Previous Year Questions: Print Culture &

the Modern World

Previous Year Questions: Print Culture & the

Modern World
(SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS)

Q.1. How had hand printing technology introduced in Japan?    [CBSE Delhi 2019]
Ans.• Buddhist monasteries from China introduced hand-printing technology into
Japan around AD 768-770.
• The oldest printed Japanese book was the Buddhist ‘Diamond Sutra’ with woodcut
illustrations.
• Pictures were printed on textiles, playing cards and paper money.
• Printing of visual material led to interesting publishing practices

Q.2. “Not everyone welcomed the printed book, and those who did also had fears
about it.” Justify the statement by giving three arguments.    [CBSE 2018]
Ans. The arguments in support of above statement are as mentioned below :
(i) Many were apprehensive of the effects that the easier access to the printed word and
the wider circulation of books, could have on people’s minds.
(ii) It was feared that if there was no control over what was printed and read then
rebellious and irreligious thoughts might spread.
(iii) If that happened the authority of Valuable’ literature would be destroyed. This fear
or anxiety was the main basis of criticism of the new printed literature.

Q.3. How did the printing press help in emerging a new reading public ?    [CBSE
2018]
Ans. (i) Printing reduced the cost of books.
(ii) The time and labour required to produce each book came down.
(iii) Multiple copies could be produced easily
(iv) Books flooded the market reading out to an evergrowing readership.

Q.4. State an important characteristic of the oldest Japanese book, Diamond

Sutra.    [CBSE 2018]
Ans. It contained six sheets of text with woodcut illustrations.

Q.5. Which city of China became the hub of new print culture ?    [CBSE 2016-17]
Ans. Shanghai became the hub of the new print culture, catering to the western-style
schools. From hand printing there was now a gradual shift to mechanical printing.

Q.6. How did the Buddhist missionaries from China introduce printing technology
into Japan around ad 768-770 ? Explain.    [CBSE 2016-17] 
Or
Who introduced print culture to Japan ?    [CBSE 2016-17] 
Ans. (a) Buddhist missionaries introduced print culture to Japanese.
(b) (i) The oldest Japanese book, printed in AD 868, is the Buddhist Diamond Sutra.
(ii) Pictures were printed on textiles, playing cards and paper money.
(iii) In medieval Japan, the poets and prose writers regularly published their works and
books were cheap and abundant.

Q.7. Which Asian country was the major producer of printed material in th e 16th
century and why ?    [CBSE 2016-17]
Ans. (a) The imperial state in China was the major producer of printed material for a
long time.
(b) (i) China had a large bureaucratic system which recruited its personnel through civil
service examinations.
(ii) Textbooks for this examination were printed in vast numbers under the sponsorship
of the imperial state.
(iii) From the sixteenth century, the number of examination candidates went up and
that increased the volume of print.

Q.8. Why were manuscripts not widely used in everyday life ? Give three reasons.  
 [CBSE 2016-17]
Ans.(i) Manuscripts were, however, highly expensive and fragile.
(ii) They had to be handled carefully.
(iii) They also could not be read easily as the script was written in different styles.

Q.9. “The print culture created the conditions within which the French Revolution
occurred.” Give three arguments in favour of the statement.    [CBSE 2016-17] 
Ans.(i) Print culture popularised the writings of Rousseau, Voltaire and others. These
thinkers were against the sacred authority of the Church and the despotic power of the
state. Rousseau’s ideal of ‘liberty, equality and fraternity’ became the motto of the
revolutionaries.
(ii) Print culture created a culture of dialogue and debate. All values, norms and
institutions were re-evaluated and discussed that made public aware of the power of
reason. They questioned the existing idea and belief.
(iii) New literature criticised royalty for their lavish life style at a time when people were
suffering from hunger. Cartoons and caricatures showed that the monarchy was
absorbed in sensual pleasures. The ordinary people were oppressed and suffered
immense hardships.

Q.10. What was Protestant Reformation ?    [CBSE 2016-17]

Ans. It was a sixteenth-century movement to reform the Catholic Church dominated by
Rome. Martin Luther was one of the main Protestant reformers. Several traditions of
anti- Catholic Christianity developed out of the movement.
(LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS)
Q.1. How did the print revolution lead to the development of a reading mania in
Europe?
OR
How had printing press created a new culture of reading in Europe? Explain with
examples. [CBSE 2019, 32/2/3]
Ans.As literacy and schools spread in European countries, there was a virtual reading
mania that developed.
(i) New forms of popular literature appeared to target new readers.
(ii) There were ritual calendars along with ballads and folk tales.
(iii) In England, penny chapbooks were carried by petty pedlars, known as chapmen and
sold for a penny, so that even the poor could buy them.
(iv) In France, these low-priced books were called ‘Biliotheque Blene’, as they were
bound in cheap blue covers.
(v) There were romances, histories, books of various sizes, serving different purposes
and interests.

Q.2. How did print help connect communities and people in different parts of
India ? Explain with examples.
Or
“Print did not only stimulate the publication of conflicting opinions amongst
communities, but it also connected communities and people in different parts of
India.” Support the statement with examples.    [CBSE 2016-17]
Ans.(i) From the early nineteenth century, there were intense debates around religious
issues. Print culture published such ideas which resulted in more participation in public
discussions.
(ii) In North India, The ulama were worried that the colonial rulers would encourage
conversion and change the Muslim personal laws. They, started cheap lithographic
presses. Islamic doctrines were explained.
(iii) The Deoband seminary published thousands of fatwas telling Muslims how to
conduct themselves in their everyday life.
(iv) Among Hindus, too, print encouraged the reading of religious texts in vernacular
languages. Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas was published from Calcutta in 1810.
Thus, religious texts reached a large number of people and encouraged them to take
part in discussions, debates and controversies.
(а) However, newspapers conveyed news from one place to another, creating pan-
Indian identities. It, therefore, connected communities and people in different parts of
India.

Q.3. Explain any five innovations in print technology in Europe that took place
after the 18th century.    [CBSE 2016-17] 
Ans. The following innovations took place in printing technology in the nineteenth
century :
(i) Power-driven cylindrical press by Richard M. Hoe of New York : This was capable of
printing 8,000 sheets per hour. It was useful for printing newspapers.
(ii) Offset Press : This could print up to six colours at a time.
(iii) Electrically operated presses : These further accelerated printing operations.
(iv) Other developments : (a) Methods of feeding paper improved.
(b) The quality of plates became better.
(c) Automatic paper reels and photoelectric controls of the colour register were
introduced.

Q.4. What is reading mania ? Explain which factors led to reading mania in the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Europe ?    [CBSE 2016-17]
Ans. (a) Reading mania means sudden surge in reading of books by the people due to
increase in literacy rate and due to increase in printed books.
(b) Factors : (i) Literacy rate increased upto 60 to 80 per cent. Churches opened schools
for peasants and artisans.
(ii) New forms of literature such as almanacs, folktales, chap books, biliotheque etc.,
were printed. Pedlars sold this literature. Poor could buy chapbooks for a penny.

Q.5. How did Gutenberg get the idea of a printing press and perfected it ? Which
was his first printed book ?    [CBSE 2016-17] 
Or 
Name the first book printed by Gutenberg press.    [CBSE 2016-17] 
Ans. (a) (i) Gutenberg was the son of a merchant had seen wine and olive presses. He
also learnt the art of polishing stones, became a master goldsmith, and also acquired
the expertise to create lead moulds used for making trinkets.
(ii) Drawing on this knowledge, Gutenberg adapted existing technology to design his
innovation.
(iii) The olive press provided the model for the printing press.
(iv) Moulds were used for casting the metal types for the letters of the alphabet.
(v) By 1448, Gutenberg perfected the system.
(b) The first book he printed was the Bible. About 180 copies were printed and it took
three years to produce them. By the standards of the time this was the fast production.

Gutenberg Printing Press

Q.6. Write a short note on Ukiyo.    [CBSE 2016-17] 

Ans. (i) Kitagawa Utamaro, born in Edo in 1753, widely known for his contributions to
an art form called Ukiyo (pictures of the floating world) or depiction of ordinary human
experiences, especially urban ones.
(ii) These prints travelled to contemporary US and Europe and influenced artists like
Manet, Monet and Van Gogh.
(iii) Publishers like Tsutaya Juzaburo identified subjects and commissioned artists who
drew the theme in outline.
(iv) Then a skilled woodblock carver pasted the drawing on a woodblock and carved a
printing block to reproduce the painter’s lines.
(v) In the process, the original drawing would be destroyed and only prints would
survive.

Q.7. Describe the woodblock printing.    [CBSE 2016-17]

Ans.(i) Woodblock printing was the earliest kind of print technology.
(ii) It was developed in China, Japan and Korea.
(iii) This was a system of hand-writing.
(iv) From ad 594 onwards, under this system, books in China w ere printed by rubbing
paper against the inked surface of woodblocks.
(v) As both sides of the thin, porous sheet could not be printed, the traditional Chinese
'accordion book’ was folded and stitched at the side.