Study On Books Market Of The Qing Dynasty

As the place of books’ circulation, Chinese book market began in the Western Han Dynasty, where social resources were collocated effectively. Especially, the content of the Qing Dynasty’s book market is rich and colorful, including circulating channels, book marketing, bestsellers, book prices, book trade centers, market management, etc. As precious cultural heritage handed down from history, it is of great significance to expand the vision of literature study, promote multidisciplinary cross reasearch and provide reference for the current reform of the publishing system. However, the current research on book market of the Qing Dynasty is still relatively weak, and there has not been a systematic writing in this field. In view of this, I proceeded from the study results of the predecessors, adopted scientific methods, went through a large number of books and consulted plenty of literatures, and attempted to make a more systematic study on book market of the Qing Dynasty. The whole dissertation consists of seven parts written in around 230,000 words. Its main content is as follows:Chapter I The Background of Book Market of the Qing Dynasty. This chapter reviews the political, economic and cultural background of the book market of the Qing Dynasty, and finally outlines the whole book market of the Qing Dynasty.Chapter II Book Circulating Channels and Marketing of the Qing Dynasty. Book circulating channels were diverse in the Qing Dynasty, such as fixed bookstores, book stalls, book market for examinees and books for rent, book boats, moving sellers and books post, and so on. These circulating channels existing in a particular region connected book industry center into regional book market which expanded to be the nationwide and overseas markets and promoted the trade and exchange of books between China and other countries. The book-marketing strategies of the Qing Dynasty presented a lot of characteristics, which were diversity, commercialization, market-oriented operation, etc. Before the publication of books, Publishers adopted methods of "recycling capital depending officials’ salary" or "sharing publication ", and made market research on needs of readers in order to prevent market risks. They also strengthened advertisement of books such as publishing book information, book prices, etc. and provided the enthusiastic service to readers using discounts or discount coupons, and so on. In the period of the late Qing Dynasty, publishers promoted books sales through new transportation and communication tools, which contributed to the prosperity of the Qing Dynasty.Chapter III Bestsellers of the Qing Dynasty. This chapter discusses the kinds of bestsellers of the Qing Dynasty, analyzes their characteristics, forming conditions and gives some evaluation. From "Four Books", "Five Classics", examination books, ancient books of history, the traditional novels in the early Qing Dynasty to popular novels, drama books, Western type books, religious books and the books of revolutionary class in the late Qing Dynasty, the kinds of bestsellers of the Qing Dynasty varied from time to time, reflecting political, economic, cultural and social climate changes. The bestsellers of the Qing Dynasty had characteristics of times, commerciality and popularity. There were conditions of its formation, including enlargement of group of readers, development of paper production and printing technology, market-oriented operation of books. It was historical inevitability for bestsellers, not people’s will. However, bestsellers are not necessarily classic, and the classic is not always bestsellers. A part of bestsellers of the Qing Dynasty became classic books which handed down from generation to generation after they were proved by time and readers, but most of the bestsellers which were with some limitations of times circulated only a moment.Chapter IV Book Prices of the Qing Dynasty. This chapter investigates and analyzes price data of different editions at different times in the Qing Dynasty, respectively combing out the price data of the woodblock-printed editions, manuscripts, movable type, stone-engraving-printed editions. There were different editions of the woodblock-printed, including that of the Qing Dynasty, the Song Dynasty, and the Yuan dynasty, whose prices were greatly different. The price of the woodblock-printed editions of the Qing Dynasty was downward on the whole, especially in the period of the late Qing Dynasty. The prices of the woodblock-printed editions of the Song Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty were more expensive than others, moved on a higher position, and its trend displayed the shape like "M". The book production methods of movable type and stone-engraving-printed copies, more advanced than woodblock-printed ways, were lower cost, which resulted in lower book prices. Book prices in the Qing Dynasty had become more and more market-oriented and commercialization in the form of copies of the book bibliography circulating in the whole market, expanding book advertisement to boost book sales. The book prices were different according to different editions. After comparing book prices with salaries of officials and workers, price of commodity of corresponding period of the Qing Dynasty a conclusion was drawn that the capacity to buy books of ordinary people was limited in this period. The factors affecting book prices were various, including mainly political influence, social environment, values of books themselves, production costs, market conditions and other factors which caused prices rise and fall. Fluctuation of the book price could be a glimpse of development, prosperity, or depression of book market in the Qing Dynasty, and also reflected clearly changes of political, economic, cultural and other social changes in the environment.Chapter V Book Trade Centers of the Qing Dynasty. This chapter mainly discusses the distribution of book trade centers in the Qing Dynasty, involving an overview of the book trade centers, business establishments, operators, the main buyers, kinds of books and book industry organization and so on, and analyzes the geographical distribution characteristics and the reason for changes of book trade centers in the Qing Dynasty. The books trade central cities mainly were Beijing, Jinling, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Yangzhou in the early Qing Dynasty. Because of disaster of war, some of book markets in Jinling, Suzhou and Hangzhou had been destroyed in the late Qing Dynasty, coastal cities such as Shanghai, Guangzhou became book trade centers in subsequence. And some capital cities of provinces became regional book trade centers. Gradually, a three-levels-market system, including a central location of the book industry, regional book market and nationwide book market formed. The distribution of book trade centers of the Qing Dynasty displayed obvious geographical characteristics such as abundant financial resources, rich in local culture and education, well-developed publishing industry and well-developed traffic location. Changes in book trade centers in the Qing Dynasty were against the background of the changes of political, economic and cultural environment, publishing centers and the traffic conditions.Chapter VI Book Market Management of the Qing Dynasty. This chapter mainly discusses publication guidance, banned books and the book market, and management of import and export, and evaluates the book market management of the Qing Dynasty. Guiding role of publication from the government was mainly to encourage to publish books which helped to maintain its rule, and were issued in diverse methods. In the period of the late Qing Dynasty, the government encouraged importing or translating books which could contribute to make the country rich and strong. Against the background of Literary Inquisition, banned books, such as books banned of crack taboo, novels and drama of the popular, reformers and revolutionaries and others, were strictly banned in the Qing Dynasty, forming a regulatory system consisted of central government ban, local government enforcement and assistance of industry organizations, which resulted in hindering the development of the book market of the Qing Dynasty, printing a single book, wasting resources of publication. In addition, the Qing Government strengthened the management on the lease industry, and the import and export books, relieving the import and export tax of books in the period of the late Qing Dynasty to make the book trade develop smoothly. In the end, this chapter concludes some deficiencies of book market management in the Qing Dynasty, presented with numerous and juumbled regulatory agencies, backward management ways and methods.Chapter VII Conclusion For Summary. On the basis of the previous six chapters, this one summaries the characteristics of book market of the Qing Dynasty and enlightenment on the modern book market, and makes the corresponding analysis.