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08732_Field_TCGG T497.txt
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1996-04-10
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remained an article of luxury if parchment had been the
only available medium of issue. Papyrus is hard, brittle,
and unsuitable for printing. The introduction of linen-
paper making into Europe from China was thus an
important preliminary condition. The origin of this product
in the Far East and the stages of its transfer overland to
Europe are now fairly well ascertained, so that the
chronology of the transfers is adequately established . . .
That printing from movable types was an event nearly
related to the earlier technology of the phonetic alphabet is a
fact that has been a main reason for studying all these
centuries that preceded Gutenberg. Phonetic script was the
indispensable prelude. Thus Chinese ideogrammic script proved
a complete block against the development of print technology
in their culture. Today when they are determined to alphabetize