Moments in the History of East Asian Printing

Moments in the History of East Asian Printing brings together rare books, facsimiles, woodblocks, broadsheets, illustrated books, typewriter materials, and other objects from the East Asia Library’s collections. The exhibit explores selected episodes in the history of printing across China, Korea, and Japan, from Buddhist woodblock printing and movable type to lithography, popular publishing, travel prints, visual encyclopedias, and the Chinese typewriter. Rather than offering a complete chronological survey, it highlights moments when printing technologies transformed how texts and images were made, circulated, viewed, and used across East Asia.

On view at the East Asia Library from May 29, 2026 through September 20, 2026.

Curated by Joshua Capitanio, Zhaohui Xue, Jee-Young Park, and Regan Murphy Kao.