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How did Wang Chen organize movable wooden type for easier handling?

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To organize movable wooden type for more efficient handling, Wang Chen developed horizontal compartmented cases that revolved around a vertical axis. This innovation allowed for easier access and management of the large number of characters—over 60,000—that he had carved for his printing projects.1

While Wang Chen is credited with this significant advancement in typography, it is important to note that his work followed the earlier invention of movable type by Pi Sheng, who used clay blocks. Despite Wang Chen's mechanical improvements, his own major work, Nung Shu, was ultimately printed using traditional woodblock methods rather than his movable type system.1