1850.
Movable Metallic Typa u Chez
mi
page; the types are not justified, or sprout sime length, the page being sufficiently g vent the types rising when inked. Whe corrected, it is printed in the ordinary Ca
The number of types which have bees our net ceeds 150,000, but what variety of characamma do not know. The principal motive Mr. Tu the enterprise was to print two sorts of later: townspeople ganible very much; one of the num dred Family Names, called Wei Sing P‹. ma Tsien-tsz' Wan, or Millenary Classic. ever jobs may be required, but has never mesters newspaper—or more likely has never short.as such a purpose.
In order to exhibit what is known resperangem types by the Chinese in former days, we intearns paper by Stanislas Julien, translated for f Mr. Tang has really read any of these
he maintains the originality of his own EVENTOS ultimately find it a losing undertaking.
Stereotype Plates in Than According to Klaproth (Memoir upon the Harn earliest use of stereotype plates in wood gra century of our era:—
"Under the reign of Ming-towng, of the [A. D. 939), the ministers Fang Tas and Li revise the nine Canonical Books, and to printing them for sale. The emperar adoptsé umperor Taitow of the After Châu dynasty Canonical Books was iplated. They
provisoos of the empire.”
M. Klaproth made the observating that is have been known in Europe about 159 years - there, if Europeans had been able to read and the method of printing employed by the Chim sufficient distinctness in the Djemme's d completed this immense work about the your
We would add that Europe might have 600 years before it was discovered there, if I with China a few years before the comme W to this process, imperfect though it winke possible to reproduce from a few germa d'œuvres of antiquity, both Greek mi he greater number from a low at this day i
The employment of engraving on w texts and designs, is much more sacied
We read, in fact, the follow
to believea.
Keh-chi King-yuen, 格致鏡原
“On the 8th day of the tâch
dvanity (A D 385 ) it wi
od tests and to engrave
quote) the commencement of pri
VOL. XIX. NO A.
29
in Chinese.
251
chai, vol. X, is the reprint of a inutely described all the ancient st celebrated men, which were ›n a black ground) from the year nor to present to the Academy id which, for the elegance and e most beautiful editions printed
л A.D. 1041 and 1049.
vol. XVIII. p. 81, we read the ́'s degree A.D. 1056 (Bibliothèque }) :-
riod when the Tăng dynasty (fonuded A. mployment of stereotype plates of wood ig had commenced printing the Wá King, publish by the same process all the books cyn [between A. D. 1041 and 1049), ons of a smith, invented another mode of print- İsten (1. e. formed of types), which ex- he plates used at the Imperial printing
The following is the description of his which be made regularly formed plates, ies or cash, and upon these he engraved ter he made a separate seal or type, and fe then placed on the table as iron plate,
posed of resin, wax, and lime.
-n, divided within longitudinally from top arda), by bands of the same metal, and then sout, be arranged the types in it, placing .ch case, filled with types thus arranged, the fire so as to melt the cement a little, >ir] he pressed strongly upon the collection eans, became level and even as a whetstone. same work, this method would neither be ired to print tenu, hundreds, and thousands pidity. They generally prepared two iron ng with one of the two plates, the other e printing from the former being finished, They thus alternately made use of the two he twinkling of an eye.
•
to.
lar types, and so many sa 20 proofs [i, •. 20 ra so as to be able to reproduce such words as When not making use of these duplicates aracters or types were classifed according isposed in one particular case. If by chance spared beforehand, he engraved it immediate- e of it in a minute. The reason which deterred \s, that the tissue of wood, being sometimen ater, would have been unavou; moreover, the manner that they could not have been re- It was much better therefore to make use of leted the printing of one plate, he heated it d cleared away the types, which separated of of cement or dirt. When Pi Sbing died, his
most carefully.*
"
inventor of movable types in China iting was continued as formerly, with tural return of the Chinese to their not owing to the imperfection of Pí the Chinese language, which, being t a small number of signs [characters] ind of book), put the printer to the types than there were different words, of sounds into 106 classes) 106 separate ber of types many times repeated, the ms, and their distribution again after able time. It was therefore more easy written, as is now done, the text one