Table of Contents
CBSE Short Answer
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Print Culture and Modern World
Q.1. How were earlier books printed (before the 15th century)? Explain.
Ans. (i) The first type of print technology was a hand-printing technique.
(ii) Beginning in AD 594, books in China were printed by rubbing paper against the inked surface of woodblocks, which was also invented there. The traditional Chinese ‘accordion book’ was folded and stitched at the side since both sides of the thin, porous sheet could not be printed.
(iii) Highly talented artisans could replicate the elegance of calligraphy with surprising accuracy.
Q.2. How did China remain a major producer of printed materials for a long time? [CBSE 2013]
Or
“The imperial state in China was the major producer of printed material.” Support this statement with examples. [CBSE 2013. 2012. 2014]
Ans. (i) The imperial state-sponsored the printing of a large number of textbooks for the civil service test.
(i) The imperial state-sponsored the printing of a large number of textbooks for the civil service test.
(iii)Fictitious narratives, poetry, and romantic plays were chosen by the new readership.
(iv)Rich ladies began to read, and many women began to publish their poetry and plays.
Q.3. ‘By the 17th century, as urban culture Ans. bloomed in China, the uses of print diversified.’ Explain by giving examples. [CBSE Sept. 2010]
Or
How did a new reading culture bloom in China? Explain.
Ans. (i) As urban culture grew, so did the variety of print applications. Scholar-officials were no longer the only ones who used print.
(ii) Merchants began to use print in their daily lives to gather trade information. Reading has become more popular as a pastime.
(iii) Fictional narratives, poetry, autobiographies, anthologies of literary masterpieces, and romantic dramas were the most popular.
(iv) Wealthy women began to read a wider range of books, and many began to create poetry and plays. Courtesans began writing about their lives once the wives of scholar-officials published their books.
Q.4. Describe the progress of print in Japan. [CBSE Sept. 2010. 2011. 2013]
Ans. (i) Around AD 768-770, Buddhist missionaries from China introduced hand-printing technology to Japan. The Buddhist Diamond Sutra is the earliest Japanese book, having been printed in AD 868. Textiles, playing cards, and paper money all had images printed on them.
(ii) Poets and prose writers were regularly published in medieval Japan, and books were inexpensive and plentiful.
(iii) The printing of visual materials resulted in novel publishing techniques. In the late eighteenth century, illustrated collections of paintings presented an elegant urban lifestyle, combining artists, courtesans, and tea house meetings, in the growing urban circles of Edo (later to be known as Tokyo).
Q.5. How had the earliest printing technology developed in the world ? Explain. [CBSE 2012]
Ans. (i) China, Japan, and Korea were the first to develop serious print technology.
(ii) Scholar officials were the only ones who used the print until the 6th century.
(iii) Then the Buddhist missionaries introduced hand printing technology, (iv) Marco Polo brought woodblock printing from China to Italy.
(v) The invention of the printing press proved great miracle in spreading knowledge.
Q.6. Who was Marco Polo ? What was his contribution to print culture ? [CBSE 2013]
Ans. Marco Polo was a famous Italian traveller.
(i) in 1295, Marco Polo returned to Italy after spending many years in China.
(ii) He took with him his understanding of woodblock printing.
(iii) Woodblock printing began in Italy, and the technology quickly expanded throughout Europe.
Q.7. How did Gutenberg personalise the printed hooks suiting to the tastes and requirement of others ? [CBSE 2012]
Ans. (i)Borders with foliage and other patterns were hand-illuminated.
(ii) Illustrations were painted at the buyer’s preferred painting school, and
(iii) in books printed for the wealthy, blank pages were left for embellishment.
(iv) Each customer could pick their own design, verses were hand-colored,
(v) Each customer could pick their own design, verses were hand-colored,
Q.8. Explain the main features of the first printed Bible. [CBSE Sept. 2010]
Or
Describe any three main features of the first printed Bible. [CBSE 2014]
Ans: (i) Around 1880 copies were printed, and the process took three years.
(ii) The text was printed with metal type on the new Gutenberg press, but the borders were hand-drawn, painted, and illuminated by artists.
(iii) Each copy had a different page layout.
(iv) Different colours were utilised in different places within the letters.
Q.9. ‘The shift from hand printing to mechanical printing led to the print revolution.’ Explain.
Ans. (i) Between 1450 and 1550, printing presses were established in the majority of European countries.
(ii) German printers emigrated to other countries in search of work and to assist in the establishment of new presses. Book output increased as the number of printing presses increased.
