NCERT Solutions For Class 10 History Chapter 7 Print Culture And The Modern World

Chapter 7 Print Culture And The Modern World Important Dateline

• 768-770 CE: Hand Print technology comes to Japan.
• 868 CE: The first Japanese book ‘Diamond Sutra’ was published.
• 1430s: Gutenberg developed the first well-known printing press.
• 1753: Kitagawa Utamaro born in Edo.
• 1508: Erasmus wrote Adages.
• 1517: Martin Luther wrote 95 theses.
• 1812: The Grimm Brothers in Germany compiled folk tales.
• Mid-16th century: Print comes to India. The first Printing Press was set up in Kolkata.
• 1822: Persian Newspaper Jam-i-Jahan Nama and Shamsul Akhbar published.
• 1867: Deoband Seminary was founded.
• 1870s: Caricature and cartoons began to publish
• 1871: Gulamgiri a famous novel published.
• 1878: The Vernacular Press Act was passed.
• 1920s: Chap Books series published in England.

Chapter 7 Print Culture And The Modern World Important Concepts And Terms

Calligraphy: The art of beautiful and stylized writing.

Vellum: A parchment made from the skin of animals.

Platen: In letterpress printing, platen is a board that is pressed onto the back of the paper to get the impression from the type. At one time it used to be a wooden board; later it was made of steel.

Compositor: The person who composes the text for printing.

Gallery: Metal frame in which types are laid and the text composed.

Ulema: Legal scholar of Islam and the Sharia (a body of Islamic Law).

Ballad: A historical account or folk tale in verse, usually sung or recited.

Fatwa: A legal pronouncement on Islamic law usually given by a mufti (legal scholar) to clarify issues on which the law is uncertain.

Taverns: Places where people gather to drink alcohol, serve food, meet friends, and exchange news.

Protestant Reformation: 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.

Seditious: Action, speech, or writing that is seen as opposing the government.

Inquisition: A former Roman Catholic court for identifying and punishing heretics.

Heretical: Beliefs that do not follow the accepted teachings of the Church. In Medieval times, heresy was seen as a threat to the right of the church to decide on what should be believed and what should not. Heretical beliefs were severely punished.

Satiety: The state of being fulfilled much beyond the point of satisfaction. Dominations: Subgroups within a religion.

Almanac: An annual publication giving astronomical data, information about movements of the sun and moon, timing of full tides and eclipses, and much else that was of importance in the everyday life of people.

Chapbook: A term used to describe pocket-size books that are sold by traveling pedlars called Chapman. These became popular from the time of the sixteenth-century print and revolution.

Despotism: A system of government in which absolute power is exercised in an individual, unregulated by legal and constitutional checks.

Novel: A novel is a modern form of literature. It is born from print, a mechanical invention.

Chapter 7 Print Culture And The Modern World Ncert Textbook Exercises

Question 1. Give reasons for the following:

1. Woodblock print only came to Europe after 1295.
2. Martin Luther was in favor of print and spoke out in praise of it.
3. The Roman Catholic Church began keeping an Index of Prohibited books in the mid-sixteenth century.
4. Gandhi said the fight for Swaraj is a fight for liberty of speech, liberty of the press, and freedom of association.

Answer:

1. Woodblock print was invented around the sixth century in China. It came to Europe, along with Marco Polo, in 1295. Marco Polo returned to Italy after many years of exploration in China and brought the knowledge of woodblock print with him on his return.
2. Through the publications of his protestant ideas, Martin Luther challenged the orthodox practices and rituals of the Roman Catholic Church. He wrote 95 theses criticizing many of the practices of the Roman Catholic Church. Luther’s writings were immediately reproduced in vast numbers and read widely. This led to a division within the church and to the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. He also translated the New Testament of which 5000 copies were sold within a few days. These could be impossible without the printing technology. Deeply grateful to the print, Luther said, “Printing is the ultimate gift of God and the greatest one.” This is the reason why Luther was in favor of print and spoke out in praise of it.
3. The Roman Catholic Church had to face many dissents from the mid-16th century onwards. People wrote many books that interpreted God and the creation in their own ways or as they liked. Therefore, the church banned such books and kept a record of such banned books. It was called the Index of Prohibited Books.
4. Gandhi considered that the liberty of speech, liberty of the press, and freedom of association were the three most powerful vehicles for expressing and cultivating public opinion. Therefore, he said the fight for Swaraj was a fight for liberty of speech, press, and freedom of association.

