金属活字印刷发明于韩国吗?

Was metal-type printing invented in Korea?

出土实物证据证明,金属活字印刷于11～12世纪之交首先在中国发展。然而近年来,韩国某些学者提出金属活字印刷发明于韩国,本文对这种观点进行学术评论,指出韩国学者提出支持其观点的两项物证年代难以断定,又不具备活字形体特征,不能视为早期金属活字。他们引证的两条韩国史料不但自相矛盾,还相互矛盾,又与史实相违。史料提示的铸字时间,都在中国宋、金有了金属活字印刷之后一百多年。可靠实物资料证明,朝鲜半岛金属活字印刷始于14世纪末高丽朝末季,大规模铸字印书起于15世纪初(1403)李朝初期。

Unearthed material evidence and textual records proved that metal-type printing was first developed in China between the llth and the 12th centuries in the Song dynasty. However, during recent years some Korean scholars maintained that metal-type printing was invented in Korea. This paper makes a review on such kind of view point. It points out that the two items of material arguments provided by Korean scholars for supporting their view are diffieult to be dated accurately and do not have any characteristics for real matal-type in shape, therefore, they cannot be regarded as early metal-type. As to the two Korean textual records cited by Korean scholars, they are not only self contridictory. but also in mutual contridiction and contrary to the historical facts. Esprcially, the dates of the appearance of metal-type in Korea prompted by the two textual materials were later than that in China by more than 100 to 200 years. The reliable evidence proves that metal-type printing started in Korea from the end of the 14th century during the last years of Koryo dynasty, and large-scale typographical activities began in Korea from the early 15th century (1403) in the early Yi dynasty.