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MCQs — Print Culture and the Modern World

Chapter 5 · Class 10 History

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Practice MCQs (15) — with Explanations

Each MCQ matches real UPSC/State PSC difficulty. Click 'Show answer' to reveal — try answering first.

  1. From which year did woodblock hand-printing begin in China?

    1. A. AD 105
    2. B. AD 594
    3. C. AD 868
    4. D. AD 1295
    Show answer

    Correct: AD 594

    Explanation: China started woodblock hand-printing from AD 594. AD 868 belongs to the Diamond Sutra; 1295 is Marco Polo's return; AD 105 is the conventional date for paper invention.

    Source (NCERT): "From AD 594 onwards, books in China were printed by rubbing paper – also invented there – against the inked surface of woodblocks."

  2. Which is regarded as the world's oldest dated printed book?

    1. A. The Tripitaka Koreana
    2. B. The Jikji
    3. C. The Diamond Sutra
    4. D. Gutenberg's Bible
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    Correct: The Diamond Sutra

    Explanation: The Buddhist Diamond Sutra, printed in AD 868, is the oldest dated printed book. Tripitaka Koreana is mid-13th century; Jikji late 14th century; Gutenberg's Bible is from 1448.

    Source (NCERT): "The oldest Chinese book, printed in AD 868, is the Buddhist Diamond Sutra, containing six sheets of text and woodcut illustrations."

  3. Who introduced hand-printing technology into Japan around AD 768-770?

    1. A. Confucian scholars
    2. B. Buddhist missionaries from China
    3. C. Korean monks
    4. D. Portuguese traders
    Show answer

    Correct: Buddhist missionaries from China

    Explanation: Hand-printing reached Japan via Buddhist missionaries from China around AD 768-770. Portuguese traders brought print much later, and to India, not Japan.

    Source (NCERT): "Buddhist missionaries from China introduced hand-printing technology into Japan around AD 768-770."

  4. Who is credited with bringing knowledge of woodblock printing from China to Europe in 1295?

    1. A. Vasco da Gama
    2. B. Christopher Columbus
    3. C. Marco Polo
    4. D. Ibn Battuta
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    Correct: Marco Polo

    Explanation: Marco Polo returned to Italy in 1295 carrying the knowledge of woodblock printing from China. The other explorers belong to different routes and centuries.

    Source (NCERT): "Then, in 1295, Marco Polo, a great explorer, returned to Italy after many years of exploration in China."

  5. In which year did Johann Gutenberg perfect his printing press system?

    1. A. 1295
    2. B. 1430
    3. C. 1448
    4. D. 1517
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    Correct: 1448

    Explanation: Gutenberg perfected the system by 1448 and the first book printed was the Bible. He began work in the 1430s; 1517 is Luther's Theses.

    Source (NCERT): "By 1448, Gutenberg perfected the system. The first book he printed was the Bible."

  6. How many copies of the Bible did Gutenberg print, and over what period?

    1. A. 50 copies in one year
    2. B. About 180 copies over three years
    3. C. 5,000 copies in a few weeks
    4. D. 200 copies in six months
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    Correct: About 180 copies over three years

    Explanation: Around 180 copies were printed over three years. The figure of 5,000 copies in a few weeks refers to Luther's German New Testament — frequently confused.

    Source (NCERT): "About 180 copies were printed and it took three years to produce them."

  7. In which year did Martin Luther publish his Ninety-Five Theses against the Roman Catholic Church?

    1. A. 1448
    2. B. 1517
    3. C. 1558
    4. D. 1610
    Show answer

    Correct: 1517

    Explanation: Luther wrote his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517, posted on a Wittenberg church door. 1558 marks the Index of Prohibited Books; 1448 is Gutenberg's perfected press.

    Source (NCERT): "In 1517, the religious reformer Martin Luther wrote Ninety Five Theses criticising many of the practices and rituals of the Roman Catholic Church."

  8. From which year did the Roman Catholic Church begin maintaining its Index of Prohibited Books?

    1. A. 1517
    2. B. 1558
    3. C. 1610
    4. D. 1670
    Show answer

    Correct: 1558

    Explanation: The Index of Prohibited Books was kept by the Roman Church from 1558, partly as a response to print-driven dissent like that of Menocchio.

