made out of clay. I imagine smelling the fire used to heat the clay for it to be hard and keep its shape. When the clay comes out of firing it is hot. Resin wax and paper ash are mixed together and lined on the bottom of an iron box to hold the characters face up. I imagine my fingers being sticky from the mixture. The bottom of the box was heated to melt the mixture. I can imagine blisters from the hot mixtures. The tops of the clay characters were inked and lightly brushed.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *