PRINT CULTURE AND THE MODERN WORLD
MULTIPLE CHOICE
QUESTIONS
1. The earliest kind of print technology was developed in :
(a) Japan and Korea
(b) India, Japan and Korea
(c) China, Japan and Korea
(d) India, China and Arabia
2. The uses of print diversified in urban China by the 17th century. Which of
the following statements support the above statement?
(a) Print was no longer used
by scholarofficials only
(b) Merchants used print in
their everyday life and trade information
(c) Reading became a leisure
activity
(d) All the above
3. When and by whom was handprinting technology brought to Japan?
(a) The Arab travellers to
Japan in the 8th century
(b) Buddhist missionaries from
China around AD 768-770
(c) Chinese silk merchants in
the 6th century
(d) The Egyptians in the 8th
century
4. Which statement given below is not an explanation of the art form called
‘Ukiyo’?
(a) ‘Ukiyo’ means pictures of
the floating world or depiction
(b) Artists first draw the
themes on paper, then a skilled wood-carver pastes the drawing on a wooden block
(c) He then carves a printing
block to reproduce the painter’s lines
(d) The original drawing is
then preserved in the libraries
5. When and how did the Chinese start handprinting?
(a) From the 6th century
onwards, Chinese printed by rubbing paper
(b) From AD 594 onwards, books
in China were printed by rubbing paper against the inked surface of wooden
blocks
(c) From the 6th century
onwards, by printing on this porous sheet
(d) All the above
6. China was, for a long time, the major producer of printed material, because:
(a) Civil service examinations
were held regularly in China to recruit people to civil services
(b) Under the sponsorship of
the imperial state, textbooks for these examinations were printed in vast
numbers
(c) The number of examination
candidates kept on increasing from the 16th century, so did the print material
(d) All the above
7. The term ‘Calligraph’ means:
(a) The art of beautiful
printing
(b) The art of beautiful and
stylised writing
(c) The art of beautiful
handprinting
(d) The art of printing an
‘accordion book’
8. Who was Kitagawa Utamaro and why is he famous?
(a) A famous Japanese artist,
famous for his prints
(b) A Japanese artist, famous
for his art form ‘Ukiyo’
(c) A Japanese artist who
influenced European artists like Manet, Monet and Van Gogh
(d) A Japanese artist born in
Edo in 1753, famous for his contribution to an art form called ‘Ukiyo’ which
influenced European artists like Manet, Monet and Van Gogh
9. The production of manuscripts became possible in Europe because:
(a) The Europeans discovered
paper
(b) Just like silk and spices,
paper reached Europe via the Arab world
(c) Chinese paper reached
Europe in the 11th century via the silk route, like silk and spices
(d) All the above
10. The first to use wood-block printing in Europe were:
(a) The French (b) The
Spaniards
(c) The Italians (d) The
Germans
11. The term ‘Compositor’ means:
(a) A person who composes
poems
(b) A person who composes
lyrics and songs for a play
(c) A person who composes
music
(d) A person who composes the
text for printing
12. The term ‘Galley’ refers to
(a) A corridor or long passage
where family portraits are hung
(b) A metal frame in which
types are laid and the text composed
(c) A long, low built ship
with one deck, propelled by oars and sails
(d) A scarecrow
13. The Print Revolution transformed the lives of people by:
(a) Changing their
relationship to information and knowledge; with institutions and authorities
(b) By producing cheaper books
and producing them at a fast rate
(c) Influencing popular
perceptions and opening new way of looking at things
(d) Both (b) and (c)
14. Taverns were:
(a) Restaurants, where people
could eat, drink and be merry
(b) Cheap hotels in towns
(c) Places where people
gathered to drink alcohol, to be served food, to meet friends and exchange views
(d) Small buildings in a
village for a public meeting
15. Protestant Reformation was:
(a) A 16th century movement to
reform the Catholic Church dominated by Rome
(b) A challenge to the
authority of Rome
(c) A new religion started by
Martin Luther
(d) A movement which started
anti-Catholic Christianity
16. Heretical ideas are:
(a) Those ideas which are
inherited or passed from generation to generation
(b) Beliefs which do not
follow the accepted teachings of the Church
(c) Ideas which oppose the
authority of the king, rulers or governments
(d) All the above
17. ‘Tremble, therefore, tyrants of the world! Tremble before the virtual
writer.’ Whose words are these and what warning is given through them?
