Printing , known as “mother of civilization” , was another great invention of the Chinese people . Carved plate printing was developed on the basis of ancient stone carving and seal carving . In the beginning of the Sui Dynasty (early seventh century) the Chinese people already printed large numbers of religious pictures with carved plates . In the Tang Dynasty , the Chinese people already printed a number of books in fairly wide circulation with carved plates . In 1900 a scroll of Diamond Sutra was discovered in Dunhuang grottos , which was printed at the 9th year of the reign of Emperor Yi (868 A.D.) in the Tang Dynasty .

　　It consists of seven adhered sheets with a total length of 533 cm ., clearly printed , showing a superb carving skill . It is he earliest printed mater existent now in the world . The earliest carved plate printed matter with a definite date now existent in Europe is the portrait of St . Christopher in the South of Germany , later than the printed scroll found n China by about 1600 years . During the Five Dynasties , Feng Dao , the prime minister of the Later Tang Dynasty , proposed to the emperor to print the Nine Classics on carved plates . That was the first time Confucian classics were printed on carved plates supported by the State . Then , carved plate printing spread still more widely . Due to the high cost of carved plate printing with respect to labor and material , the printing industry was set to improve the technique . During the reign of Qingli of Emperor Ren in the Song Dynasty (middle eleventh century) , Bi Shen , a printing carver , invented typography . His method was to carve single words on pieces of clay , heat them in fire till they hardened and use them as types . Then he set the types into printing plates . This was the beginning of typography . Later , people also made types with tin , copper and other metal .
　　Before long , typography spread to Japan , Korea and Vietnam , and then gradually to Europe . The technique of typography emancipated education and learning out of Christian abbeys . From then on the learning centers of Europe moved from abbeys to the colleges in various cities . Typography was a powerful weapon for carrying out Religious Reformation and anti-feudalism campaigns in Europe . It promoted the establishment of the capitalist production mode and the exchanges and dissemination of ideologies and culture .