(iii) Around 20 million copies of printed books flooded European markets in the second half of the fifteenth century. In the sixteenth century, the quantity had risen to almost 200 million copies.
(iv) It altered public attitudes and opened up new perspectives on issues.
Q.10. How did the printing press create a new-reading public? Explain. [CBSF. Sept. 2013]
Or
“There was a virtual reading mania in European countries in the 18th century”. Explain the factors responsible for this virtual reading mania.
Ans. (i) Low production costs: The printing press ushered in a new reading public. The cost of books was reduced as a result of printing. The amount of time it took to make each book was reduced, and many copies were easier to produce. Books saturated the market, reaching an ever-increasing audience.
(ii) Book accessibility: The availability of books spawned a new reading culture. Reading was once only available to the wealthy. Ordinary people lived in a world dominated by oral culture. Sacred scriptures were read, ballads were sung, and folk tales were told. Oral transmission of knowledge was used. A group of people listened to a storey or saw a play. Books were not only expensive before the printing press, but they also couldn’t be manufactured in large enough quantities.Books could now reach out to a broader audience.
(iii) Increase in literacy rate: Literacy rates increased in most parts of Europe during the seventeenth and eighteenth century. Different faiths of churches established schools in villages, bringing literacy to peasants and artisans. Literacy rates in various parts of Europe reached as high as 60 to 80 percent by the end of the eighteenth century. There was a virtual reading fever as literacy and schools spread across Europe. Books could now reach out to a broader audience.
(iii) Increase in literacy rate: Literacy rates increased in most parts of Europe during the seventeenth and eighteenth century. Different faiths of churches established schools in villages, bringing literacy to peasants and artisans. Literacy rates in various parts of Europe reached as high as 60 to 80 percent by the end of the eighteenth century. There was a virtual reading fever as literacy and schools spread across Europe.
Q.11. Explain the common conviction of people in the mid-18th century about the books and print culture, [CBSE 2013]
Ans. (i) By the mid-eighteenth century, there was a common conviction that books were a means of spreading progress and enlightenment.
(ii) Many believed that books could change the world, liberate society from despotism and tyranny, and herald a time when reason and intellect would rule.
(iii) Louise-sebastian Mercier, a novelist in Prance declared. “The printing press is most powerful engine of progress and public- opinion is the force that will sweep despotism away.”
Q.12. State any three points of importance of penny chapbooks. [CBSE Sept. 2010.2011]
Or
Describe some of the new printed books which were sold by the pedlars in villages in the eighteenth century Europe. [CBSE-2012, 2014]
Ans. (i) Pocket sue books, which were sold by chapmen, or travelling pedlars.
(ii) They gained popularity during the sixteenth-century printing revolution.
(iii) It comprises pamphlets, political and religious tracts, nursery rhymes, poetry, folk stories, children’s literature, and almanacks, among other things. There would be popular prints where there were illustrations.
Q.13. ‘Print popularised the ideas of the Enlightenment thinkers.’ Explain. [CBSE 2014]
Or
How did ideas about science, reason, and rationality find their way into popular literature in 18th century Europe? [CBSE Sept. 2010]
Ans. (i) Thinkers’ writings provided a critical commentary on tradition, superstition, and oppression as a whole.
(ii)They attacked the sacred authority of the Church and the despotic power of the state, thus eroding the legitimacy of a social order based on tradition. (iii)They attacked the sacred authority of the Church and the despotic power of the state, thus eroding the legitimacy of a social order based on tradition.
(iv) Voltaire and Rousseau’s writings were widely read, and those who did so saw the world through fresh eyes, inquisitive, critical, and rational eyes.
Q.14. How did the ideas of scientists and philosophers become more accessible to common people after the beginning of a print revolution in Europe? [CBSE Sept. 2010. 2012]
Ans. (i) Scientists’ and philosophers’ ideas become more accessible to the general public.
(ii) Scientific books from antiquity and the Middle Ages were collated and published, as were maps and scientific diagrams.
(iii) When scientists such as Isaac Newton began to publish their findings, they were able to reach a considerably larger audience of scientifically inclined readers.
(iv) Thinkers like Thomas Paine, Voltaire, and Jean Jacques Rousseau’s writings were widely printed and read. As a result, their beliefs about science, logic, and nationality made it into popular literature.
Q.15. Who was Louise-Sebastien Mercier ? What were his Ideas about print?
