John Gutenberg

ThesynonymGutenberg(theinventorofthetype)generallyreferstoJohnGutenberg.Inz,namedGutenberg,movedtoStrasbourgwithhisfather.Hewasnotbornintoanoblefamilyaspeoplesaid,butacitizen,amemberofthegoldsmiths'guild,andthesonofajeweler.Hestartedtomakeamirror.Whenheputthemirrorintotheframewithapressingtool,hethoughtaboutwhetherhecouldusethesamepressingtooltoholdthelivingtypeofthewordorsentence,andthenusehimtoprintit..

Likemanyinventors,thereasonthatpromptedhimtoworkhardtoexplorewaspoverty.GutenbergreturnedtohishometownandmetamannamedFresde.Thismanhimselfhadnoaccomplishments,buthisnamegoesdowninhistory.Hebelongstoakindofinsatiable,simple-minded,butveryrichperson.

Atthattime,thesituationwaslikethis.Atthebeginningofcreativeinnovation,theworkwasnotprogressingfast,buttheinventorwasalreadyimpoverishedanddebt-ridden.Thelocalrichmansuedhim.Althoughthelocalrichhimselfbreachedthecontractanddidnotpaythemoneyontime,hestillwonthelawsuit.ThejudgeruledthattheGutenbergtypesettingmachinewasgiventothelocalrichman.Ifitweren'tforthechurchinMainztomediate,theinventormighthavebeendestroyed.

Becauseatthattime,itcouldnotbeotherorganizationsorindividuals,andonlythechurchwouldbethefirsttodiscoverthesignificanceofthisinfinitelypowerfulnewinventionanditsthreattothechurch.TheinventorandhistypesettingmachineshouldbesenttotheKingofYama.Isn'titjustinthesesmallletters,thesewoodenframes,andtheblackinkthattherearedemonicpowerslurking?Butthechurchbecamethefirstusersofthisnewinvention.ThefirstdocumentsprintedpersonallybytheinventorwhobroughtnewlightweretheAtonementsoftheDarkAges.Thechurchagreedtousemoneytoatonefortheirsins.

Likeamythicalstory,itissaidthatadistantandlegendaryprince,theKingofCyprus,isgatheringallhisfollowersagainsttheTurkishpagans.Onlyinthiswaycanhepreservetheislandheinherited.Inordertofinanciallysupporttheprinceinthewar,thebishopaskedtheagenttodistributetheseatonementnotestoallpartsofthecountry.Germanagentsfeelthatprintingismuchfasterthanhandwriting.Withthismethod,hundredsofcopiescanbeprintedinjustafewhours.Anyonewhofeelsguiltycanimmediatelybespirituallyliberated,aslongastheyarewillingtopay.

JohnGutenbergisoftenreferredtoastheinventorofprinting.Infact,hiscontributionistoinventtheprintingpressofmovabletypeprinting,sothatavarietyoftextmaterialscanbeprintedquicklyandaccurately.Noneofthecompletelysuccessfulinventionscomesfromthewisdomofoneperson,andofcourseprintingisthesame.Peoplehaveusedsealsandsealringsthatworkonthesameprincipleasstereotypeprintingsinceancienttimes.ManycenturiesbeforeGutenberg,theChineseknewaboutstereotypeprinting,andbooksprintedin868werefoundinthecountry.BeforeGutenberg,Westernersalsoknewaboutstereotypeprinting,andstereotypeprintingcouldmakeonebookprintedintomanyvolumes.Butthismethodhasabigflaw,thatis,printingeverynewbookrequiresanewsetofwoodcutsorprintingplates,soitisimpracticaltopublishawiderangeofbooks.

AlthoughmovabletypeprintinghasappearedinChinahundredsofyearsago,ithasnotbeenpopular.Therefore,modernmovabletypeprintingmainlycomesfromGutenberg'sinvention.From1434to1444GutenberglivedinStrasbourg,whereheopenedacompany.In1439hemademanymetalmirrorsforthepilgrimagetoAachen,butduetotheoutbreakofplagueinAachen,thepilgrimagewaspostponedto1440.HisclientfeltthattheyhadbeendeceivedbyGutenberg,sobothpartieswenttocourt.

OnlyfewofGutenberg’slifeareexactlyknown.Themostimportantthingintheprocessofhisinventionofprintingwasthatheeffectivelycombinedmanydifferenttechnologiesknownatthetime.Inaddition,hisexperienceincastingmirrorsinStrasbourgalsoprovidedgoodconditionsforhisinvention.Hedevelopedspecialalloysandcastingmethodsasletters.Inthiswayhebuiltasetofalphabetlibraries,withwhichheprintedhisfamous"GutenbergBible"andsomeothersecretariesanddocuments.

Beforesettinguphisprintingplant,hehadtorunaroundtoprepareforthefund.Heborrowedahighdebtfromalocalbusinessman,JohannesFoster,toruntheprintingfactory.Thetwobrokeupbeforethecourtduetodisagreementsonhowtodistributetheprofitsandhowtonametheirjointcompany.GutenberghiredPeterSerfaasthehostoftheprintinghouse,andSerfamadehisprintinghousethefirstcommercialandprofitableprintinghouse.Atotalofabout180copiesofthe"GutenbergBible"havebeenprinted,ofwhich49arestillinusetoday.Accordingtocontemporaryresearch,hemadealotofmoneywiththispatent.

