History Of Chinese Invention - Printing
Woodblock printing originated in China nearly 2000 years ago. It was first used for printing on cloth, with the earliest surviving fragment being a piece of silk printed with flowers. It later became used on paper, and by the 10th century Buddhist scriptures and Confucian classics were in print - making the Chinese the first to use printing for text. Around 1040 AD, the Chinese also invented movable type in clay, and shortly afterword in wood. This is a more flexible system than woodblock printing because it allows for moving various individual pieces. This became a successful method when printing thousands of books.