Or
‘Tremble, therefore, tyrants of the world! Tremble before the virtual writer! Explain this statement. [CBSE 2014]
Ans. Louise-Sebastien Mercier was an eighteenth-century French dramatist and novelist. “The printing press is the most potent engine of development, and the force that will sweep dictatorship away is public opinion,” he asserted. He had expressed his love of reading in most of his writings. The heroes in most of his novels are altered by the act of reading. “Tremble, therefore, tyrants of the globe!” Mercier said, certain of the power of print in spreading enlightenment and destroying the base of oppression. tremble in the presence of the virtual author!”
Q.16 Explain any three features of handwritten manuscripts before the age of print in India.
[CBSE Sept. 2010. 2011. 2012. 2013]
Ans. (i) Handwritten manuscripts were copied onto palm leaves or homemade sheets.
(ii) The illustrations on the pages were stunning.
(iii)To maintain preservation, they were pressed between hardwood covers or sewed together.
(iv) Manuscripts in vernacular languages were available.
(v) Manuscripts are extremely expensive and fragile;
(vi) They are difficult to read since the script is written in a variety of styles.
Q.17 “The Bengal Gazette was a commercial paper open to all. but influenced by none.” Justify the claim of James Augustus Hickey. [CBSE 2012]
Ans. James Augustus Hickey began editing the Bengal Gazette, a weekly magazine that advertised itself as a commercial paper open to anyone, in 1780. but without being affected by anyone’ So it was a private English enterprise that began English printing in India, proud of its independence from colonial influence. Hickey ran a number of adverts, including those for the import and sale of slaves. He did, however, publish a number of rumours regarding the Company’s top executives in India. Governor-General Warren Hastings was enraged at this, and promoted the publication of officially sanctioned newspapers to offset the flow of information that harmed the colonial government’s image.
Q.18. Why did the woodblock method become popular in Europe? [CBSE 2015]
Or
What were the drawbacks of handwritten manuscripts?
Or
Mention the shortcomings of manuscripts. [CBSE Sept. 2011, 2012, 2014]
Ans. (i) Handwritten manuscript production could not keep up with the ever-increasing demand for books.
(ii) Copying was a costly, time-consuming, and difficult process.
(iii) The manuscripts were fragile, difficult to handle, and difficult to transport or read. Woodblocks were frequently employed in Europe by the early fifteenth century to print fabrics, playing cards, and religious images with basic, brief phrases.
Q.19. From the early 19th century, there were intense debates around religious issues. Printed tracts and newspapers not only spread new ideas, but they shaped the nature of debate also. Explain by giving examples.
Ans. (i) Different groups dealt with the changes in colonial society in different ways, offering a variety of new interpretations of different religions’ beliefs. A larger audience might now take part in these public debates and share their opinions. These disagreements resulted in the emergence of new concepts.
(ii) There were heated debates between social and religious reformers and Hindu orthodoxy over topics such as widow immolation, monotheism, Brahmanical priesthood, and idolatry at this period. As the dispute progressed in Bengal, pamphlets and newspapers multiplied, disseminating a variety of viewpoints. The concepts were printed in daily, spoken language of ordinary people to reach a wider audience.
(iii) The Sambad Kaumudi was written by Raja Ram Mohan Roy in 1821, and the Hindu orthodoxy commissioned the Samachar Chandrika to counter his views. Jam-i-Jahan Nama and Shamsul Akhbar, two Persian newspapers, have been published since 1822.
Q.20. Explain the steps which were taken by the British government or the colonial government to control the freedom of press.
Ans. I Previous measures: Prior to 1798, the East India Company’s colonial state was unconcerned with censorship. Surprisingly, the Company’s first attempts to restrict printed content were directed towards Englishmen in India who were critical of Company misrule and despised the behaviour of certain Company officers. The Company was concerned that its critics in England would exploit similar complaints to threaten its trading monopoly in India.
(ii) Calcutta Supreme Court Restrictions: By the 1820s, the Calcutta Supreme Court had issued a number of regulations limiting press freedom, and the Company had begun encouraging the publishing of publications celebrating British rule. Governor-General Bentinck decided to modify press rules in 1835 after receiving urgent requests from editors of English and vernacular newspapers. A liberal colonial administrator, Thomas Macaulay, developed new rules that restored prior liberties.
(iii) Vernacular Press Act: After the 1857 insurrection, attitudes toward press freedom shifted. Enraged Englishmen asked that the ‘native’ press be shut down. The Vernacular Press Act, modelled after the Irish Press Laws, was passed in 1878. It gave the government broad powers to restrict reporting and commentaries in the alternative press. From then on, the government maintained track of the vernacular publications published in various provinces on a regular basis. When a report was deemed seditious, the publication was warned, and if the warning was disregarded, the press and printing equipment might be seized.