    Source (NCERT): "imposed severe controls over publishers and booksellers and began to maintain an Index of Prohibited Books from 1558."

  9. Which French novelist declared, "The printing press is the most powerful engine of progress"?

    1. A. Voltaire
    2. B. Jean Jacques Rousseau
    3. C. Louise-Sebastien Mercier
    4. D. Thomas Paine
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    Correct: Louise-Sebastien Mercier

    Explanation: Mercier, an eighteenth-century French novelist, made this declaration. Voltaire and Rousseau influenced print culture but did not author this specific quote.

    Source (NCERT): "Louise-Sebastien Mercier, a novelist in eighteenth-century France, declared: 'The printing press is the most powerful engine of progress and public opinion is the force that will sweep despotism away.'"

  10. Who perfected the power-driven cylindrical press capable of 8,000 sheets per hour?

    1. A. Johann Gutenberg
    2. B. Richard M. Hoe of New York
    3. C. James Lackington
    4. D. Alfred Concanen
    Show answer

    Correct: Richard M. Hoe of New York

    Explanation: Richard M. Hoe of New York perfected the power-driven cylindrical press by the mid-nineteenth century — particularly useful for newspapers.

    Source (NCERT): "By the mid-nineteenth century, Richard M. Hoe of New York had perfected the power-driven cylindrical press."

  11. Where and when was the first Tamil book printed?

    1. A. Madras, 1710
    2. B. Cochin, 1579
    3. C. Goa, 1556
    4. D. Calcutta, 1810
    Show answer

    Correct: Cochin, 1579

    Explanation: Catholic priests printed the first Tamil book at Cochin in 1579. By 1710, Dutch Protestant missionaries had printed 32 Tamil texts. The first Malayalam book came in 1713.

    Source (NCERT): "Catholic priests printed the first Tamil book in 1579 at Cochin, and in 1713 the first Malayalam book was printed by them."

  12. Who began editing the Bengal Gazette from 1780?

    1. A. Rammohun Roy
    2. B. Gangadhar Bhattacharya
    3. C. James Augustus Hickey
    4. D. Warren Hastings
    Show answer

    Correct: James Augustus Hickey

    Explanation: Hickey began editing the English weekly Bengal Gazette from 1780. The Indian-edited weekly of the same name was brought out by Gangadhar Bhattacharya — frequently confused.

    Source (NCERT): "From 1780, James Augustus Hickey began to edit the Bengal Gazette, a weekly magazine that described itself as 'a commercial paper open to all, but influenced by none'."

  13. In which year did Rammohun Roy publish the Sambad Kaumudi?

    1. A. 1810
    2. B. 1821
    3. C. 1822
    4. D. 1857
    Show answer

    Correct: 1821

    Explanation: Rammohun Roy launched Sambad Kaumudi in 1821; the Hindu orthodoxy commissioned Samachar Chandrika in response. Bombay Samachar appeared in 1822.

    Source (NCERT): "Rammohun Roy published the Sambad Kaumudi from 1821 and the Hindu orthodoxy commissioned the Samachar Chandrika to oppose his opinions."

  14. On which earlier law was the Vernacular Press Act of 1878 modelled?

    1. A. The British Stamp Act
    2. B. The Irish Press Laws
    3. C. The Rowlatt Act
    4. D. The Defence of India Rules
    Show answer

    Correct: The Irish Press Laws

    Explanation: The 1878 Vernacular Press Act was modelled on the Irish Press Laws, giving the colonial government extensive rights to censor vernacular reports and editorials.

    Source (NCERT): "In 1878, the Vernacular Press Act was passed, modelled on the Irish Press Laws."

  15. Which 1876 work is recognised as the first full-length autobiography published in the Bengali language?

    1. A. Gulamgiri by Jyotiba Phule
    2. B. Amar Jiban by Rashsundari Debi
    3. C. Istri Dharm Vichar by Ram Chaddha
    4. D. Sacchi Kavitayan by Sudarshan Chakr
    Show answer

    Correct: Amar Jiban by Rashsundari Debi

    Explanation: Rashsundari Debi, who learned to read in the secrecy of her kitchen in orthodox East Bengal, published Amar Jiban in 1876 — the first full-length Bengali autobiography.

    Source (NCERT): "Later, she wrote her autobiography Amar Jiban which was published in 1876. It was the first full-length autobiography published in the Bengali language."

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