Daebung-Style Printing Press (9)

The newly established Jojiseo in Yanggu Hyeon was always busy.

The nation's demand for paper was enormous, but Jojiseo's production capacity could not keep up.

"Chief State Councillor Jibu said he would somehow secure the budget, so if you need money, spend it freely! Don't worry about money. You'll be rewarded according to how much you work, so during working hours, consider yourselves dead and do nothing but work!"

"Yes, Deputy Director!"

"Tell the blacksmiths casting the metal type to hurry as much as possible, too. Hire more people! We need twice as many paper artisans, carpenters, and blacksmiths as we have now!"

Jojiseo had originally been no more than a sixth-rank government bureau.

But now that Kim Daebung had built a large-scale papermaking factory in Yanggu and introduced various new printing technologies, mass production of books had become possible...

Sejong and the other ministers had come to reassess Jojiseo's value.

It was now an indispensable institution for enlightening the people of all eight provinces of Joseon, printing at least dozens of books a day—the books needed to achieve the century-long undertaking of education.

Thus, Jojiseo had been reborn from a trifling sixth-rank bureau into a core national subordinate office headed by a third-rank junior official.

In terms of the twenty-first century, it had become an important institution like the Meteorological Administration or the Military Manpower Administration, staffed by a vice-minister-level official.

And a mountain of work commensurate with that reassessment came pouring in.

"Deputy Director, Lord Jibu says we must add another 5,000 sheets to our daily paper production and make 20,000."

"Don't be ridiculous! It's hard enough producing 15,000 sheets right now."

"Lord Jibu says it can be done if we are willing to do it, and that we may increase the workforce and equipment as much as you deem necessary, Deputy Director."

Deputy Director Kim Seok-bong sighed when he heard that.

If he were free to expand the workforce and facilities, and if the officials and artisans of Jojiseo united as one and devoted themselves to their work, they could somehow manage 20,000 sheets a day.

"It's the agricultural off-season, so I'll gather up some tenant farmers who are resting for now and put them to work. And we should write up a large notice saying that Jojiseo is recruiting artisans and post it mainly in Hanyang and the nearby large towns."

"Yes, my lord."

"Lord Jibu said we can spend the money however we like. Announce to everyone gathered that if the artisans achieve a daily output of 20,000 sheets, they'll receive an extra 50 percent on top of their normal wages this month. Then they'll work even harder, with fire in their eyes."

"They'll work as if their lives depended on it to put even one more spoonful of rice into their wives' and children's mouths."

After Kim Daebung introduced the performance-bonus system at Jojiseo, it spread to all the government offices where artisans worked, including the ironworks and the Military Equipment Bureau.

At first, everyone found it unfamiliar, but once they experienced that working hard could earn them up to 30–50 percent more than their usual wages...

The artisans began working more efficiently and enthusiastically than before.

"Yes, if I just keep working like this... I should be able to become a senior official someday too, right?"

He decided that if he was working like a dog to this extent and they still did not promote him to a senior official, then the court was at fault for failing to recognize the loyalty of a faithful servant like him.

"Now that I think about it, Jojiseo is actually a decent place to work."

However, His Majesty—no, the Great King who loved studying far too much—did not grant Kim Seok-bong any peace.

"Deputy Director, a royal command has arrived."

"A royal command...? What sort of command?"

"His Majesty has commanded us to print Sohak. He has set no specific deadline, but he ordered us to print it as quickly and in as large a quantity as possible, using any means necessary."

Kim Seok-bong felt the back of his neck grow stiff when he heard that.

Thanks to the court's ban on working late, he would not have to work through the night and lose sleep, but from now on, he would have to focus on his work during every minute of his working hours, begrudging even the time it took to blink.

Before long, Sohak was distributed throughout Joseon in huge quantities at a price of only about 5 pun (5%) of its former price.

Sejong found it pleasing.

So Sejong allocated an even larger budget to Jojiseo, ordering it to print and distribute the other Four Books and Three Classics quickly in the same manner.

**

Sohak was released throughout Joseon at a low price.

Seeing this, the great merchants of all eight provinces of Joseon began, one after another, to set up papermaking and printing factories modeled after Jojiseo.

Of course, these inexpensive books released in this way were not especially durable because they used cheap paper.

Nevertheless, they were books, and since they presented no problem at all for reading, they were sufficient to meet the needs of impoverished yangban.

