Tomas Pinpin
Encyclopedia
Tomas Pinpin was a printer, writer and publisher from Abucay, a municipality in the province of Bataan
, Philippines
, who was the first Filipino printer and is sometimes referred as the "Patriarch of Filipino Printing."
Tomas Pinpin is also remembered for being the first native Filipino to publish and print a book, "Librong Pagaaralan nang manga Tagalog nang Uicang Castilla" in 1610, entirely written by himself in the old Tagalog orthography.
, between 1580 and 1585. The exact dates of birth and death as well as his parentage are unknown because in 1646 Dutch looters raided his home town of Abucay and burned the parish records. However, his last name indicates that he must have had Chinese ancestors.
He is thought to have first come into contact with the printing world around 1608 or 1609, learning from the work of other Christian Chinese printers such as Juan de Vera, Pedro de Vera, and Luis Beltran who had already printed several books for Spanish missionaries.
Pinpin started working as an apprentice at the printing press in Abucay in 1609. The printing press was run by the Dominicans, and Father Blancas employed young Pinpin and taught him the printing techniques of the time. In just one year he had developed enough skills to be promoted to printing manager.
Although the Librong Pagaaralan was the first printed book written by a Filipino in the local Tagalog language, it was not the first one in history, as it had been preceded by Fray Juan de Plasencia
's Doctrina Cristiana
, that had been printed in Tagalog, in both Latin script and the commonly used Baybayin script of the natives of the time, in the year 1593.
In 1612 Pinpin supervised the set up of a printing press owned by the Franciscans in Pila, Laguna
, where he printed "Vocabulario de Lengua Tagala", by Fray Pedro de San Buenaventura, which was the first dictionary of a language of the Philippine islands ever printed. He is also known to have printed at Binondo, Manila
, between 1623 and 1627, as the early printing press was being transported to several places to bring the art of printing.
In 1637 he published and printed what is thought to be the first newspaper in the Philippines, the 14-page "Sucesos Felices", that reported mainly on Spanish military victories.
It is estimated that all throughout his career, from 1609 to 1639, Tomas Pinpin printed at least fourteen different publications.
Bataan
Bataan is a province of the Philippines occupying the whole of the Bataan Peninsula on Luzon. The province is part of the Central Luzon region. The capital of Bataan is Balanga City and it is bordered by the provinces of Zambales and Pampanga to the north...
, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, who was the first Filipino printer and is sometimes referred as the "Patriarch of Filipino Printing."
Tomas Pinpin is also remembered for being the first native Filipino to publish and print a book, "Librong Pagaaralan nang manga Tagalog nang Uicang Castilla" in 1610, entirely written by himself in the old Tagalog orthography.
Early life
Tomas Pinpin was born in Barrio Mabatang, Abucay, BataanBataan
Bataan is a province of the Philippines occupying the whole of the Bataan Peninsula on Luzon. The province is part of the Central Luzon region. The capital of Bataan is Balanga City and it is bordered by the provinces of Zambales and Pampanga to the north...
, between 1580 and 1585. The exact dates of birth and death as well as his parentage are unknown because in 1646 Dutch looters raided his home town of Abucay and burned the parish records. However, his last name indicates that he must have had Chinese ancestors.
He is thought to have first come into contact with the printing world around 1608 or 1609, learning from the work of other Christian Chinese printers such as Juan de Vera, Pedro de Vera, and Luis Beltran who had already printed several books for Spanish missionaries.
Pinpin started working as an apprentice at the printing press in Abucay in 1609. The printing press was run by the Dominicans, and Father Blancas employed young Pinpin and taught him the printing techniques of the time. In just one year he had developed enough skills to be promoted to printing manager.
Work as a printer
In 1610 he printed the book "Arte y Reglas de la Lengua Tagala", by his mentor Father Francisco Blancas de San Jose, and in the same year his famous "Librong Pagaaralan nang mga Tagalog nang Wicang Castila" was printed by his assistant, Diego Talaghay. The book contained 119 pages divided into five parts and was meant to help Filipinos learn the Spanish language. The prologue read:Although the Librong Pagaaralan was the first printed book written by a Filipino in the local Tagalog language, it was not the first one in history, as it had been preceded by Fray Juan de Plasencia
Juan de Plasencia
Juan de Plasencia was a Spanish friar of the Franciscan Order.He spent most of his missionary life in the Philippines, where he founded numerous towns in Luzon and authored several religious and linguistic books, most notably, the Doctrina Cristiana , the first book ever printed in the...
's Doctrina Cristiana
Doctrina Cristiana
Doctrina Christiana was written by Fray Juan de Plasencia, and is believed to be one of the earliest books printed in the Philippines, in the year 1593....
, that had been printed in Tagalog, in both Latin script and the commonly used Baybayin script of the natives of the time, in the year 1593.
In 1612 Pinpin supervised the set up of a printing press owned by the Franciscans in Pila, Laguna
Pila, Laguna
Pila is a 4th class municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 44,227 people in 7,750 households...
, where he printed "Vocabulario de Lengua Tagala", by Fray Pedro de San Buenaventura, which was the first dictionary of a language of the Philippine islands ever printed. He is also known to have printed at Binondo, Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
, between 1623 and 1627, as the early printing press was being transported to several places to bring the art of printing.
In 1637 he published and printed what is thought to be the first newspaper in the Philippines, the 14-page "Sucesos Felices", that reported mainly on Spanish military victories.
It is estimated that all throughout his career, from 1609 to 1639, Tomas Pinpin printed at least fourteen different publications.
Late years
Based on the fact that a book printed in 1648 contained the sentence "Printed in the Office of Tomas Pin-pin", historians believe that later in life he must have opened a printing shop together with his son Simon, to whom he taught the art of printing, and whose name appears on several books from the Jesuit press.Death and afterward
There are no other records of Tomas Pinpin after 1648, so both the date of his death and the place are unaccounted for. There's a Tomas Pinpin Monument at Barangay Ibayo, Abucay, standing in the centre of Tomas Pinpin Memorial Elementary School. A bust in his honor rests at Plaza Cervantes while a street in Escolta bears his name.Printed works
- "Arte y Reglas de Lengua Tagala", 1610, by Padre Blancas.
- "Librong Pagaaralan nang manga Tagalog nang Uicang Castilla", 1610.
- "Vocabulario de Lengua Tagala", 1612, by Pedro de San Buenaventura.
- "Relacion de Martirio", 1625.
- "Triunfo", by Carreras, 1626.
- "Arte Ilocano", by Lopez, 1627.
- "Vocabulario de Japon", 1630.
- "Confesionario", by Herreras, 1636.
- "Sucesos Felices", Newspaper, 1637.
- "Relacion de la Vida y Martirio del Jesuita P. Mastrillo".