Before Gutenberg. Before the printing press. Before movable type changed Europe forever — someone in China was already doing it. They’d been doing it for centuries. This episode traces the real origin story of printmaking, from the earliest ink and paper innovations through the Diamond Sutra, the Tang and Song Dynasties, and the invention of movable type — centuries before the West caught up.
In This Episode
- 1:14 — Ink, Paper and the Invention That Changed Everything
- 3:16 — The Diamond Sutra and the Birth of the Printed Book
- 5:39 — Buddhism, the Tang Dynasty and the Spread of Print
- 7:29 — The Song Dynasty and the Invention of Movable Type
- 9:08 — Color, Craft and the Chinese Woodblock Print as Art
- 10:58 — Legacy and Connection
Supplementary Resources
Curious how traditional ink was actually made? Watch How to Turn Soot into Precious Ink Sticks, a no-narration companion piece showing the process start to finish.
Credits
Manuscript and print images courtesy Wikimedia Commons, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Open Access Collection, and the British Museum.
Music courtesy Pixabay: China/Chinese Asian Music (Hitslab), Chinese Music (Hitslab), Chinese (Kulakovka), Chinese Oriental Asian Love Music Loop (Sonican), Malkauns (Aditya Verma).
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