Question 2. Write short notes to show what you know about:

1. The Gutenberg Press
2. Erasmus’ idea of printed book
3. The Vernacular Press Act

Answer:

1. The Gutenberg Press:
   • The first printing press was developed by Johan Gutenberg in the 1430s.
   • It was a developed form of the olive and wine presses. By 1448 Gutenberg perfected this system. The lead molds were used for casting the metal types for the letters of the alphabet.
   • The first book he printed was the Bible.
   • He produced 180 copies of the Bible in 3 years, which was much faster by standards of the time, at the time.
2. Erasmus’s Idea of Printed Book: Erasmus was a Latin scholar and a Catholic reformer. He criticized the printing of books. He thought that most of the books were stupid, ignorant, scandalous, raving, irreligious, and seditious. According to him, such books devaluate valuable books.
3. The Vernacular Press Act: Modelled on the Irish Press Laws, it was passed in 1878. This law gave the government tyrannical rights to censor reports and editorials in the vernacular press. If a seditious report was published and the newspaper did not heed an initial warning, the press was seized and the printing machinery confiscated. This was a complete violation of the freedom of expression.

Question 3. What did the spread of print culture in nineteenth-century India mean to:

1. Women
2. The poor
3. Reformers

Answer:

1. Women: The spread of print culture in 19th century India benefited Indian women through learning and education.
   • The liberal families supported the education of women to study or read as they believed education and reading would make women perfect. There was also a negative side to the introduction of books where women were concerned.
   • Conservative Hindus believed that a literate girl would be widowed. Muslims feared that educated women would be corrupted by reading Urdu romances.
   • This led to the counter-reaction, as most of the oppressed women began to study and read books and learn writing in secrecy. Some literate women started to write books and their autobiographies.
   • Rashsundari Devi, a young married girl wrote her autobiography “Amar Jiban” which was published in 1876. Overall, the print culture in 19th century India helped in the spread of the feeling of self-reliance among Indian women.
2. The Poor: The poor people benefited from the spread of print culture because of the availability of books at a low price. The readership among them increased due to the publication of low-priced books.
   • Public libraries were also set up in the early 19th century, expanding access to books where all people could gain knowledge.
   • Encouraged and inspired by the social reformers, people like factory workers too set up their libraries and some even wrote books. Kashibaba, a Kanpur mill worker wrote and published ‘Chote aur Bade Ka Sawal’.
3. Reformers: Indian reformers of the 19th century utilized print culture as the most potent means of spreading their reformist ideas and highlighting unethical issues.
   • They began publishing various vernacular, English, and Hindi newspapers, and books through which they could spread their opinions against widow immolation, child marriage, monotheism, Brahmanical priesthood, and idolatry to the common people of the country.
   • In this way, the spread of print culture in the 19th century provided them a space for attacking religious orthodoxy and spreading modern social and political ideas to people of different languages across the country.

Question 4. Why did some people in eighteenth-century Europe think that print culture would bring enlightenment and end despotism?

Answer:

Many people in eighteenth-century Europe thought that the print culture had the power in to bring enlightenment and end despotism.

This would help in spreading literacy and knowledge among all classes of people.

Social reformers like Louise, Sebastian Mercier, and Martin Luther felt that the print culture was the most powerful engine of progress and public opinion and hence, it would definitely bring enlightenment and an end to despotism.

Question 5. Why did some people fear the effect of easily available printed books? Choose one example from Europe and one from India.

Answer:

Some people especially from the upper class and the powerful class feared the effect of easily available printed books.

Their cause of fear was that due to the spread of literacy among the common people they could lose their position or authority.

Some people feared that this could lead to the spread of rebellions and irreligious thoughts. For example:

• In Europe, the Roman Catholic Church tried to curb printed books through the Index of Prohibited Books.
• In India, the Vernacular Press Act imposed restrictions on the Indian press and various local newspapers. Also, some religious leaders and some people from the upper castes expressed their fear.

Question 6. What were the effects of the spread of print culture on poor people in nineteenth-century India?

Answer:

The effects of the spread of print culture on poor people in nineteenth-century India were:

1. The poor people benefited from the spread of print culture in India on account of the availability of low-price books and public libraries.
2. Enlightening essays were written against caste discrimination and its inherent injustices. These were read by the people across the country.
3. With the encouragement and support of social reformers, overworked factory workers set up libraries for self-education, and some of them even published their own work, for example, Kashibaba published his “Chhote Aur Bade Ka Sawal”.

