[00:02.17]Unit 20 New Frontiers Culture Corner
[00:06.79]Ancient Chinese Inventions
[00:09.71]Paper making
[00:11.18]The ancient Chinese invented
[00:13.43]and were using paper about 2000 years ago.
[00:17.36]Early paper in China was made
[00:19.20]from bamboo fiber.
[00:21.12]The plant was soaked in water
[00:22.67]and then beaten to a pulp.
[00:24.18]This pulp or paste was then dried
[00:26.42]into fine sheets.
[00:28.28]Because of the invention of paper,
[00:30.63]the Chinese were one of the first nations
[00:32.99]to start producing historical records,
[00:35.20]maps, and literature.
[00:38.76]Printing A Chinese craftsman called Bi Sheng
[00:43.28]invented the printing press in 1045 AD.
[00:47.48]Early printing presses were made
[00:49.24]by engraving wooden blocks with characters.
[00:52.12]The blocks were the arranged to form the words
[00:54.14]on a page.This invention made it much quicker
[00:57.71]and easier toreproduce written work
[01:00.44]and lead to the first ever mass-production
[01:02.82]of books and literature.
[01:05.29]Because books became more widely available
[01:07.39]to the public, general literacy in China
[01:09.99]was considerably better than anywhere else
[01:12.11]in the world.
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