(a) Mercier, a French novelist
of 18th century, who believed that printing press is so powerful that it would
sweep despotism away
(b) Louise Sebastien Mercier,
a novelist of the 18th century England, who gave this warning to despots
(c) Mercier, an American
novelist of the 18th century, who believed in the power of print and
warned against despotism
(d) A French novelist Mercier
(19th century), who believed in the power of print
18. Print culture, according to many historians, made people critical and
rational because:
(a) Enlightened thinkers
argued for the rule of reason rather than custom, judging everything with
reasons
(b) The thinkers attacked
sacred authority of the Church and despotism of the State
(c) People who read the ideas
of Voltaire and Rousseau saw the world through different eyes
(d) All of these
19. There was a virtual reading mania in European countries at the end of the 18th
century because:
(a) People wanted to read
books and printers produced them in increasing numbers
(b) Churches set up schools in
villages carrying literacy to peasants and artisans
(c) Literacy rates went up in
Europe as 60 to 80 percent
(d) There was a variety in
reading material, so reading became popular
20. New forms of popular literature, targeting new audience at the end of the
18th century, were:
(a) Romances, histories,
almanacs, ballads and folktales for entertainment
(b) Newspapers and journals
combining current affairs (wars and trade) with entertainment
(c) Ideas of scientists and
philosophers included in popular literature
(d) All the above
21. Which of the following statements does not support the view of some
historians that Print Culture was the basis for the French Revolution?
(a) Print culture led to the
spread of ideas of enlightened thinkers and encouraged questioning, critical
reasoning and rule of reason rather than tradition
(b) It led to a public culture
of debate, discussion, new ideas of social revolution
(c) Print did not directly
shape the people’s minds but opened up the possibility of thinking differently
(d) It aroused hostility
against monarchy, its mentality and mocked it
22. Children became an important category of readers in the 19th century, mainly
because:
(a) Primary education became
compulsory and production of school textbooks became essential for publishing
industry
(b) A children’s press devoted
to literature for children was set up in France in 1857
(c) Grimm Brothers in Germany
published fairytales for children in 1812
(d) Anything vulgar was not
published in children’s books
23. The contribution of Grimm Brothers of Germany to children’s literature was:
(a) Publishing stories for
them
(b) Spending years on
compiling traditional folktales gathered from peasants, editing and publishing
them as a collection in 1812
(c) Having a new shape to
rural folktales
(d) All the above
24. Women became important readers in the 19th century because:
(a) Novels were written in the
19th century, and women were seen as important readers
(b) Some of the best-known
novelists were women – Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, George Eliot
(c) Penny Magazines were
specially meant for women, teaching them etiquette and houskeeping
(d) All the above
25. The role of lending libraries in England in the 19th century was:
(a) Promoting reading among
the workingclass people
(b) Educating white collar
workers, artisans and lower middle-class people
(c) Encouraging
self-improvement, selfexpression and encouraging the working class to write
autobiographies
(d) Both (b) and (c)
26. Printers and publishers developed new strategies to sell their products.
Which of the following is not an innovation of the 20th century?
(a) Cheap paperback editions
were printed
(b) The dust cover or the book
jacket was an innovation
(c) Important novels were
serialised, which led to a new way of writing novels
(d) Popular works were sold in
England in cheap series called the shilling series
27. Throughout the 19th century, series of innovations in printing technology
were:
(a) Richard M. Hoe of New York
perfected power-driven cylindrical press capable of printing 8,000 sheets per
hour
(b) Six colours at a time
could be printed by the offset press
(c) Methods of feeding paper
improved, quality of plates became better, automatic paper reels and
photoelectric controls of colour register were introduced
(d) Both (a) and (b)