Question 7. Explain how print culture assisted the growth of nationalism in India.

Answer:

The print culture immensely helped in the growth of nationalism in India in the following ways:

1. Through the vernacular press, oppressive methods of colonial rule were reported.
2. The misrule of the government and its initiative to curb the freedom of the press spread the nationalist ideas that demanded freedom of the press.
3. Nationalist feelings and revolutionary ideas were secretly spread by the dailies such as The Amrit Bazar Patrika, The Indian Mirror, Kesri, The Hindu, Bombay Samachar, etc. Through these newspapers, national leaders always tried to mobilize public opinion of the Indian masses and unite them for the cause of nationalism.
4. The print culture helped in educating the people who then started to be gradually influenced by the reformist and nationalist ideas of the various Indian leaders like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Subhash Chandra Bose, M.K. Gandhi, etc.

Chapter 7 Print Culture And The Modern World Short Questions And Answers

Question 1. Who were the people who employed scribes to write in the 14th century?

Answer:

As handwritten books were expensive, only the rich, the aristocrats, and the Church could employ scribes. The scribes wrote only for aristocratic circles and rich monastic libraries.

With the coming of woodblock printing, merchants and traders started buying books in large numbers, with the result that booksellers could afford to hire scribes.

One bookseller could employ 50 scribes due to the new technology in printing. It was no longer the monopoly of the rich and the influential.

Read and Learn More Class 10 Social Science Solutions

Question 2. State the limitations of handwritten books.
Or
Why were manuscripts not used widely in everyday life before the age of print in India?

Answer:

Handwritten books were expensive and took a long time to produce. Copying was expensive, and it was a hard and laborious work.

The manuscripts were very fragile and could easily be spoilt. They were awkward in size and difficult to carry. The result was that their circulation was limited. Middle-class people could not afford them.

Question 3. Write a short note on the developments or innovations in printing technology in the 19th century.
Or
State three methods by which printed books became more accessible to people.

Answer:

1. There was a series of innovations in the printing technology in the 19th century.
2. Richard M. Hoe of New York perfected the power-driven cylindrical press. He could print 8,000 sheets per hour. His press was very useful for printing newspapers.
3. The late 19th century saw the development of the offset press capable of printing six colours at a time.
4. Electrically-operated press in the early 20th century increased the rate of printing operations.
5. Methods of feeding paper improved, the quality of plates became better, machines were fed automatic paper reels, and photoelectric controls of the color register were introduced.

Question 4. Explain any three features of manuscripts before the age of print in India.

Answer:

1. Manuscripts were copied on palm leaves or handmade papers.
2. The pages were beautifully illustrated.
3. They were pressed between wooden covers or sewn together to ensure preservation.
4. They were available in vernacular languages. They were highly expensive and fragile.
5. They could not be read easily as the script was written in different styles.
6. They were not widely used in everyday life.

Question 5. Why did the woodblock method become popular in Europe?

Answer:

1. Production of handwritten manuscripts could not meet the ever-increasing demand for books.
2. Copying was an expensive, laborious, and time-consuming business.
3. The manuscripts were fragile, awkward to handle, and could not be carried
   around or read easily.
4. By the early 15th century, woodblocks started being widely used in Europe to print textiles, playing cards, and religious pictures with simple, brief texts.

Question 6. What was the role of new visual image culture in printing in India?

Answer:

1. At the end of the 19th century, a new visual culture started.
2. With the increasing number of printing presses visual images could be easily reproduced in multiple copies.
3. Painters like Raja Ravi Verma produced images for mass circulation.
4. Cheap prints and calendars were brought even by the poor to decorate the walls of their houses.

Question 7. Print popularised the ideas of the Enlightenment thinkers. Explain.

Answer:

1. Collectively the writings of thinkers provided a critical commentary on tradition, superstition, and despotism.
2. Scholars and thinkers argued for the rule of reason rather than custom and demanded that everything should be judged through the application of reason and rationality.
3. They attacked the sacred authority of the church and the despotic power of the state thus eroding the legitimacy of a social order based on tradition.
4. The writings of Voltaire and Rousseau were read widely and those who read these books saw the world through new eyes, eyes that were questioning, critical, and rational.

Question 8. Why was China a major producer of printed material for a long time?

Answer:

China had a huge bureaucratic system. The personnel for this system was chosen based on a Civil Service Examination.

To help the candidates, textbooks for this examination were printed in enormous numbers. In the 16th century, when more candidates were recruited, more printed material appeared in public.

