1040

Events in 1040 1

• 1040 Bi Sheng invents movable type Ceramic movable type — 400 years before Gutenberg Around 1040 AD, artisan Bi Sheng developed the world's first movable type system using individually carved ceramic characters that could be arranged, inked and reused. Though less practical than Gutenberg's later metal type for Chinese due to the thousands of characters required, Bi Sheng's invention is the first demonstration of the movable type principle. It later spread to Korea and Japan before reaching Europe.