By the seventeenth century, as urban culture bloomed in China, the uses of print diversified.” Explain.
(1) In the seventeenth century, many cities had come up in China. As the urban culture spread, the uses of print also increased. It was used in different fields as mentioned below : It was used by scholar officials. Merchants used it to collect trade information. Reading printed material became a leisure activity. So, people started reading fictional narratives, poetry, autobiographies, anthologies of literary masterpieces, and romantic plays. Women began publishing their poetry and plays. Wives of scholar-officials published their works and courtesans wrote about their lives. (2) The new reading culture had the following effects : It brought western printing techniques and mechanical presses into China. Shanghai became the hub of the new print culture. Thus, there was natural change from hand-printing to mechanical printing.