Question 9. Write briefly why some people feared that the development of print could lead to the growth of dissenting ideas.

Answer:

With the coming of printing technology, there was a greater possibility for wide circulation of ideas. A new world of debate and discussion would be created.

Those who did not agree with the established norms were now able to publish and circulate their ideas.

Through print media, they persuaded people to think differently and developed the spirit of inquiry. The growth in popularity of the Reformist ideas in Europe is an example of this trend.

Question 10. Write a short note on how the printing press came to India.

Answer:

The printing press was brought to India by the Jesuit missionaries. They came to Goa in the 19th century, learned Konkani, and printed many tracts.

But in 1674, about 50 books were printed in Konkani and Kanarese languages. The Catholic priests published the first book in Tamil in 1579, in Cochin and in 1713 the first book in Malayalam was printed by them.

The Dutch Protestant missionaries had already printed 72 Tamil books by 1710, most of them were translations of earlier texts. By the end of the 18th century, newspapers began to appear in various Indian languages.

Question 11. What were the difficulties faced by the manuscripts in India?

Answer:

The handwritten books were very expensive and very fragile. They were difficult to carry and had to be handled carefully.

They were also not easy to read as the script was written in many styles. Because of this difficulty, they were not widely read. Teachers dictated them from memory and the students wrote them down.

Students learned not to read the manuscripts but only write them. Though in the pre-colonial period, Bengal had many village primary schools, the manuscripts were not used in everyday life.

Thus, students became literate without ever actually reading the texts.

Question 12. “The print culture created the conditions within which the French Revolution occurred.” Support the statement by giving three arguments.
Or
Why do some historians think that the print culture created the basis for the French Revolution?

Answer:

1. Print popularised the ideas of enlightened thinkers, and the writings of Voltaire and Rousseau were read widely.
   • They made a critical commentary on tradition, superstition, and despotism. It opened the eyes of the readers and made them question, be critical, and rational.
2. Print created a new culture of dialogue and debate. All values, norms, and institutions were revalued and discussed by a public that had become aware of the power of reason. New ideas of social revolution came into being.
3. By the 1780s, there was an outpouring of literature, that mocked royalty and criticized their morality. In the process, it raised questions about the existing social order.
   • It led to hostile sentiments against the monarchy. Thus, the print culture created the conditions in which the French Revolution occurred.

Question 13. Who were the supporters of women’s education in India and why?

Answer:

The print culture affected the lives of women. Not only women readers but also many women writers came forward to write about women’s experiences.

They were supported by liberal fathers and husbands who started educating their womenfolk at home. Some even sent them to schools.

Many schools for women were set up by social workers and rich people in towns and cities. Many reformers also supported education among women.

Question 14. What was the role of cartoons and caricatures in new forms of publications?

Answer:

By the 1870s, cartoons and caricatures appeared in many journals and newspapers. They commented on social and political issues.

By making fun of certain beliefs, they aroused the public and made them think about certain rules of society and the role of imperial rulers.

Some caricatures made fun of the educated Indians’ fascination for everything Western in tastes, clothes, etc. Some, on the other hand, expressed fear of change of any kind.

In the field of politics, they lampooned the behavior and attitude of imperial rulers. The imperial rulers returned the compliment by making fun of and caricaturing the nationalists.

Question 15. Explain how print culture had assisted the growth of nationalism in India in the 19th century.

Answer:

1. Print culture led to the publication of most papers in Vernacular languages. Many more journals were published after 1870.
2. These journals and newspapers published cartoons and caricatures criticizing imperial rule and commenting on social and political issues.
   • The vernacular newspapers like Tilak’s Kesari and Maratha became assertively nationalist and reported on colonial misrule and encouraged nationalism.
3. The repressive measures passed by the British government provoked militant protest. Tilak was imprisoned for writing about them in his Kesari, in 1908.
   • It led to widespread protests. Print helped the leaders to carry their ideas to people across India, brought them closer, and helped the growth of nationalism.

Question 16. How did print culture affect women in nineteenth-century India? Explain.

Answer:

Women became important as readers as well as writers. The lives and feelings of women began to be written in vivid and intense ways. The number of women readers increased enormously in middle-class homes.

Liberal fathers and husbands began educating their womenfolk at home and sent them to schools when schools for women were set up in cities and towns.

Many journals carried a syllabus and attached suitable reading matter which could be used at home.