Whenhewasaboutsixtyyearsold,Gutenbergwasstillasingleman,becausehespentallhistimecreatingandinventing.HewascalledtomeettheArchbishopofNassau,andhewasagreedtocompletewhathehadalreadystarted:publishingtheGermanBible.

Thosewhohaveseenthisfirst42-line"Bible"in1455(oneofthefeworiginaleditionsthatexistisstillondisplayinNewYork.Itistooheavytoholdandmustbeputonhold.Readingonthereadingstage)areallsurprised,becausetheyimagineitwillbeascumbersomeasthefirststeamengineorthefirstcar,butwhattheyseetodayisquiteabeautifulwork.Ithasbeenhand-operatedbymonasteriesforcenturies,butincontemporarytimesithasbeenbeautifullyprintedonloose-leafpaper.Theproblemencounteredbyletterengraversandcasterswashowtobindtheseloose-leafpapersmorebeautifullyandconveniently.

Erinomainen panos

PeopleoftensaythatGutenberg'smaincontributionistheinventionofmovabletype.Infact,movabletypewasinventedinChinaasearlyasthemiddleoftheeleventhcentury,andthenameoftheinventorwasBiSheng.Themovabletypeheinventedwasmadeofceramics,whichhadpoordurability,butotherChineseandKoreansmadeaseriesofimprovementstoit.TheKoreansusedmetalmovabletypelongbeforeGutenberg.Intheearly15thcentury,theNorthKoreangovernmentfundedafoundrytoundertaketheproductionofmovabletypeprinting.

Modernprintinghasfourmaincomponents.Thefirstismovabletypeanditspositioningmethod;thesecondistheprintingpressitself;thethirdissuitableink;thefourthissuitablematerials,suchasprintedpaper.ThepaperinventedbyCaiLuninChinawasintroducedtotheWestlongbeforeGutenberginventedmovabletypeprinting.ForGutenberg,paperisareadilyavailablecomponentinprinting.Althoughtheotherthreecomponentshavealreadydoneacertainamountofwork,theystillneedhimtomakemanyimportantimprovements.

Inthe15thcentury,differentclassesinGermanybegantocryoutforknowledge,demandingtobreakthemonopolyofknowledgebytheCatholicChurch.Urbancitizensandfarmersinvillagesandtownsdemandtolearnmoreknowledge,tounderstandGodandtheworld,notjustwhattheCatholicChurchgivesthem.Priortothis,allbookswerehandmadebymonks,andthenumberwasextremelylimited.Nowadays,inthecityhallunderthesolemntowerandinthesolemnuniversityclassrooms,theillusionofdemocracypermeateseverycorner.Tothisend,Gutenbergbegantodevotehimselftotheinventionandresearchofmovabletypeprinting.

Forexample,heinventedametalalloysuitableformakingmovabletype,amoldthatcanaccuratelypourmovabletype,amimeographinkandaprintingmachine.

ButGutenberg'sentirecontributiongoesfarbeyondanyofhisspecificinventionsorinnovations.Hebecameanimportantpersonmainlybecausehecombinedalltheseprintingcomponentsintoaneffectiveproductionsystem,becauseprinting,unlikeallpreviousinventions,isbasicallyalarge-scaleproductionprocess.Arifleisnaturallyamorelethalweaponthanabowandarrow,butaprintedcopyisindistinguishablefromamanuscriptintermsofeffect,sothesuperiorityofprintingliesinmassproduction.WhatGutenbergcreatedisnotasmallaccessory,asmallinstrument,orevenaseriesoftechnologicalinnovations,butacompleteproductionprocess.

Gutenbergusesmetalletterstoarrangethemintoprintedpages.Thebrandnewthingaboutthismethodisthattheseletterscanbereused.Theoldwoodcutbasecannotbereused.Theycanonlybeengravedonit.It’snotpossibletoprintotherpages.Untilmoderntimes,Gutenberg'sBiblewasregardedasatreasureintheartofprinting.Gutenberg'sinventionspreadveryquicklyinEurope.In50years,30,000printedmaterialshavebeenprintedusingthisnewmethod,totalingmorethan12millionprintedmaterials.ThelettersusedbyGutenbergconsistofalloysoflead,zinc,andothermetals.Theycooldownveryquicklyandcanwithstandthepressureofprinting.Theprintingitselfusesarotatingshaftprintingmethod,whichisprintedonpaperandparchment.

Hahmojen vaikutus

Painatuksen kehittäminen

ComparingthesubsequentdevelopmentofChinaandEurope,itwillbetoacertainextentLearnaboutGutenberg'sinfluenceonworldhistory.AtthetimeofGutenberg'sbirth,thetechnologicaldevelopmentsinthesetworegionswereroughlyequal.However,afterGutenberginventedmodernprinting,Europedevelopedveryrapidly,whileChinacontinuedtouseblockprintingforalongperiodoftime,anditsprogresswasrelativelyslow.Tosaythattheonlyfactorthatcausesthisdifferenceisthatthedevelopmentofprintingmaybeabitexcessive,butitisindeedanimportantfactor.

