Printing in the Qing Dynasty Printing in ancient China reached yet another peak during the Qing Dynasty (1644---911). First of all, the scale of printing production greatly expanded not only in the capital but also in regional centres of China. Networks of private printers and workshops were developed. The varieties of publications increased too. Classics from ancient times and contemporary works were printed in huge quantities. Present day studies on bibliography and on the history of books and publication have established that the Qing Dynasty indeed surpassed all previous Chinese dynasties in terms of the quantity and variety of publications.

Spring Festival Picture,Yang Liu Qing,Tianjin Spring Festival picture,Beijing

Another advance made during the 267-year Qing Dynasty was in the development of printing technology. All printing techniques known then continued to be in use and new ones were devised. Special mention must be made about movable type. The proportion of publications utilising movable type rose steadily. Fonts and sizes of movable type proliferated. Be they made with wood, bronze or clay, movable type attained very high standards in quality. Woodblock colour printing became ever more popular and its quality kept im-proving. Lunar New Year posters were a new commercial product that became popular. They gave rise to a big business, with millions of households being adorned by them, making the penetration of printing in society deeper than any dynasty before Qing. In this sense then, application of traditional technology of printing reached a pinnacle during the Qing Dynasty.

Dragon Tripitaka (engraved and printed by the Imperial Household in the 13th year of the Yong Zheng Reign)	The Complete Poems of the Tang Dynasty (engraved by the Yangzhou Poetry Bureau)	The Book of History in Manchurian and Chinese Characters (engraved by the Hong Yuan Hall in Beijing)

Spring Festival picture,Tao Hua Wu,Suzhou	Spring Festival picture,Wuqiang,Hebei Province