From the 1860s, a few Bengali women like Kailashbashini Debi wrote books highlighting the experience of women who were imprisoned, kept in ignorance forced to do hard domestic work, and treated unjustly.

Tarabai Shinde and Pandita Ramabai of Maharashtra in 1880, wrote with anger about the miserable lives of upper-caste Hindu women – especially widows.

In Central Calcutta, an entire area called Battala was devoted to printing popular books, profusely illustrated. They were carried by pedlars to homes enabling women to read them in their leisure time.

But everyone was not so liberal. Hindus (conservative) believed that a literate girl would become a widow.

Muslims believed that an educated woman would be corrupted by reading. Some women had to learn to read and write in secret, like Rashsundari Debi of East Bengal.

She learned to read secretly in her kitchen and later wrote her autobiography Amar Jiban in 1876.

Question 17. Explain the main features of the first printed Bible.

Answer:

The main features of the first printed Bible were:

• About 180 copies of the Bible were printed and it took three years to produce them.
• The text was printed in the New Gutenberg press with metal type, but the borders were carefully designed, painted, and illuminated by hand by artists.
• No two copies were the same. Every page of each copy was different. This made everyone possess a copy that they could claim was unique.
• Colour was used within the letters in various places. This had two functions, i.e., it added color to the page and highlighted all the holy words to emphasize their significance. Color on every page was added by hand.
• Gutenberg printed the text in black leaving spaces where the color could be filled later.

Question 18. Examine the role of missionaries in the growth of the press in India.

Answer:

The printing press first came to India with Portuguese missionaries to Goa in the mid-sixteenth century. Jesuit priests learned Konkani and printed several tracts.

By 1674, about 50 books were printed in Konkani and Kanara languages. Catholic priests published the first Tamil book in 1579 at Cochin and in 1713, the first Malayalam book was published by them.

By 1710, Dutch Protestant missionaries published 32 Tamil Texts, many of them translations of older works.

Question 19. What role was played by the print culture in bringing the French Revolution?

Answer:

Role of print culture in bringing French Revolution:

1. Print popularised the ideas of Enlightenment thinkers. Collectively, their writing provided a critical commentary on tradition, superstition, and disposition. They argued for the rule of reason rather than custom.
2. They attacked the sacred authority of the Church and the despotic power of the state. This eroded the authority of a social order based on tradition.
   • The writings of Voltaire and Rousseau made readers see the world through new eyes, eyes that questioned and were rational and critical.
3. Print created a new culture of dialogue and debate. Now all values, norms, and institutions were re-evaluated and discussed by the public, now aware of their power to question existing beliefs and ideas. It led to new ideas of social revolution.
4. By the 1780s there was an output of literature that mocked royalty and questioned their morality. Cartoons and caricatures presented a monarchy interested only in their own pleasures, while the ordinary people suffered immense hardships.
5. Literature spread hostile sentiments against the monarchy, though it was circulated underground. But we must remember that to combat the above ideas was the influence of the Church.
   • If people read Voltaire and Rousseau, they were also exposed to monarchical and Church propaganda. So print did not directly shape their minds, but it made it possible for people to think differently.

Question 20. How did the printing press bring forth changes in reading culture?

Answer:

With the printing press, a new reading public emerged.

1. Printing reduced the cost of books.
2. The time and labor to produce each book came down. Multiple copies could be produced easily.
3. Books flooded the market, reaching out to an evergrowing readership.
4. It created a new culture of reading.
5. Common people could not read books earlier, only the elite could. Common people heard a story or saw a performance collectively.
6. Instead of a hearing public now there was a reading public.
7. The rate of literacy in European countries was also low till the 20th century. Publishers reached out to people by making them listen to books being read out.
8. Printers published popular ballads and folktales, profusely illustrated. These were then sung and recited at village gatherings in taverns in towns.
9. Oral culture thus entered print and printed material was orally transmitted. Hearing and reading the public, thus became one.

Question 21. Why were the printed books popular even among the illiterate people?

Answer:

1. First, very cheap small books brought to markets in 19th-century towns allowed poor people traveling, to buy them. Public libraries set up in the early 20th century expanded the access to books.
2. From the late 19th century, many social reformers like Jyotiba Phule (a Maratha reform pioneer) wrote about injustices of the caste system in their books (Gulamgiri, 1871).
   • In the 20th century, B.R. Ambedkar and E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker wrote powerfully on caste, and their books were read by people all over India.
   • Print Culture and the Modern World Workers in factories were too overworked and lacked education to write much about their experiences.
   • A Kanpur mill worker wrote and published “Chhote Aur Bade Ka Sawal” in 1938.
   • To show links between caste and class exploitation under the name of Sudarshan Chakhar between 1935 and 1955 were together published and were called “Sacchi Kavitayen”.
   • Libraries were set up in Bangalore Cotton Mills and in Bombay. It was done to bring literacy and to propagate the message of nationalism. The printed books made the poor crazy about reading.

