The Breakthrough of Typographic Printing | 15various developments. Firstly, it resulted from the well-organised Chinese edu-
cation and assessment system for administrations, which the Koreans adopted
in the tenth century (Sohn 1972: 218). From the Chinese Song period
onwards (960–1279), books provided a means to gain social and political
advancement, and thus attain more prestigious positions (McDermott 2006:
85). Although the state demanded the standardisation of study material, a
dynamic book market with competing works of preparatory literature evolved.
Aspirants to the civil service even tried to impress with their own writings
(Chow 2004: 242).
Secondly, the governments played a prominent role with regard to media
expansion. In China, the ministerial printing office did not merely produce
administrative instructions, official dynasty histories, and exam preparation
literature. Rulers also distributed books which they regarded as commercially
or politically important (Brokaw 2005: 17). This was even more widespread
in Korea. Here, in 1403, the king had a metal foundry set up, which initi-
ated prints, developed print techniques, and even organised the paper and
ink production and nationwide distribution. Besides the royal printing house
and governmental bodies, the Korean sovereigns also authorised monasteries,
private study institutions, local government agencies in the provinces, and
private individuals to engage in the business of printing. However, this central
organisational system tended to restrict the expansion of the new media in
Korea (Sohn 1972: 230; Lie 2003: 19, 36–43).
At the same time, the rulers of East Asia promoted the preservation of
accumulated knowledge in large libraries. Around 1420, the inventory of the
imperial library in China already comprised approximately twenty thousand
titles containing one hundred thousand printed works (juan), with students
being granted access to libraries belonging to the Chinese imperial college
(McDermott 2006: 50, 116). Surprisingly, the Chinese book market suffered
less from constraints than the European one. According to the studies of Kai-
Wing Chow, neither the contents nor the number of printers were regulated
by sovereigns until sometime in the eighteenth century – in contrast to Europe
(Chow 2004: 251). Naturally, this too facilitated the emergence and expan-
sion of the medium.
Thirdly, the newly emerging print and book market is not to be understood
merely as a means to secure authority. It is also to be viewed in the context of
everyday social and cultural practices. Books played a central role in the form
of gifts because they were valued as aesthetic objects in private collections, and
also served to secure loyalty within the state (McDermott 2006: 85; Seong-
Rae 2004: 31). Whereas profit-orientation was the main trigger behind the
dynamics of the Western book market, it had only marginal bearing in Korea
before the mid-seventeenth century (Burke 2000: 175), doubtless impeding
the production dynamics initially aimed at by the sovereigns. By contrast,