2.3: Books – The beginning of Printed Mass Media

Printing techniques first developed in China, well before Europe. The Chinese also developed moveable type long before Gutenberg, who printed the Bible in the mid-1450s and who is often credited as the world’s first book publisher. Bi Sheng (990–1051) developed moveable type using clay. The oldest known printed document is the Diamond Sutra (from the year 868), printed using woodblock techniques in China (Hong Kong Heritage Museum, n.d.). The first mass-produced book, printed with moveable type, was also in China, namely the Nung Sue, a Chinese manual on agriculture that was printed in 1297. Also keep in mind that the Romans already put up written information in public for citizens to read in 59 BCE.

However, Gutenberg’s refinement of the moveable press system made it easier for books to be mass produced. The moveable-type system used in China was heavy and cumbersome, while Gutenberg’s system was somewhat more user-friendly.

The broader population could now increasingly read by themselves because mass-produced books were less expensive and more accessible to ordinary people. The era of mass media had begun and with it the era of knowledge, spreading to ordinary people, not just the privileged few. Of course, books were not evenly distributed, because at that time, many people could not read or write. However, cheaper, shorter materials were printed that included content that catered more to the “common” person. These early publications were similar to tabloids in that they were sold as news items but featured stories about miracles, monsters, and other sensational or fantastical events. These publications quickly grew into what we would recognise today as newspapers and magazines.

As more people learnt to read and books became more easily available, people were able to learn more about the wider world, farther than their own local areas. Before this, people relied on storytellers, clergy, teachers, or other leaders for information. In this way, people could have been exposed to only a few sources of information throughout their lives and the information conveyed by these sources could have been limited and distorted.

In South Africa, publishing started in 1796, when the first document was printed by Johan Ritter, called Almanach voor’t jaar 1796 (Calendar for the year 1796). Book publishing itself was mostly linked to the development of newspaper printing in the country (Le Roux, 2012) and only really took off in the 20th century. Now, there are many book publishers in the country. Before the 20th century, most books in South Africa were imported from the Netherlands or the United Kingdom (UK).