Question 22. Describe the progress of Printing in Japan.

Answer:

Buddhist Missionaries from China introduced hand-printing technology into Japan around C.E. 768-770.

The oldest Japanese book, printed in C.E. 868, is the Buddhist Diamond Sutra, containing six sheets of text and woodcut illustrations. Pictures were printed on textiles, playing cards, and paper money.

In medieval Japan, poems and prose writings were regularly published, and books were cheap and in plenty.

In the late 18th century, flourishing urban circles in Edo (modern Tokyo) published illustrated collections by printing artists.

Courts and bookstores were packed with hand-printed material of various types books on women, musical instruments, calculations, tea ceremonies, flower arrangements, proper etiquette, cooking, and famous places.

Famous examples: Kitagawa Utamoro’s contribution to an art form called Ukiyo (pictures of the floating world).

Question 23. What is a manuscript? Write four shortcomings of manuscripts.

Answer:

A manuscript is a handwritten book. It was written on a palm leaf or on a handmade paper. Pages were sometimes beautifully illustrated.

They would be either pressed between wooden covers or sewn together to ensure preservation.

The four shortcomings of manuscripts were:

1. They were highly expensive and fragile.
2. They had to be handled carefully.
3. They could not be read easily as the script was written in different styles.
4. So they were not widely used. Students very often did not read the texts. They only learned to write.
   • Teachers dictated portions from memory and students wrote them down. Many became literate without ever actually reading any kind of text.

Question 24. What was the attitude of people in India in the nineteenth century towards women reading? How did women respond to this?

Answer:

There was not a universally favorable attitude. Conservative Hindus believed that a literate girl would be widowed and Muslims feared educated women would be corrupted by reading Urdu romances.

Rebel women defied such prohibition. A Muslim girl in north India defied her family and secretly learned to read and write Urdu.

Rashsundari Debi, a young married girl in a very orthodox family, learned to read in the secrecy of her kitchen. Later she published her autobiography in Bengali.

A few Bengali women like Kailash Bashini Debi wrote books highlighting the experiences of women. In the 1860s, Tarabai Shinde and Pandita Ramabai of Maharashtra wrote about the miserable lives of upper-caste women.

Women writing in Tamil expressed their gratitude to books. The attitude in general was to keep women imprisoned at home, ignorant, forced to do hard domestic work, and subject to unfair treatment.

In Punjab, folk literature exhorted women to be obedient wives (Ram Chaddha’s Istri Dharm Vichar.) The Khalsa Tract Society published cheap booklets with the same message.

In Bengal, – an entire area in Central Calcutta the Battala was devoted to printing popular books. They were cheap editions of religious texts, scriptures as well as scandalous literature.

Women’s education was not encouraged by the majority as Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain reported in her address to Bengal Women’s Educated Conference.

Question 25. Explain the role played by print in bringing about a division in the Roman Catholic Church.

Answer:

In 1517, a religious reformer, Martin Luther, wrote 95 theses criticizing many practices and rituals of the Roman Catholic Church. A printed copy of this was posted on a Church door in Wittenberg.

It challenged the Church to debate his ideas. Luther’s writings were reproduced in vast numbers and read widely. This led to a division within the Church and to the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.

Luther’s translation of the Bible sold 5,000 copies in the first week and soon the second edition began.

The print of his theses, according to scholars, brought about a new intellectual atmosphere and spread rapidly the ideas of Reformation.

Question 26. State three ways in which early printed books closely resembled manuscripts.

Answer:

1. The metal letters imitated the ornamental handwritten styles.
2. Borders were illuminated by hand with foliage and other patterns.
3. Illustrations were printed. In the books meant for the rich, space for decoration was kept blank on the printed page. Each purchaser could choose the design and decide on the painting school that would do the illustrations.

Question 27. How did print help connect communities and people in different parts of India? Explain with examples.

Answer:

Print connected communities and people in different parts of India through newspapers, by encouraging public debates on important issues.