28. In which year, printing in Hindi began and what was its main concern?
(a) Hindi printing began from
the 1870s, a large segment was devoted to women’s education, widow remarriage
and the national movement
(b) Hindi printing began from
the 1870s and their main concern was women-related issues
(c) Hindi printing began from
1900 and was devoted to education of women
(d) Printing in Hindi began in
the early 20th century and its main concern was religious reform
29. By the end of the 19th century, the new culture taking shape in India was :
(a) A visual culture with
cheap prints and calendars, so that even the poor could decorate the walls of
their homes with them
(b) Visible images reproduced
in multiple copies which shaped popular ideas about modernity, tradition,
religion, politics, society and culture
(c) Painters producing images
for mass circulation
(d) Ravi Varma starting a new
vi sual culture
30. Manuscripts were produced in India in ancient times:
(a) paper imported from China
(b) on hand-made paper
(c) on palm leaves
(d) on silk
QUESTIONS FROM CBSE
EXAMINATION PAPERS
1. The Book, ‘Chote Aur Bade Ka Sawal’ wrote about
(a) the link between caste and
class exploitation
(b) the injustices of the
caste system
(c) restrictions on the
vernacular press
(d) ill treatment of widows
2. Which one among the following is an ancient name of Tokyo?
(a) Osaka (b) Nagano
(c) Edo (d) Gifu
3. Who wrote about the injustices of the caste system in ‘Gulamgiri’?
(a) Raja Rammohan Roy
(b) Jyotiba Phule
(c) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
(d) Bankim Chandra
4. Who among following invented the first printing press in Europe?
(a) Macro Polo (b) Kitagawa
Utamaro
(c) Johann Gutenberg (d)
Erasmus
5. Which of the following was the first book printed by Gutenberg?
(a) The Diamond Sutra
(b) Chapbook
(c) Grimms’ fairytales (d) The
Bible
6. Which of the following is the correct meaning of ‘Biliotheque Bleue’?
(a) An author
(b) Low price small books
(c) Monuments (d) None of
these
7. The printing press was first introduced in India by which one of the
following?
(a) East India Company officials
(b) Indian reformers
(c) Protuguese missionaries
(d) Arabic traders
8. Which religious reformer was responsible for the Protestant Reformation?
(a) Martin Luther (b) George
Elliot
(c) Maxim Gorky
(d) Martin Luther King
9. Which of the following is an Enlightened thinker whose writings are said to
have created conditions for a revolution in France?
(a) Louise Sebastin Mercier
(b) Rousseau (c) Mennochio
(d) Gutenberg
10. Which of the following was a book showing links between caste and class
exploitation?
(a) Ghulamgiri (b) Amar Jiban
(c) Istri Dharm Vichar
(d) Chhote Aur Bade Ka Sawal
11. What were low priced small books printed on poor quality paper and bound in
cheap blue covers called in France?
(a) Chapbooks (b) Almanacs
(c) Bibliotheque Bleue (d)
Ballads
12. Paperback editions of books were introduced during
(a) the First World War
(b) the Second World War
(c) the Russian Revolution
(d) the onset of the Great
Depression
13. The circulation of handwritten manuscripts remained limited because:
(a) they were fragile and
awakward to handle
(b) they could not be carried
around
(c) they could not be read
easily
(d) all the above
14. In England books carried by petty pedlars and sold for a penny were known
as:
(a) Shilling series (b) Almanacs
(c) Chapbooks (d) Novels
15. Which of the following books reflects the plight of the ‘lower castes’ and
poor in India?
(a) Gulamagiri
(b) Chhote Aur Bade Ka Sawal
(c) Sachchi Kavitayan (d) All
the abvoe
16. The Vernacular Press Act of 1878 was modelled on:
(a) Irish Press Laws
(b) American Press Laws
(c) Chinese Press Laws
(d) German Press Laws
17. Which of the following reading material were especially for women?
(a) Chap books (b) Penny
magazines
(c) Grimm’s Fairy Tales
(d) The Bible
18. “Printing is the ultimate gift of God and the greatest one”. Who spoke these
words?
(a) Johann Gutenberg (b) New Comen
(c) Mahatma Gandhi (d) Martin
Luther
19. Who developed the first prining press in 1430s?
(a) Marcopolo (b) Johann
Gutenberg
(c) James Watt (d) None of the
above
20. Choose the name of the oldest printed book of Japan.
(a) Diamond Sutra (b) Bible
(c) Ukiyo (d) Koran
21. In which among the following countries was the earliest kind of print
technology developed?
(a) India (b) England
(c) France (d) China
22. Which of the following statement is true in the light of Vernacular Press
Act 1878?
(a) It gave freedom to Vernacular press
(b) It gave financial
assistance to Vernacular press
(c) It provided rights to
government to censor reports and editorials in the Vernacular press
(d) None of the above
23. Who among following introduced hand printing technology in Japan?
(a) Buddhist Missionaries from
India
(b) Buddhist Missionaries from
Japan
(c) Buddhist Missionaries form
China
(d) None of the above
24. What is calligraphy?
(a) Art of dancing (b) Art of
singing
(c) Art of writing (d) None of
the above
25. Who among the following brought hand - printing technology into Japan around
768-770 AD?
