Type, technology and translation: A case study of Chinese metal type

Speaker: Xunchang Cheng – CBCP Visiting Research Fellow

This research seminar is a hybrid event and is free & open to all.

• To join us in person come along to Room T4, Department of Typography & Graphic Communication, University of Reading (Whiteknights campus)
• To join via MS Teams, please register here

Seminar topic:
Xunchang’s talk investigates two sets of Chinese metal type recently acquired by the University of Reading collections, sourced from the St Bride Library and The Type Archive in London. These collections provide rare material evidence of missionary-led Chinese metal type production and offer insights into the adaptation of Western type-making techniques for Chinese script. Through material analysis, print testing, and historical comparisons, this presentation will explore the origin, production techniques, typeform characteristics and storage methods of these two founts.

The project aims to establish a methodology for testing and analysing historical Chinese founts, facilitating their application in broader typographic and historical research. In addition, the study explores the potential for reusing these types in today’s typesetting applications. By combining material study with contemporary typographic experimentation, this project contributes to a deeper understanding of the evolution of Chinese type-making and its cross-cultural significance in the 19th century. 

About our speaker:
Xunchang Cheng is a multilingual typeface designer, researcher, documentary director and exhibitions curator. His current research primarily focuses on exploring the evolution of Chinese typeforms up to the 20th century from the perspective of typeface designers.