New ideas emerged in Sambad Kaumudi published by Raja Ram Mohan Roy in 1821, which provoked debate on widow immolation, Brahmanical priesthood, idolatry, etc., by printing ideas in every language spoken by ordinary people.

In retaliation, Hindu orthodoxy started Samachar Chandrika to oppose his opinions. In north India, ulemas feared colonial rulers would change Muslim personal laws, published Persian and Urdu translations of holy scriptures, and printed religious newspapers and tracts.

The Deoband Seminary published thousands of fatwas telling Muslim readers how to conduct themselves in their everyday lives and explaining Islamic doctrines.

Hindus also published religious texts in Vernacular languages. Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas came out in Calcutta in 1810.

Naval Kishore Press at Lucknow and Shri Venkateshwar Press in Bombay published numerous religious texts in Vernacular languages.

The religious texts reached a very wide circle of people encouraging discussions, debates, and controversies within and among different religions.

Newspapers conveyed news from one place to another, creating pan-Indian identities. Thus, print not only stimulated the publication of conflicting opinions but also connected communities and people in different parts of India.

Question 28. Why did the new technology not entirely displace the existing art of producing books by hand?

Answer:

1. The printed books closely resembled the written manuscripts in appearance and layout.
2. The metal letters imitated the ornamental hand styles.
3. Borders in printed books were illuminated by hand with foliage and other patterns and illustrations were painted.
4. In the books for the rich, space for decoration was kept blank on the printed page. After each purchaser had chosen the design, the painting school would do the illustrations.

So, new technology did not entirely displace the existing art of producing books by hand.

Question 29. By the end of the 19th century, a new visual culture was taking shape. Explain.

Answer:

The setting up of an increasing number of printing presses made it easy to reproduce visual images in multiple copies. Painters like Raja Ram Varma produced images for mass circulation.

Cheap prints and calendars could be bought by the poor to decorate the walls of their homes or places of work.

The prints began shaping popular ideas about modernity and tradition, religion and politics, society and culture. In the 1870s, caricatures and cartoons were published in journals and newspapers.

Imperial cartoons lampooned nationalists and nationalist cartoons criticized the imperial rule.

Question 30. How did ideas about science, reason, and rationality find their way into popular literature in 18th-century Europe?

Answer:

In the 18th century the periodical press combined information about current affairs with entertainment. Newspapers and journals carried information about wars and trade as well as news of developments in other places.

Similarly, the ideas of philosophers now became accessible to common people. Ancient and medieval scientific texts were compiled and published, and maps and scientific diagrams were widely printed.

When scientists like Sir Isaac Newton began to publish their discoveries, they could influence a much wider circle of scientifically minded readers.

The writings of thinkers such as Thomas Paine, Voltaire, and Rousseau were also widely printed and read. Thus their ideas of science, reason, and rationality found their way into popular literature.

Question 31. How did the uses of printing diversify in China by the 17th century? Explain.

Answer:

By the 17th century, urban culture bloomed in China, and the use of printing diversified.

1. Printing was no longer used just by scholars and officials.
2. Merchants used print in their everyday life, as they collected trade information.
3. Reading increasingly become a leisure activity. New readers preferred narratives, poetry, autobiographies, anthologies of literary masterpieces, and romantic plays.
4. Rich women began to read, many women began publishing their poems and plays. Wives of scholar-officials published their work and courtesans wrote about their lives.

Question 32. Write the name of any two women writers of India in the 19th century and highlight the contribution of anyone who wrote about the different experiences of the women.

Answer:

The two women writers of India in the 19th century were:

1. Kailash Bashini Debi
2. Tarabai Shinde

Kailash Bashini Debi was a Bengali writer who wrote books, highlighting the experiences of women. She wrote about how women were imprisoned at home, kept in ignorance, forced to do hard domestic work, and treated unjustly.

Question 33. How did printing come to Europe from China? Explain.

Answer:

In 1295, Marco Polo a great explorer returned to Italy after years of exploration in China. Marco Polo brought the knowledge of woodblock printing from China and soon Italians began producing books with woodblocks.

The technology spread rapidly to the rest of Europe. Merchants and students in the university started buying cheaper printed copies.

Question 34. Discuss the growth of printing presses in Europe from the 15th to the 16th century.

Answer:

In 100 years (1450-1550), the print culture had spread from Germany to all over Europe. Printers from Germany traveled all over Europe looking for jobs.

They set up presses in most European countries. By 1470, Rome, France, and Holland had printing presses. In the second half of the 15th century, 20 million books were printed.

