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800 occupations: Europe storing oils, wines, grains, and other foodstuffs, as well as the growing luxury trade in artistic pieces for display and as evidence of social and political status Glazed celadon and porcelain technology developed in China during the Tang Dynasty (618–907) and spread to neighboring Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia Celadon production required the application of bright yellow, green, blue, and white glazes to earthenware forms that had been shaped from clay on a potter’s wheel and were subsequently fired in brick-lined kilns Common shapes included bowls, vases, plates, ritual vessels, and figurines representing animals, humans, and the gods Porcelain was first produced during the Yuan Dynasty The best Chinese porcelain was produced in the Jiangxi province in several factories that created imperial wares and lesser-quality porcelains for popular consumption and export When the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) restricted the export of porcelain from the late 1400s to the 1560s, Thai, Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese producers filled the international trade void with high-quality glazed and decorated ceramics that mimicked Ming porcelain Printing developed out of the need for books in China among the elite and middle-class population who were studying for Confucian exams, which would qualify them for government posts that could support their families for generations; state administrators and local gentry who read books on new technologies that would increase local productivity; and an increasingly prosperous and literate public who embraced low-cost printed literature By the 10th century wealthy Chinese could buy woodblock-printed copies of the Confucian and Buddhist classics printed on bamboo paper that had been produced with special additives to repulse insects The woodblocks were prepared by craftsmen who used hardwood carved to the size of a book page Pieces of wood were seasoned by being boiled, dried, and oiled Then they were covered with a thin paste, and a paper was smoothed over them that contained handwritten Chinese characters and art The blocks were allowed to dry, and the paper was rubbed to adhere the ink of the writings and artwork to form a pattern of the relief and characters in reverse A woodcarver then carved the block A finished block was inked to stamp sheets of paper with the block image; each woodblock could produce up to 25,000 copies By the 14th century the Chinese had invented moveable type that could be reused after one printing project was completed This technology supplemented the carved woodblocks to print books, paper currency, and popular consumables such as playing cards, almanacs, and calendars in black or in color on printing presses, which the Koreans had invented A wide variety of printed books was available to the Chinese public, including public records and inexpensive publications using local vocabulary rather than elaborate classical Chinese Europe by Amy Hackney Blackwell Almost all medieval Europeans had to work to support themselves Even the wealthiest nobles had many responsibilities Many people had no official occupation or education in the modern sense, but they still had jobs to Peasants throughout Europe occupied themselves with growing crops, hunting, and making the things they needed for daily life As populations and towns grew, more people adopted specific occupations These occupations often passed from father to son or mother to daughter for generations and formed the identity of many families, who came to be known by the jobs they did Even today surnames such as “Smith” and “Chandler” tell of the occupations of ancestors The vast majority of European people were peasants Most supported themselves as subsistence farmers, producing the food they needed to survive by raising crops and tending livestock People who lived in this fashion often performed many jobs throughout the year Men might plow fields, hunt, fish, herd animals, and construct buildings Women would tend the house, spin, weave, make clothing, milk cows, and cook as well as help with agricultural tasks Peasants did not receive wages for their work, and many rarely if ever owned money Instead, they traded goods and services that they could themselves produce in exchange for other goods and services that they needed A small minority of medieval Europeans were nobles These people owned most of the property and controlled the ways in which it was used Within the noble class, people occupied themselves with various responsibilities Lords of various ranks had to administer their lands, taxing the peasants, arbitrating disputes, and ensuring that there was adequate farmland, hunting territory, and milling capacity Lords were in charge of local defense and usually themselves owed a military and economic obligation to higher-ranking nobles and to the king or other overlord They had to maintain local fortifications, train soldiers, provide weapons, and organize military endeavors Knights were themselves nobles, with various administrative responsibilities, but they were expected to spend much of their time practicing their military skills, drilling troops, and providing military training to boys Pages and squires were noble boys and teenagers who worked for noble lords, doing household tasks while studying the skills they would need to be adult knights Noblewomen had their own responsibilities A lord’s wife often kept the keys to the household’s food and other goods,
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