WU Xiaohuai Printing was invented and first applied in ancient China. In the 11th century, Bi Sheng invented movable type printing, and after the 13th century, wooden movable type printing became widely used, influencing the industrial development of printing technology worldwide. Today, this technique is on the verge of extinction. The only place it is still practiced is in Rui’an, Zhejiang Province, China, where a group of craftsmen continue to use this ancient method. Recognized as Chinese Wooden Movable Type Printing Technique, it has been inscribed on UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Urgent Need of Safeguarding.
This presentation will examine the historical transmission of the technique and the current status of its craftsmanship. At the same time, wooden movable type printing in the 15th–16th centuries gave rise to the concept of standardized Chinese printing typefaces, resulting in the ‘Old Songti’ standard typeface. This proposal will, from a technical perspective, explain and showcase the structural features of the Old Songti typeface still in use today in Rui’an, its influence on the glyph forms of lead movable Song type after the 17th century, and its impact on the richness and diversity of contemporary type design, highlighting how movable type printing opened a grand historical chapter in Chinese character culture and typeface design.