By the end of the 16th century, there were 200 million printed copies flooding Europe.

Chapter 7 Print Culture And The Modern World Multiple Choice Questions And Answers

Question 1. Printing was first developed in

1. Japan
2. Portugal
3. China
4. Germany

Answer: 3. China

Question 2. Which one among the following is an ancient name of Tokyo?

1. Osaka
2. Nagano
3. Edo
4. Gifu

Answer: 3. Edo

1. Question 3. The first printed book by the mechanical press was ___________.
   Or
   Which of the following was the first book printed by Gutenberg?The New Testament
2. The Bible
3. Chap Books
4. Diamond Sutra

Answer: 2. The Bible

Question 4. Who brought printing to Europe?

1. Martin Luther
2. Gutenberg
3. Marco Polo
4. Erasmus

Answer: 3. Marco Polo

Question 5. “Printing is the ultimate gift of God and the greatest one”. Who spoke these words?

1. Johann Gutenberg
2. Newcomen
3. Mahatma Gandhi
4. Martin Luther

Answer: 4. Martin Luther

Question 6. Who developed the first printing press in the 1430s?

1. Marco Polo
2. Johann Gutenberg
3. James Watt
4. None of the above

Answer: 2. Johann Gutenberg

Question 7. The British imposed the Vernacular Press Act

1. To curb internal revolts
2. To curtail rising discontentment among Indians
3. To promote Indian allegiance to the British
4. To confiscate the property of the Indian Press

Answer: 2. To curtail rising discontentment among Indians

Question 8. Choose the name of the oldest printed book in Japan.

1. Diamond Sutra
2. The Bible
3. Ukiyo
4. The Koran

Answer: 1. Diamond Sutra

Question 9. Which of the following books reflects the plight of the ‘lower castes’ and the poor in India?

1. Gulamagiri
2. Chhote Aur Bade Ka Sawal
3. Sachchi Kavitayan
4. All of the above

Answer: 4. All of the above

Question 10. In India, the printing press first came to

1. Goa with Portuguese
2. Bombay with British
3. Goa with British
4. Bombay with Portuguese

Answer: 1. Goa with Portuguese

Question 11. Who among the following was scared of print?

1. Writers and philosophers
2. Religious authorities and monarchs.
3. Common people – including peasants, workers, poor women, etc.
4. Printers and Publishers

Answer: 2. Religious authorities and monarchs.

Question 12. Which one among the following is an autobiography of Rashsundari Devi?

1. Amar Jiban
2. Amar Jyoti
3. Amar Jawan
4. Amar Zindagi

Answer: 1. Amar Jiban

Question 13. Who among the following introduced hand-printing technology in Japan?

1. Buddhist Missionaries from India
2. Buddhist Missionaries from Japan
3. Buddhist Missionaries from China
4. None of the above

Answer: 3. Buddhist Missionaries from China

Question 14. The first weekly paper published in India was:

1. Bombay Samachar
2. Bengal Gazette
3. Shamsul Akbar
4. Samachar Chandrika

Answer: 2. Bengal Gazette

Question 15. The newspaper started by Bal Gangadhar Tilak was:

1. The Kesari
2. The Hindu
3. The Statesman
4. The Tribune

Answer: 1. The Kesari

1. Passage Based Questions And Answers

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:

Thomas Wood, a Yorkshire mechanic, narrated how he would rent old newspapers and read them by firelight in the evenings as he could not afford candles. Autobiographies of poor people narrated their struggle to read against grim obstacles.

Read the excerpt given above and answer the following questions:

1. Who was Thomas Wood?
2. What does this passage depict?
3. What were the major obstacles poor people faced in reading newspapers?

Answer:

1. Thomas Wood was a mechanic. He lived in Yorkshire.
2. This passage depicts the desire of poor people to read Newspapers. By reading newspapers, they wanted to overcome different obstacles.
3. The major obstacle, they faced was that they could not buy newspapers. They often rented old newspapers to read.

2. Oral Quiz

1. Skilled Handwriters were called
2. Who said that the printing press was the most powerful engine to progress?
3. She is the author of Amar Jiban
4. British introduced the Vernacular Press Act to
5. Ancient manuscripts were written on

Answer:

1. Scribes
2. Mercier
3. Rash Sundari Devi
4. Suppress the freedom of the Press
5. Palm leaves

3. Matching of Columns

Answer:

1.-(d) 2.-(a) 3.-(b) 4.-(e) 5.-(c)