The Interaction between Chinese Publishing and the Outside World
The growth and development of Chinese civilization cannot be separated from its extensive exchanges with multiple civilizations. Ancient Chinese were passionate and active about learning all they could on the best foreign civilizations had to offer. At the same time, Chinese civilization spread to every corner of the world and promoted the spread of the Confucian culture circle. In these bilateral exchanges, the spread of publishing became significant.
In the long process of exchange, the well-known Silk Road emerged, as did the Road of Books. Through this road, China shared with the rest of the world papermaking and printing techniques while disseminating ancient science, technology and culture, which was a tremendous contribution to the development of human civilization. In the same fashion, foreign science and technology was also introduced to China, which in turn, had a huge impact on Chinese society and culture. The interaction between China and the outside world facilitated the development of Chinese publishing over the centuries.
The Spread of Papermaking Technique
Paper was already popular in China, at a time when many other countries and peoples continued to use ancient and primitive writing materials. For examples, Indians used palm leaves to transcribe scripture, Egyptians and Europeans used paper grass, sheepskin and wax paper.
As a medium for language, paper has unparalleled advantages. After the invention of paper making in China, it not only spread domestically but also found its way to foreign countries and, in a very short time, replaced local media and promoted the development of local publishing and cultural undertakings.
Initially what was exported was paper and paper products such as books, letters and paintings. Later, it was the paper making technology itself. The first recipients of paper and the technique were China’s neighbors such as Korea, Japan and other countries in Southeast and South Asia. In the second century, Chinese manuscripts were exported to Korea and in about the third century, papermaking technique was introduced there and in Vietnam. From Korea, Chinese books were exported to Japan. In 610, Korean monk Tanzheng introduced paper making to Japan. In the seventh and eighth century, it was introduced to India. For example, during Tang monk Yi Jing’s stay in India (671–694), the word “paper” already existed in Sanskrit. These countries, upon assimilation of this skill, gradually exported their paper products to China, which promoted economic and cultural exchanges.
Paper and papermaking spread to the Western world through sea and land. Around the second century, paper was brought to western cities like Heicheng, Dunhuang, Tunufan and Loulan. In the fifth century, paper was used across the central Asia region. In the eighth century, papermaking was introduced to the west. In 751, in a war between the Tang and Dashi (the Abbasid empire) in Talas (near Taraz in today’s Kazakhstan), the army led by Tang general Gao Xianzhi (?–756) was defeated and thousands of Chinese soldiers were captured. Some of them were paper makers who introduced this technique to the Arabs in Samarkand (now Uzbekistan), which had rich cannabis and flax resources. A papermaking mill was established. Soon paper became an important Arab export to the west. This story was recorded in Arabian historical books. For example, the famous Arabian scholar Thaalibi (961–1038) once said that “of the specialties produced in Samarkand, what is worth mentioning is paper. It is neat, cheap, and suitable, so it replaced Egyptian paper grass and sheep skin. And such paper only existed here and in China.” The author of the book Journey and Kingdom says paper was introduced by captive Chinese. These prisoners were owned by Ziyad, the son of Salibi. Some of them knew how to make paper. The production of paper not only met local demand and became an important commodity in trade. It met demand from around the world and is “a blessing to the whole world.” Later, between the eight hand twelfth century, Arabs established paper mills in Baghdad, Damascus, Egypt and Morocco. In 1150, Arabs reached Spain and established the first European paper mill in Xativa, in the north of Spain. By then, papermaking technology improved by Cai Lun had existed for over 1,000 years. In those times, the only people who mastered papermaking in Spain were Arabs and they monopolized the technique for 400 years from the eighth to the twelfth century. It was not until 1189, when the French established their own papermaking mill, that mills emerged in Christian countries.
Between the thirteenth and sixteenth century, many countries including Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, England, Russia and other countries built paper mills. In 1575, the first American paper mill was built in Mexico. In 1690, the first North American paper mill appeared in Philadelphia. It was not until the nineteenth century that Melbourne, Australia, had its first paper mill. In about 1000 years, Chinese paper had spread around the world.
Once papermaking was introduced to Europe, local people attempted to improve the technique. Even in the seventeenth century, their skill was equivalent to that of the Song Dynasty. To address the problem of bad paper, the French minister of treasury A.R.J. Turgot (1727–1781) wanted to use Jesuits stationed in Beijing as spies to learn from the Chinese. In Emperor Qianglong’s reign, the French missionary Benoist Michael (1715–1774), who was working in the imperial court, secretly copied the Chinese paper making technique and sent the details back to Paris, which led to the spread of advances in Chinese papermaking. In 1797, Frenchman Nicolas Luis Robert successfully invented machine papermaking. This was the first time Western papermaking technology overtook China’s technology.