(a) Buddhist missionaries
(b) Japnese traders (c)
European traders
(d) None of the above
26. Name the first books printed by Gutenberg.
(a) Penny chapbooks (b) Bible
(c) Ramayan (d) All the above
27. Who among the following perfected the power driven cylindrical press?
(a) James Watt (b) New Comen
(c) George Eliot (d) Richard M
Hoe
28. Which one of the following statements is true?
(a) A children press, devoted to
literature for children alone, was set up in France in 1757
(b) Penny magazines were
especially meant for men
(c) Lending libraries had been
in existence from the seventeenth century
(d) None of the above
29. When did the printing press first came to Goa with Portuguese missionaries?
(a) Mid-eighteenth century
(b) Mid-seventeenth century
(c) Mid-sixteenth century
(d) Mid-fifteenth century
30. Who started to edit the Bengal Gazettes weekly in 1780.
(a) James Augustus Hickey
(b) Richard M Ho
(c) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
(d) None of the above
31. From among the following name the oldest Japanese book printed in AD 868?
(a) Bible (b) Manuscripts
(c) Diamond Sutra (d) Sambad
Kaumudi
32. Who among the following was not a women novelist?
(a) Jane Austen (b) Bronite
Sisters
(c) George Eliot (d) None of
the above
33. Who among the following did not write about the caste system?
(a)
E. V.. Ramaswamy Naicker
(b) Ram Chaddha
(c) B. R. Ambedkar
(d) Jyotiba Phule
34. Who among the following brought the technology of wood block printing to
Europe?
(a) Johann Gutenberg (b) Marco Polo
(c) Richard M. Hoe (d) None of
the above
35. Who among the following agreed to revise press Laws?
(a) Lord Cornwallis
(b) Lord Dalhousie
(c) Governor General Bentinck
(d) None of the above
36. Who wrote her autobiography ‘Amar Jiban’ published in 1876?
(a) Tara Bai Shinde
(b) Rash Sundari Devi
(c) Pandita Rama Bai
(d) Kailashbashini Devi
37. Which one among the following is an autobiography of Rashsundari Devi?
(a) Amar Jiban (b) Amar Jyoti
(c) Amar Jawan (d) Amar
Zindagi
38. The art of beautiful and stylish writing is known as
(a) Vellum (b) Calligraphy
(c) Lithography (d) Platen
39. For what purpose the earliest textbooks were printed in China?
(a) To recruit the civil
servants
(b) To teach religious priests
(c) To train factory workers
(d) To spread nationalism
40. A term used to describe pocket-size books that are sold by travelling
pedlars.
(a) Scrapbook (b) Logbook
(c) Chapbook (d) Talebook
41. The book Gulamgiri was about:
(a) The link between caste and class
exploitation
(b) The injustice of the caste
system
(c) Restriction on the
vernacular press
(d) Ill treatment of widows
42. Chapbooks were:
(a) Annual books giving
astronomical information
(b) Pocket dictionaries
(c) Pocket-size books
(d) Comic books
43. What was the name of the oldest Japanese book?
(a) Sambad Kaumudi
(b) The Diamond Sutra
(c) Debganer Martye Aagaman
(d) Kesari
44. Penny magzines were especially meant for
(a) Women (b) Men
(c) Children (d) Working class
45. Lending libraries came into existence in:
(a) 17th Century (b) 18th Century
(c) 19th Century (d) 20th Century
SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
1.
Why
was China a major producer of printed material for a long time?
2.
In
what way did western countries influence the print culture in China?
3.
Who
introduced hand printing technology into Japan? What were the earliest forms of
printing in Japan?
4.
Who
were the people who employed scribes to write in the 14th century?
5.
Write a short note on the developments or innovations in the printing technology
in the 19th century.
6.
Write a short note on how printing press came to India.
7.
Write a note on Hickey’s ‘Bengal Gazette’.
8.
Explain the terms Ulema and Fatwas.
9.
Who
were the supporters of women’s education in India and why?
10.
Who
were the dissenters? Why did they object to women being educated?
11.
What was the role of cartoons and caricatures in new forms of publications?
QUESTIONS FROM CBSE EXAMINATION
PAPERS
1.
Explain how print culture had assisted the growth of nationalism in India in the
19th century.
2.
How
did print culture affect women in the 19th century India Explain.
[2009]
3.
“The print culture created the conditions within which the French Revolution
occurred.” Support the statement giving three arguments.
4.
Explain any three features of handwritten manuscripts before the age of print in
India.
5.
Explain the main features of the first printed Bible.
6.
Examine the role of missionaries in the growth of press in India?
7.
What role was played by the print culture in bringing the French Revolution?
8.
How
did the ideas of scientists and philosophers become more accessible to common
people after the beginning of print revolution in Europe?
9.
How
did the printing press bring forth changes in reading culture?
10.
