On Research Of Books Engraved By Bibliophiles In Changshu In The Mid And Late Periods Of Ming Dynasty And Their Literary Activities

Book-engraving industry in the south of the Yangtze River began to boom in the mid-late Ming Dynasty, and during this time a number of important publishers appeared in Changshu county, Suzhou prefecture. These publishers engaged i collecting, collating, writing, and publishing books, and the engraved books are of perfect collation and quality. A large quantity of fine books were engraved to popularize cultural knowledge and to promote social culture; Scope and methodology of the study.The first chapter discusses the purpose and significance of the study; current studies of book collecting and book engraving in the three periods: from the mid-late Ming Dynasty to the1911Revolution, from the1911Revolution to the foundation of the People’s Republic of China, and after the foundation of the PRC, the author of the thesis puts forward the limitation of previous studies,The second chapter discusses the prosperous background of book collecting and book engraving in the the mid-late Ming Dynasty in Changshu. The development of commodity economy and handicraft industry laid profound foundation for book engraving in the the mid-late Ming Dynasty. However, corruption in state affairs weaken the political force, which canceled many banned orders. And the Ming Dynasty encouraged to engrave some certain books. Besides, the thriving civil culture in mid-late Ming Dynasty and bibliophiles’sense of mission to inherit cultural made them disseminate culture widely, which objectively promoted the book-engraving business of bibliophiles in Changshu.In the third chapter, the author tidies and classify the books engraved in the the mid and late periods of Ming Dynasty in according to the record of book collecting and book engraving. After that the thesis sums up features and communicative way of books engraved by bibliophiles in the the mid and late periods of Ming Dynasty in Changshu.The fourth chapter discusses the literary activities of bibliophiles in the the mid and late periods of Ming Dynasty in Changshu, Bibliophiles,on the one hand, closely contacted with literati frequently and engraved literary works they liked to respond to literature ideological trend at that time. On the other hand, many bibliophiles in Changshu were also literati. The abundant books they collected enrich their knowledge and helped them create a lot of influential literature works, most of which were engraved by themselves or by their offsprings.The fifth chapter analyzes the bibliophiles’contribution and influence bibliophiles on the society and literary. Bibliophiles in Changshu corrected many mistakes made in the process of engraving books, which laid foundation to the development of textual criticism. The publication of books engraved by the bibliophiles made the books well reserved and widely known. It also promoted literature and popularized cultural knowledge objectively.