Movable Type Printing

In ancient China, copying books was done by hand. It was slow and easy to make mistakes, so knowledge didn't spread much.

During the Northern Song Dynasty, a craftsman named Bi Sheng wanted to change this situation. At that time, people used woodblock printing. Workers carved whole pages on big wooden boards. It took lots of time and the boards could hardly be reused. One day, Bi Sheng got a great idea. Instead of carving on whole boards like before, he made small clay squares with letters on them. After burning these squares hard in fire, he made movable types.

When he tried printing with them for the first time, he put the types in a plate, added ink, put paper on top, and pressed gently. When he lifted the paper, clear black words appeared on it. He was really happy.

At first, many people didn’t believe in his new way of printing. But Bi Sheng didn’t give up. He kept improving his invention. Soon, people saw how useful it was. It could print much faster and cost less money than woodblock printing.

The emperor heard about this great invention and liked it a lot. He told more people to use it. Movable type printing spread far and wide, both across China and around the world. It played an important role in spreading knowledge and was a big step forward for human civilization.

活字印刷术

在中国古代，书籍都是靠手工抄写。这个过程很慢，还很容易出错，所以知识很难大范围传播。

北宋时期，一位名叫毕昇的工匠想要改变这种现状。当时人们使用雕版印刷，工匠要把整页文字雕刻在大块木板上，费时很久，而且木板几乎不能重复使用。有一天，毕昇想到了一个绝妙的主意：不再像从前那样在整块木板上雕刻，而是制作小小的泥方块，在上面刻上文字。把这些泥方块用大火烧制变硬之后，他就做出了活字。

他第一次尝试用活字印刷：先把活字摆放在底板里，刷上油墨，盖上纸张，然后轻轻按压。当他拿起纸张时，纸上出现了清晰的字迹。他开心极了。

一开始，很多人并不认可这种新的印刷方法。但毕昇没有放弃，他持续改进这项发明。很快，人们见识到它的实用性：相比雕版印刷，它印刷速度更快，成本更低。

皇帝听闻这项伟大的发明，十分欣赏，号召大家使用活字印刷术。活字印刷术在国内乃至世界各地广泛传播。它极大促进了知识的传播，是人类文明史上重要的一步。

重点短语（附音标）

1. by hand /baɪ hænd/ 手工
2. spread knowledge /spred ˈnɒlɪdʒ/ 传播知识
3. the Northern Song Dynasty /ðə ˈnɔːðən sɒŋ ˈdɪnəsti/ 北宋
4. instead of /ɪnˈsted əv/ 代替；而不是
5. woodblock printing /ˈwʊdblɒk ˈprɪntɪŋ/ 雕版印刷
6. movable types /ˈmuːvəbl taɪps/ 活字
7. add ink /æd ɪŋk/ 添加油墨
8. give up /ɡɪv ʌp/ 放弃
9. keep doing sth. /kiːp ˈduːɪŋ/ 持续做某事
10. spread far and wide /spred fɑː ənd waɪd/ 广泛传播
11. play an important role in /pleɪ ən ɪmˈpɔːtnt rəʊl ɪn/ 在…… 中发挥重要作用
12. human civilization /ˈhjuːmən ˌsɪvəlaɪˈzeɪʃn/ 人类文明

Questions

1. How did people copy books in ancient China before printing?
2. Who invented movable type printing and which dynasty did he live in?
3. What did Bi Sheng make movable types with?
4. What are the advantages of movable type printing compared with woodblock printing?
5. What influence did movable type printing have?

Keys

1. People copied books by hand.
2. Bi Sheng invented movable type printing. He lived in the Northern Song Dynasty.
3. He made movable types with clay.
4. It could print faster and cost less money.
5. It spread far and wide, helped a lot in spreading knowledge and was a big step forward for human civilization.

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