This paper examines the different diffusion patterns of movable type in China and Europe by using a synthetic framework that investigates these factors: 1) motives of the early inventors; 2) characteristics and motives of the early adopters; 3) technological differences; and 4) cultural, economic and social environment. After examining a wide range of secondary evidence, it concludes that although personal motives and technological differences did play an important role in the initial diffusion of moveable type, it was the cultural, economic and social factors that determined the different fates of movable type at the two ends of Eurasia.
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