The Changes Of Book Distribution Industry In Shanghai During The Years 1949-1956

The 1950s is a great transition period of Chinese society, research concerning on the nation and society has been the hot spot and difficulty in academia. At present, the academia has obtained great achievements in the political, economic areas while research in cultural area is in its infancy. In this paper, with consultant on relevant files and historical materials, the changes of book distribution industry in Shanghai during the years 1949-1956 have carried on in a more comprehensive elaboration. In the view of national transformation and its social response, taking the changes of the entire book distribution industry in Shanghai as the breakthrough point, this process has been described in details.The paper is divided into three chapters, in addition to foreword and odd theory.The first chapter introduces the situation and characteristics of book distribution industry in Shanghai during the early days of liberation. In those days, privately operated book distribution industry in Shanghai developed vigorously, which had the characteristics of increasing in quantity, employees, and categories. However, in the process, it encountered some problems such as extreme imbalance in regional development and the so called "the horse race book" emerged one after another. Facing to these problems, the state government strengthened the management and limit on private sector, and authorized the Xinhua Bookstore to issue textbook only, thus the development of private book distribution industry gradually reduced.The second chapter presents that the policy changes by the Party and the Government in the early days of liberation on the book distribution market. The Government and the private distributors both made efforts on the adjustments in the private and public relations. The state book distribution industry win an advantage by making further control and management to bookstall. The third chapter introduces the background, process and impact of the transformation of Shanghai book distribution industry during the years 1954-1956. The socialist transformation movement has a deep background: the requirement of socialist transformation and profitability declining of the book issue industry. The private book distribution industry decreased over socialist transformation. The Shanghai book distribution industry changed from market economy mode with multi-channels, competitive pricing characteristics into a single planned economy mode with unified pricing, quantitative fixed characteristics until the completion of socialist transformation.In the end of the paper, it carries on the reflection to the state control in cultural domain. The author considers that the primary driving force resulted in transformation of the book distribution industry in Shanghai in the 50s is national policy. For more, the relation between the government and the transformation of book distribution industry, the author thinks that the former is the external motion for the latter, and it plays the leading role in the procession of transformation. The penetration of government's power can not reach the goal in one step, and it is coherent with transformation in other domains. Finally, the author makes a judgment with country's administrative intervene in the cultural area.