1. The earliest form of technology existent in China, Japan and Korea was actually a system of hand printing. From AD 594 onwards, books in China were printed by rubbing paper against the inked surface of woodblocks. As both sides of the thin, porous sheet could not be printed, the traditional Chinese ‘accordion book’ was folded and stitched at the side.

2. People feared that the development of print could lead to the growth of dissenting ideas because print and popular literature encouraged many distinctive interpretations of religious faith and ideas. Manocchio gave a new interpretation of the Bible and formulated a view of God and creation that enraged the Roman Catholic Church. As a result he was hauled up twice and ultimately executed when the Roman Church began its inquisition and to repress heretical ideas.  

3. 

(i) Ideas of the enlightened : The print popularised the ideas of the enlightened thinkers, who attacked the authority of the Church and the despotic power of the state, e.g., Voltaire and Rousseau.

(ii) New culture : The print created a new culture of dialogue and debate and the public became aware of reasoning. They recognised the need to question the existing ideas and beliefs.

(iii) Criticism of the noble class : The literature of 1780s mocked the royalty and criticised their morality and the existing social order. This literature led to the growth of hostile sentiments against the monarchy.

4. It was not just a development, a new way of producing books; it  transformed the lives of people, changing their relationship to information and knowledge, and with institutions and authorities. Printing reduced the cost of books. Access to books created a new culture of reading. Books could be read only by the literate, and the rates of literacy in most European countries were very low till the twentieth century. Printers began publishing popular ballads and folk tales, and such books were profusely illustrated with pictures. These were then sung and recited at gatherings in villages and in taverns. Oral culture thus entered print and printed material was orally transmitted. Print and popular religious literature stimulated many distinctive individual interpretations of faith even among little-educated working people.  The Roman Church, troubled by effects of popular readings and questionings of faith, imposed severe controls over publishers and booksellers and began to maintain an Index of Prohibited Books from 1558.

5. Some new forms of publications which came into circulation in India were:

(i). New forms of writings such as short stories, lyrics and essays on political and cultural lives began to be published. 

(ii). The printing press also enabled the reproduction of visual images. Paintings of Raja Ravi Varma were circulated widely.

(iii). Cheap prints and calendars could even be bought by the poor section of society. Various religious and social messages were propagated with the help of these media.

(iv). By the 1870s, we had the publication of various cartons and caricatures in newspapers. Cartoons ridiculed people following the western style of dressing.