Доклады Международного конгресса ИИСАА. Т. 1

III. Far East, South and South-East Asia / Дальний Восток, Южная и Юго-Восточная Азия 416 Proceedings of the International Congress on Historiography and Source Studies of Asia and Africa.Vol. I. 2020 officials and literati in this period used government-owned metal type systems to print books they desired to possess and distribute. The publication of these books, driven by individual taste and demand, is meaningful, considering that printing in Chosŏn had been mostly limited to official publishing. Later, wooden type printing was adopted to meet the increasing demand of these books. However, it did not lead to a mass publication using woodblock prints, suggesting that their readers were still limited to a small number of the literati elite. This makes a sharp contrast to the cases of the late Ming and early Qing China and Edo Japan, where commercial printing culture flourished with the huge expansion of readers among commoners. Nevertheless, privately printed books in early 18 th century Chosŏn are meaningful as they materialized the elite’s pursuit of private taste and desire, as an expression of individuality, which became the most distinctive characteristic of Chosŏn literature in the late 18 th century. 2. Methodology In this study, I focused on “books” and “print technology” to get a glimpse of the sociocultural landscape of early 18 th century Korea. For this, I selected two printed editions of contemporary Chinese texts published in Chosŏn and analyze their publication process and reader circles. Particular attention would be paid to the technological aspects of the publication; for example, whether the books were published in manuscript forms or printed, whether the printed books used moveable type printing or woodblock printing, and again whether the moveable type printing used metal type or wooden type. The main purpose is, however, not to survey the development of print technology itself, but to understand the sociocultural environment in which that technology was enacted. Also, my focus in this study is on the material aspects of books rather than their contents, and the sociocultural conditions that facilitated this particular type of production. 3. Publishing system of Chosŏn Unlike in contemporary China and Japan, the print system of Chosŏn was almost entirely led by the government and official sect, and thus the market for printed books was very limited. Metal type printing was a major technology used in the central government print system. The distinctive role of metal type printing is an important characteristic of Chosŏn print culture in general. Rev. ed. Minumsa, 1997. These are among the most representative works on the matter. References to Chosŏn publishing culture, if not specifically mentioned, are mostly based on these books.