.17 End Of The Century - Early 19th Century Suzhou Bookstore Engraved Book

The development of publishing houses played an important role in the formation of book publishing base in Suzhou,which was one of the most important publishing centers in Qing.A large amount of books published in Qing were printed between Kangxi and Qinglong,when was an important period for the booming of publishing houses in Suzhou.It would be of large significance to get a better view on the history of Suzhou's local culture by analyzing the publishing houses during this period,in terms of cultural environment and publishing history.The focus of this dissertation lies in the development of publishing houses from late 17^th century to 19^th century,especially in how the publishing houses stroke their balance between the obeying government's cultural policies and gaining the profit from their selling.There are three chapters besides preface and conclusion.Chapter 1 outlines the cultural policies from the central and local government,which contributed a lot in the formation of the cultural environment in Suzhou.Chapter 2 is mainly about the case"Shuyetang(ShuYe publishing house)" which was one of the most famous publishing houses in Qing.Chapter 3 aims to analyze another case "Saoyeshanfang" to compare with "Shuyetang" to give an answer to how these two publishing houses,as the representatives in Suzhou,found their own ways to develop.