Answer: China.
Some extra relevant information:
Movable type, a groundbreaking invention in the field of printing, was first used in ancient China. The credit for this innovation goes to Bi Sheng, a commoner during the Northern Song Dynasty, who developed the movable type technology around the early 11th century.
Prior to movable type, the traditional method of printing involved carving whole blocks of text into wood, which was time-consuming and required significant effort. Bi Sheng’s ingenious idea was to create individual characters, each carved onto a small block of clay. These clay blocks were then hardened and coated with ink before being arranged on a wooden frame to form complete pages.
The movable type system allowed for much greater flexibility and efficiency in the printing process. It enabled the rapid reproduction of texts, making books more accessible to a wider audience. The technology soon spread across China, ushering in a revolution in the dissemination of knowledge and information.
While movable type did eventually make its way to other regions, such as Korea and Japan, it was not until centuries later that Johannes Gutenberg in Germany developed a more sophisticated metal-based movable type system that truly revolutionized printing on a global scale.
Nevertheless, China holds the distinction of being the birthplace of movable type, forever changing the way information was shared and contributing to the advancement of human civilization.