Itisalsoworthnotingthatonly32ofthe100celebritiesthathaveinfluencedthecourseofhumanhistorylivedbeforeGutenberg,and67peoplelivedinthe500yearsafterhisdeath.ThisshowsthatGutenberg'sinventionisanimportantfactorininspiringrevolutionarydevelopment-andmayevenbeadecisivefactor.

ItseemssafetosaythatevenwithoutAlexanderGrahamBell,thetelephonewouldhavebeeninventedataboutthesametime,andthesamewastrueformanyotherinventions.ButwithoutGutenberg,theinventionofmodernprintingcouldbedelayedformanygenerations.Judgingfromtheoverwhelminginfluenceofprintingonlaterhistory,Gutenbergcertainlyshouldberankedamongthetop100peopleinfluencingthecourseofhumanhistory.

Painatus ja ruuti

Thefoggraduallydisappeared.Inthedayswhenthedarkcloudscleared,peoplesawarayoflightthroughthefog.Isthisthedawnofanewcentury?Thisisamorningstarthatwillpushthenewcenturytocomeassoonaspossible.

Inthe15thcentury,differentclassesinGermanybegantocryoutforknowledge,demandingtobreakthemonopolyofknowledgebythespecialclassesofthechurch.Mysticsrequireincreasedintuitionandspeculation,notunderstanding;heathensrequireknowledgeandunderstanding,notjustprayer.Germaniscommonlyusedinlawsandvariousdocuments.CitizensandfarmersdemandedtolearnmoreknowledgeandtounderstandGodandtheworld,notjustwhatthechurchgavethem.Inthecityhallunderthesolemntowerandinthesolemnuniversityclassrooms,democraticillusionspermeatedeverycorner.Priortothis,allbookswerehandmadebymonks,andthenumberwasextremelylimited.Thetimeforreformisripe.Atfirst,someonecarved1,400picturesonwoodandmetal,andthenusedittoprint.Peopledeeplyfeelthatifthesewoodandmetalcanbemadeintomovabletype,itwouldbegreat!Thiscanbeprintedquicklyandinexpensively.Atthismoment,ayoungmaninStrasbourgwasreadytoanswerthisquestion.

Gutenbergonlyprintedabout200"Bibles",48ofwhichhavebeenpreservedtothepresentday,including20copies.Theyarealldifferentbecausethecraftsmenatthattimedecoratedthepagesofthebookindifferentways.TheRansomCenterbookisdecoratedwithgoldleavesandhastwovolumeswith1,268pages.Oramestimatesitisworth20millionU.S.dollars.

Untilthe1860s,thisBiblewasusedbyamonasteryinsouthernGermany.Somepassagesinthebookwereextractedbymonksandreplacedwithcorrectedtext.Otherparagraphsindicatewhichpartsshouldbereadaloudatreligiousceremonies.

TheGutenbergBibleisoneoftheeightancientdigitizationprojectscompletedbyOctavoincooperationwiththeLibraryofCongress.Thecompanyalsocooperateswithdozensofotherlibraries,includingthefamousFolgerShakespeareLibraryandtheNewYorkPublicLibrary.

Thetechniciansspent4monthstakingpicturesofGutenberg's"Bible"intheLibraryofCongresspagebypagewithahigh-resolutioncamera.Theresolutionofanordinarydigitalcameraisgenerally2millionto4millionpixels,butthecamerausedtoshootthe"Bible"hasreached130millionpixels!Inordertokeepthepagesofthebooklevel,theyusedaspecialbracket,acoldmetalhalidelampforlighting,whichcanensurethatthesurfacetemperatureofthevellumoftheBibledoesnotrisebymorethanonedegreeFahrenheit,andeachexposuretakes15minutes.

Edistää maailmansivilisaatiota

GutenbergdiedinMainz,Germanyin1468,buthisprintingskillsfollowedhisprintingworkersSpreadout.HisinventionlaidthecornerstoneofthedevelopmentofmodernEuropeancivilizationandwastheprecursoroftheEuropeanRenaissanceandReformation;evenwecansaythattheinventionofprintingisalsoakeytechnologythatinducedtheindustrialrevolution.AlthoughprintingoriginatedfromChina,modernprintingwastransferredfromtheWesttoChina,soGutenberghasanimportantinfluenceonthespreadofworldknowledgeandtheevolutionofcivilization.WithoutGutenberg,modernprintingwouldbedelayedforhundredsofyears,andthespreadofknowledgewouldbedelayedevenlonger,andtheworldwouldnotbetheprosperoussituationofthecontemporaryera.Gutenberg'sprintingtechnologyhasmadeprintedmatterverycheap,theprintingspeedhasalsoincreasedalot,andtheprintingvolumehasincreased.IthasgreatlyreducedilliteracyinEurope.

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