Introduction to Print Culture

Can you imagine your life without the printed matter? We are surrounded by the print culture and system everywhere. We can find print in various forms in our books, journals, magazines, literature, newspapers, and now even on the internet as well. Our lives are surrounded by the print system; from cinema and movies to books and newspapers or from calendars to advertisements or posters etc. we used to take this so lightly but this print has its own history and there was once a time when nothing was there. 

Here, we will be talking about the development of print and its culture. This article will help you to dig into the history of print and will help the students in understanding one of the Chapters of History of Class 10 i.e Print culture and the modern world. We hope these notes will be helpful in your studies and will also increase your knowledge in this regard. 

What is Print Culture?

The commencement of printing was spotted in China, Japan, and Korea. By the 17th Century, as the latest traditions and culture surfaced in China, the uses of print were assorted. Shanghai became the pivot of the new print culture. Similarly, an identical culture was endorsed by the people of Japan. The people who contradicted the entrenched authorities could also pass on their ideas and with the printed report it was facile to induce people to ponder differently and push them to proceed. All these amends helped in the manifestation of the modern world.

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Impact of Print Culture in the Modern World:-

1. Impact of Print in Japan

2. Impact of Print in Europe

3. Impact of Print on French Revolution

4. Impact of Print in India

5. Impact of Print on Women development

Let us understand the impact of the Print culture around the world:-

1. Impact of Print in Japan:- 

Around AD 768-770 Buddhist missionaries commenced hand-printing technology in Japan. The oldest Japanese book, the Buddhist Diamond Sutra was printed in AD 868, it carried six sheets of text. Books were very famous in Japan. Poets and writers issued their books. Books were low priced and accessible. In Japan, pictures were printed on textiles, playing cards, and paper money. Printing of pictures made publishing works curiosity. In the late eighteenth century, gatherings of paintings revealing urban culture were issued. There were pictures of artists, courtesans, and teahouse collections. Libraries and bookstores contained hand-printed books on women, tea and coffee ceremony, proper etiquette, cooking, and popular places.

2. Impact of Print in Europe:- 

Impact of the print revolution in Europe during the 15th and 16th century: (i) Printing abated the price of books. (ii) the time and labour needed to mount each book came down, multiple copies could be mounted with greater mastery. (iii) Books engulfed the market, reaching out to an ever-growing readership. (iv) Publishers started issuing famous ballads folk tales with beautiful pictures and examples. (v) knowledge was conveyed orally. (vi) print produced the probability of broad transmission of thoughts and commenced a new world of argumentation and discussion. 

3. Impact of Print on French Revolution:- 

In the French revolution print culture played a part and parcel role. Print materials like newspapers and books publicized the thoughts of the refined scholars. They gave condemning reviews on tradition, superstition, and despotism in contemporary society. Print fabricated a new culture of dialogue and discussion. All values, norms, rules, and institutions were reappraised and the public conceded the need to query excited thoughts and faiths.

4. Impact of Print in India:- 

Indian Media embodies different sorts of communications: television, radio, cinema, newspapers, magazines, and Internet-based Web sites/portals. Indian media was agile since the late 18th century with print media commenced in 1780, radio broadcasting launched in 1927, and the screening of Auguste and Louis Lumière moving pictures in Bombay launched during the July of 1895. It is the oldest and largest media in the world. Media in India has been free and unconstrained throughout its history, even before the inception of the Indian empire by Ashoka the Great on the foundation of worthiness, morality, and spirituality. The period of emergency (1975–1977), announced by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, was the period when India's media was faced with a prospective government penalty. 

5. Impact of Print on Women Development:- 

Impact of Print on women development can be seen in different ways:- 

(i) Women Education: Writers started writing about the existence and emotions of women, and this mounted the figure of women readers. Women inclined in education, and many women schools and colleges were built. Many journals started highlighting the significance of women’s education.

(ii) Women Writers: In East Bengal, in the early nineteenth century, Rashsundari Debi, a young married girl wrote her autobiography, Amar Jiban (means ‘my life’) which was published in 1876. The indigent stature of women was also exhibited by the Tamil writers.

Conclusion:

Because of the huge proximity of Bibles, the creation of the printing press actually amplified the thought of Christianity even further around Europe, and soon to other countries around the world. Also during the correction, Printing aided in unrolling the banishment of religious thoughts such as Lutheranism.