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Cited by 245Libraries, Manuscripts, and BooksHistorical Studies and Socio-cultural AnalysisEurasian Exchange Networks

Paper Before Print: The History and Impact of Paper in the Islamic World

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Jonathan M. Bloom·2001·Yale University Press eBooks
DOI 10.37862/aaeportal.00217
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Abstract

BOOKPaper Before Print: The History and Impact of Paper in the Islamic WorldJonathan M. Bloom https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00217 Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-20564Copy Like the printing press, typewriter, and computer, paper has been a crucial agent for the dissemination of information. This engaging book presents an important new chapter in paper's history: how its use in Islamic lands during the Middle Ages influenced almost every aspect of medieval life. Focusing on the spread of paper from the early eighth century, when Muslims in West Asia acquired Chinese knowledge of paper and papermaking, to five centuries later, when they transmitted this knowledge to Christians in Spain and Sicily, the book reveals how paper utterly transformed the passing of knowledge and served as a bridge between cultures.Jonathan Bloom traces the earliest history of paper—how it was invented in China over 2,000 years ago, how it entered the Islamic lands of West Asia and North Africa, and how it spread to northern Europe. He explores the impact of paper on the development of writing, books, mathematics, music, art, architecture, and even cooking. And he discusses why Europe was so quick to adopt paper from the Islamic lands and why the Islamic lands were so slow to accept printing in return. Together the text and illustrations (of papermaking techniques and the many uses to which paper was put) give new luster and importance to a now-humble material.*This eBook is available exclusively on the A&AePortal*AuthorJonathan M. BloomPublisherYale University PressPrint publication date October 2001 (in print)Print ISBN 9780300089554EISBN 9780300257731Copyright© 2001 by Jonathan M. BloomIllustrations 103Print Status in print Publisher (in print) WorldCat Google Books

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  • Xue Tao asked paper manufacturers to make smaller sheets for her poems, rather than producing the paper herself.

    “the earliest source, as we shall see, is quite clear that she simply asked the manufacturers to produce sheets of a smaller size that might produce both aesthetic and economic benefits when used as the medium for her poems.”

    From The Woman Who Invented Notepaper: Towards a Comparative Historiography of Paper and Print (2011) · cites this paper as [38]

    The available Introduction passages describe the book’s scope but do not discuss Xue Tao or sheets made for her poems. Searches for her name and for smaller sheets made by papermakers returned no relevant passage, so our copy cannot verify whether she commissioned the paper rather than making it herself. (LLM, conf=0.74)

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Authors
Bloom, J. M.
Corresponding author
Jonathan M. Bloom
ORCID
Jonathan M. Bloom
Venue
Yale University Press eBooks
Publisher
Yale University Press
Published
2001
DOI
10.37862/aaeportal.00217
OpenAlex
W4298440229
Cited by
245
References
0
Citations by year
2025: 7 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 43 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 33 · 2019: 45 · 2018: 22 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 4
FWCI
0.00
Type
book
Language
en
Open access
Locations
Yale University Press eBooks (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History › Libraries, Manuscripts, and Books
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History and Philosophy of Science › Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis
  • Social Sciences › Anthropology › Eurasian Exchange Networks
Keywords
paper, papermaking, Islamic world, paper history, transmission of knowledge, China, West Asia, North Africa, medieval Europe, printing, Islamic art, Islamic music, Islamic architecture, Islamic cuisine, cultural exchange

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