How Ancient China Printed 400 Years Before Gutenberg Without a Press

Four centuries before Gutenberg, Bi Sheng in China was already printing with movable type. So why did Gutenberg become the household name, and why did China often favor woodblocks over individual characters? This video explores the practical choices behind printing history: how Bi Sheng’s clay type worked, why woodblocks were often more efficient for Chinese writing, the immense arithmetic of thousands of characters, Korea’s turn toward metal type, and how the emperor’s vast collection of movable type became more palace treasure than everyday technology. 0:00 Why Gutenberg gets credit 1:34 How Bi Sheng printed 2:55 The woodblock advantage 3:42 The arithmetic of printing 5:38 China’s movable type attempts 6:20 Why Korea chose metal type 7:08 The emperor’s quarter-million types 8:02 Movable type as palace treasure 8:52 When inventions meet opportunity #AncientChina #PrintingHistory #BiSheng #Gutenberg #HistoryOfTechnology