t he wished to serve him
no longer, and set up a similar shop." [122]

To turn over a manuscript copy of a book to a Chinaman who had already
some familiarity with the production of books in China, or who with a
given text could carve the blocks according to tradition, was then not
a matter of great difficulty. There were Chinese books which showed
what the result would be; there were Spanish books, definitely some
from Mexico, which provided samples of European characters and format.

Who cut the blocks--that is exactly what Chinaman--we do not know,
nor do we know who handled the presswork, but it is logical to assume
that the whole process took place under the supervision of the fathers
of San Gabriel, Juan Cobo if work had begun before 1592, and certainly
Nieva and San Pedro Martyr. One further aide may have been the lay
brother, Pedro Rodriguez, who had been sent to San Gabriel with Nieva,
and who was a handyman or skilled mechanic, for Aduarte credits him
with rebuilding and restoring the hospital.

In speaking of the book printed for Blancas de San Jose, Aduarte said
that the printing had been done by "a Chinaman, a good Christian,"
[123] but in this particular account he does not give the Chinaman's
name. Yet, where he describes the founding of a second church of San
Gabriel in Binondo, sometime after March 28, 1594 [124] and before
June 15, 1596 when it was admitted to the chapter, he tells in some
detail of printing done by Juan de Vera. [125]

"There have been in this town [Binondo, then called Minondoc]
many Chinese of very exemplary lives. Juan de Vera was
not only a very devout man, and one much given to prayer,
but a man who caused all his household to be the same. He
always heard mass, and was very regular in his attendance at
church. He adorned the church most handsomely with hangings
and paintings, because he understood this art. He also,
thinking only of the great results to be attained by means
of holy and devout books, gave himself to the great labor
necessary to establish printing in this country, where there
was no journeyman who could show him the way, or give him an
account of the manner of printing in Europe, which is very
different from the manner of printing followed in his own
country of China. The Lord aided his pious intentions, and
he gave to this undertaking not only continued and excessive
labor, but all the fo