But whenever a new change arose in the world, there were some who welcomed it and others who disliked it.

Opinions were divided among the scholars of Goyang Hyeon in Gyeonggi Province regarding the inexpensive books Sejong was distributing.

"I wholeheartedly support His Majesty's noble intention to create new books and promote learning. However, Scholar Seo... this low-grade edition of Sohak uses paper that is far too poor in quality. The paper is yellowish, and it tears so easily. The thought of writing the precious words of the sages on such cheap paper... well, it troubles me."

Scholar Seo rebutted the preceding scholar's words.

"When Confucius accepted disciples, he welcomed anyone who wished to become his student regardless of their social status, as long as they brought a bundle of dried meat as a gift. That was because he believed learning was something all people should share."

Scholar Seo held up the cheap Sohak compiled by royal command as reverently as if it were an ancestral tablet.

"This Sohak is vastly cheaper than one printed on the paper traditionally used. You can buy it for only about 5 pun (5%) of the price of an old edition, Sangho."

The man whose ho was Sangho tried to think of something with which to rebut Scholar Seo's words.

But now that his opponent, who had passed the lower civil service examination, had brought out the nearly invincible logic of 'Confucius,' if he rashly argued back, he was highly likely to be socially buried among the scholars...

For the moment, he decided to retreat one step.

"That is true, but..."

"The words of the sages are more precious than gold. So if those precious words can be spread more widely with the help of low book prices, isn't that a very good thing?"

"You are right, Scholar Seo. But I hear that not only the court but merchants have now stepped forward, saying they will print and sell the Four Books and Three Classics. If that happens, they will be seeking to profit by selling books... Wouldn't that amount to making money by selling the words of the sages?"

Even Scholar Seo found that somewhat unsettling.

The words of the sages were sacred and holy in themselves, yet people had appeared who were resorting to the shallow trick of selling books containing those words for profit.

It was enough to make him wonder whether Joseon's laws and customs could really have fallen this far.

"That is true. But how could everything in the world be good according to our own ideas? And this is something His Majesty and Lord Jibu are pursuing together."

Kim Daebung, known as Jibu, had originally been given the ho Jukheon, but it had long since been forgotten by everyone, since even the parents who had given him that ho barely used it.

Instead, the sobriquet Jibu, meaning that he had shouldered an axe for the sake of the people, had become so well known throughout the country that no one was unfamiliar with it.

"If someone appears who tries to make an exorbitant profit by selling the Four Books and Three Classics, can't we simply denounce him sternly? And think about it. Thanks to their doing business for profit, hasn't Joseon as a whole become more prosperous, at any rate?"

Sangho could only nod at his words.

That was because if Sangho voiced the true reason he was genuinely displeased with Sejong's policy, he would be practically inviting everyone to stone him to death.

'If books become too cheap, won't even the lowborn start making a fuss about wanting to study?'

"Aren't there many among us here who don't even possess books such as the Shiji or the Guanzi, apart from the Four Books and Three Classics? How wonderful would it be if merchants stepped forward to print and sell numerous inexpensive books, making those works available at low prices too? Then we could study more, and study more deeply."

Books were extremely rare in Joseon.

They were expensive, of course, but even if one had plenty of money, rare books were extremely difficult to obtain because there was no 'book distribution network' in place at all.

But what if merchants began making and selling books?

As long as one had money, one would be able to obtain not only the Four Books and Three Classics but also valuable books such as the Great Compendium of Neo-Confucianism with ease.

"Therefore, I believe this policy is not bad at all; rather, it is a good thing for everyone who wants to keep books close at hand. In that spirit, what do you think of purchasing several copies of the Four Books and Three Classics and placing them in our local Confucian school? Any scholar who wants to study could come to the school and do so. Everyone who comes to the school would be free to read them as much as they pleased."

Several scholars expressed their support for his proposal.

But not all the scholars of Goyang Hyeon agreed with him.

Those as twisted inside as Sangho became trapped in their own logic and...

While pretending outwardly to be scholars concerned about the state, they grumbled.

"If the words of the sages are written on paper of such poor quality, the book will soon be torn to pieces..."

"There can be typographical errors even in books produced by the court, so how much worse will the books made by merchants blinded by money be?"

"Books are precious in and of themselves, like an inheritance to be passed down through the family for generations..."

One thought had taken firm root in their minds.

'Learning is a privilege.'

Therefore, they did not want to share it with the poor or the lowborn.