Movable type (US English; moveable type in British English) is the system and technology of printing and typography that uses movable components to reproduce the elements of a document (usually individual alphanumeric characters or punctuation marks) usually on the medium of paper. The world's first movable type printing technology for printing paper books was made of porcelain materials and was invented around 1040 AD in China during the Northern Song Dynasty by the inventor Bi Sheng (990-1051). The oldest extant book printed with movable metal type, Jikji, was printed in Korea in 1377 during the Goryeo dynasty. Bi Sheng (990-1051) developed the first known movable-type system for printing in China around 1040 AD during the Northern Song dynasty, using ceramic materials.
Wooden movable type was also first developed around 1040 AD by Bi Sheng but was abandoned in favour of clay movable types due to the presence of wood grains and the unevenness of the wooden type after being soaked in ink. Bronze movable type printing was invented in China no later than the 12th century, according to at least 13 material finds in China. Problems existed in using metal type in printing text, and it was not until the late 15th century that metal movable type was widely used in China.