Bi Sheng (; 972–1051 AD) was a Chinese artisan, engineer, and inventor of the world's first
movable type
Movable type (US English; moveable type in British English) is the system and technology of printing and typography that uses movable components to reproduce the elements of a document (usually individual alphanumeric characters or punctuatio ...
technology, with
printing
Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ea ...
being one of the
Four Great Inventions
The Four Great Inventions () are inventions from ancient China that are celebrated in Chinese culture for their historical significance and as symbols of ancient China's advanced science and technology. They are the compass, gunpowder, papermakin ...
. Bi Sheng's system was made of Chinese
porcelain
Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainl ...
and was invented between 1039 and 1048 in the
Song dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
.
Movable type printing
Bi Sheng was born in
Yingshan County, Hubei
Yingshan County () is one of the seven counties governed by the prefecture-level city of Huanggang, Hubei, located on the eastern edge of the province, adjoining Anhui, and encompassing the southwestern portion of the Dabie Mountains. The county c ...
a commoner, and his ancestry and details were not recorded. He was recorded only in the ''
Dream Pool Essays'' by Chinese scholar-official and polymath
Shen Kuo (1031–1095). The book records a detailed description of the technical details of Bi Sheng's invention of
movable type
Movable type (US English; moveable type in British English) is the system and technology of printing and typography that uses movable components to reproduce the elements of a document (usually individual alphanumeric characters or punctuatio ...
printing:
The government official
Wang Zhen (
fl. 1290–1333) improved Bi Sheng's clay types by innovation through the wood, as his process increased the speed of typesetting as well. Later in China by 1490
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
movable type was developed by the wealthy printer
Hua Sui
Hua Sui (; 1439–1513 AD) was a Chinese scholar, engineer, inventor, and printer of Wuxi, Jiangsu province during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644 AD). He belonged to the wealthy Hua family that was renowned throughout the region. Hua Sui is best ...
(1439–1513).
Legacy
Bisheng Subdistrict () in
Wenquan, Huanggang
Wenquan () is a town in and the seat of Yingshan County in extreme eastern Hubei
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the provinc ...
,
Hubei
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...
is named for Bi Sheng. The Bi Sheng crater located in the LAC-7 quadrant near the northern pole on the
far side of the Moon
The far side of the Moon is the lunar hemisphere that always faces away from Earth, opposite to the near side, because of synchronous rotation in the Moon's orbit. Compared to the near side, the far side's terrain is rugged, with a multitu ...
was named after Bi Sheng by the
IAU
The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach ...
in August 2010.
See also
*
History of typography in East Asia
Printing in East Asia originated from the Han dynasty (220 BCE – 206 CE) in China, evolving from ink rubbings made on paper or cloth from texts on stone tables used during the Han. Printing is considered one of the Four Great Inventions of Chin ...
*
Johannes Gutenberg
Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (; – 3 February 1468) was a German inventor and Artisan, craftsman who introduced letterpress printing to Europe with his movable type, movable-type printing press. Though not the first of its ki ...
*
Printing press
A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in wh ...
*
Woodblock printing
Woodblock printing or block printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia and originating in China in antiquity as a method of textile printing, printing on textiles and later paper. Each page o ...
References
Further reading
* Shelton A. Gunaratne (2001). Paper, printing and the printing press: A horizontally integrative macrohistory analysis. ''International Communication Gazette, 63'' (6) 459-470.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bi, Sheng
990 births
1051 deaths
Chinese artisans
Chinese inventors
Chinese printers
People from Huanggang
History of printing
11th-century inventors