# data[].attributes.body
who he was

name: bi sheng

born: 990 ce in china (song dynasty)

died: 1051 ce

lived: about 61 years

what he did

invented movable type printing (around 1040 ce).

used individual clay pieces for chinese characters that could be arranged and reused.

described in detail by shen kuo, a famous chinese scientist, in his book dream pool essays (written 1088).

why he matters

his invention was the world’s first known movable type system.

it showed the idea of reusing characters instead of carving whole woodblocks.

less successful than gutenberg’s later system because:

chinese writing has thousands of characters, so it was harder to manage.

clay was fragile and broke more easily.

# data[].attributes.body
who he was

full name: johannes gensfleisch zur laden zum gutenberg

born: around 1400 in mainz, germany

died: 1468 in mainz

lived: about 68 years

what he did

invented the movable-type printing press in europe around 1440.

created metal movable type, which was stronger and reusable compared to earlier clay or wood types.

developed oil-based ink that stuck well to paper and parchment.

combined his printing system with a screw press (like a wine press) to apply even pressure.

why he matters

printed the gutenberg bible (around 1455), one of the first major books produced with movable type.

his invention made books cheaper and faster to produce, breaking the monopoly of handwritten manuscripts.

fueled the renaissance, reformation, and scientific revolution by spreading knowledge widely.

today, he’s often called the “father of modern printing.”

# data[].attributes.body
time & place:

bi sheng → china, 990–1051 ce (song dynasty).

gutenberg → germany, c. 1400–1468 ce (renaissance era).

material:

bi sheng used baked clay (fragile).

gutenberg used metal type (strong, reusable).

language system:

bi sheng’s chinese characters = thousands of symbols → harder to make movable type practical.

gutenberg’s alphabet = just 26 letters → way easier for printing large amounts.

spread of invention:

bi sheng’s idea didn’t spread widely in china at the time.

gutenberg’s press exploded across europe → fueled the renaissance & reformation.

# data[].attributes.body
printing pioneers: both invented methods that changed how people could produce texts.

movable type: both used the idea of movable pieces to arrange characters/letters for printing.

impact: their work helped spread knowledge faster than handwriting ever could.

not widely recognized at first: in their lifetimes, neither got the full worldwide credit they deserved.