A Research On Publishing Weekly(1924-1941)

In 1920 s and 1930 s, with the development of domestic publishing industry, publishing houses encountered the challenge that marketing the productions to reader.As a self-publishing and self-promoting journal,Publishing Weekly was born by The Commercial Press,mainly providing publication information.Meanwhile,the social demand for reading was increasing with the cultural undertaking developing.The reader needed not only to buy books,but also to know the research methods.Under these circumstances,the periodical,marked by providing guidances on reading,came at the opportune moment.To adapt the social development,Publishing Weekly changed a version to add cultural service columns,which produced profound influence in society.As a result,the Weekly turned out to be the first and an outstanding representative of this reading-publishing journal.This research on the Weekly includs its basic outline, commercial characteristic, cultural feature and historical value four aspects.Publishing Weekly was set up in 1924 January and ended in 1941 July,lasting 17 yesrs in total. With the rise and fall of The Commercial Press,it stoped and resumed for twice.On publishing,Chief editor Li Bojia minded culture,had the whole world in view.He thinked publishing could promote culture constructing throngh preservating and diffusing two ways,therefore the advertisements on the Weekly focus on presenting cultural connotation.On the other hand,examining Chinese Publishing into the world system made the Weekly have open vision and deep understanding in the relationship between publishing and world state.Moreover,because of cheap price and distribution network,the Weekly enhanced its social influence while expanding market share.As a popular publishing periodical, Publishing Weekly both had the commercial and cultural attributes of distinct. The commercial contents on it were referred to varied advertisements, including information-advertisement, subscribing-advertisement, discount-advertisement, culture-advertisement and others reflecting the Commercial Press’ s diversificate business. These advertisements were based on the cultural connotation of the publishing. The literal content was short and concise, easy to remember. The layout was density, with the natural rhythm. The form was flexible, with words and pictures cooperating. The timing of the publicity was taken seriously.The cultural contents on Publishing Weekly were represented by “reading guidance” and printing knowledge. These types of advertising were mainly to serve reader and give impetus to cultural development. The theme selection was practical. The article style was rigorous. The authors’ professional accomplishment was high. The public influence was significant. Meanwhile,this kind of advertising set up enterprise image of The Commercial Press.Therefore, Publishing Weekly had profound historical value.As a self-promotion publication by The Commercial Press, Publishing Weekly had achieved the purpose of production propagating and enterprise brand constructing. Paved the way to the emergence of a large number of publishing periodicals later. Advocated social reading atmosphere strongly.Preserved rich materials for the publish history research. Indicated the early theory consciousness of publish in China.Because the records are late to the occurrence time, data and information on Publishing Weekly were of high accuracy and credibility. With these statistical informations and thematic papers, reachers can see The Commercial Press’ s operating condition, the publishing industry’s flourish and fierce competition and the interaction between publishing and the society and culture at that time. The publishing policies, publicity strategy, business model, taken by The Commercial Press,a private publishing organization facing fierce competition in the early Republic of China, to develop itself will also provide a useful reference to publishing houses in transformating into companies and meeting market competition in modern time.