Bi Sheng

Bi Sheng (972–1051) was a Chinese artisan and engineer during the Song dynasty (960–1279), who invented the world's first movable type.

[1] Bi Sheng's invention was only recorded in the Dream Pool Essays by Chinese scholar-official and polymath Shen Kuo (1031–1095).

The book provides a detailed description of the technical details of Bi Sheng's invention of movable type printing: During the reign of Chingli 慶曆 (Qìnglì), 1041–1048, Bi Sheng, a man of unofficial position, made movable type.

When the paste [at the back] was slightly melted, he took a smooth board and pressed it over the surface, so that the block of type became as even as a whetstone.

1290–1333) improved Bi Sheng's clay types by innovation through the wood, as his process increased the speed of typesetting as well.