Feng Tao

Born 882; died 954. Chinese state figure.

Feng Tao occupied high administrative posts in various dynasties of the Wu Tai period. After the Later T’ang Dynasty conquered the Shu region (modern Szechwan Province) in 929, Feng became familiar with block printing. This technique had been widely used in the Shu region since the mid-ninth century but was little known in other parts of China. From 932 to 953 in the city of Loyang, Feng used the block printing method to publish the Confucian classics; for this reason, he is sometimes called the inventor of block printing.