How
did the print material of Europe affect the rise of nationalism in India? State
any three points.
11.
Why
were the printed books popular even among illiterate people?
12.
Describe the progress of Print in Japan.
13.
What is a manuscript? Give four shortcomings of manuscripts.
14.
How
did print culture contribute to the growth of nationalism in India?
15.
What was the attitude of people in India in the nineteenth century towards women
reading? How did women respond to this?
16.
Give three methods by which printed books became more accessible to common
people.
17.
Explain the role played by print in bringing about a division in the Roman
Catholic Church.
18.
Give three ways in which early printed books closely resembled manuscripts.
19.
“Many historians argued that print culture created the conditions within which
French Revolution occurred. Explain with three arguments.
20.
How
did print help connect communities and people in different parts of India?
Explain with examples.
21.
‘Liberty of speech.. liberty of the press... freedom of association. The
Governemnt of India is now seeking to crush the three powerful vehicles of
expressing and cultivating public opinion. The fight for Swaraj, for
Khailafat... means a fight for this threatened freedom before all else..’
(i) Who said the above statement?
(ii) Why was the Government
trying to crush the three vehicles of expression?
22.
Why
did the new technology not entirely displace the existing art of producing books
by hand?
23.
By
the end of the 19th century a new visual culture was taking shape. Explain.
24.
How
did ideas about science, reason and rationality find their way into popular
literature in the 18th century Europe?
25.
Write any three innovations in printing technology in the 19th century and 20th
century.
26.
Who
was Johann Gutenberg? Explain his contribution in the field of printing.
27.
How
did the uses of print diversify in China by the 17th century? Explain.
28.
What was the impact of Print culture on the poor people of India during the 19th
century?
29.
Explain any three impact of printed books on women in India in the nineteenth
century.
30.
Why
did people in the eighteenth century Europe think that print culture would bring
enlightenment and end despotism?
31.
Write the name of any two women writers of India in 19th century and highlight
the contribution of any one who wrote about the different experiences of the
women.
32.
“Woodblock print came to Europe after 1295.’’ Give any three reasons to explain
the above statement.
33.
When did the first printing press come to India? Write a brief story of its
growth.
34.
Describe the development of printing press after Gutenberg.
35.
How
did print help to spread new ideas that led to the Reformation in Europe?
36.
How
did print come to Europe from China? Explain.
37.
State any three points of importance of penny chapbooks.
38.
Explain the role of print in the religious reforms in India.
39.
Explain the regulations passed by the British Government to control press
freedom.
40.
Explain the visual culture (picture, calendar and cartoon etc.) in print which
developed in the nineteenth century.
41.
How
did the publishers persuade the common people to welcome the printed books in
Europe?
42.
Describe any three main features of the first printed Bible.
43.
Why
were manuscripts not used widely in everyday life before the age of print in
India?
44.
Explain any three factors responsible for the invention of ‘New Printing
Technology’.
45.
How
did the Indians copy and preserve their manuscripts?
46.
What were the features of new books which were produced in Europe after the
invention of Guttenberg’s press?
47.
The
Roman Catholic Church began keeping an index of prohibited books from the mid-19th
century. Why?
48.
What was the impact of Print Revolution?
49.
How
was the increased demand for books fulfilled by the booksellers? Mention any 3
points.
50.
Explain the significance of newspapers and formulas developed in the early 18th
century. Give any 3 suitable examples.
51.
Examine the role of missionaries in the growth of press in India.
52.
What were the three causes of Erasmus’s anxiety about printing?
LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
1.
How
was printing culture influenced by the spread of cities and urban culture in
China?
2.
Mention some new interesting practices used in Japan.
3.
What did the spread of print culture in the 19th century do to :
(a) children (b) women and
(c) workers in Europe?
4.
Why
did the Ulema oppose English culture? What step did they take to counter the
impact?
5.
How
did Hindu religious texts benefit from printing?
6.
Give a short sketch of Johann Gutenberg.
7.
Discuss the growth of printing presses in Europe from the 15th to the 16th
century
QUESTIONS FROM CBSE EXAMINATION
PAPERS
1.
Read the following passage and answer the questions given below it.
2.
How
did the oral culture enter print and how was the printed material transmitted
orally? Explain with suitable examples.
3.
How
were ideas and information written before the age of print in India? How did the
printing technique begin in India? Explain.
4.
“Print did not only stimulate the publications of conflicting opinions among
different communities but also connected them in the 19th century in India.”
Support the statement with examples.
5.
Describe three shortcomings of manuscripts that were overcome by the printing
press.