A Study On The Printing And Publishing Activites Of William Caxton

The 15 th century was an important period when Britain began to transform into a modern society.Driven by the Renaissance and modern printing technology,Britain began to gradually transition from a "manual era" to a "printing era".William caxton(William Caxton,1422-1492)was the first person in Britain to engage in printing and publishing activities.In 1473,Caxton printed and published the world's first English book " The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye " in Bruge,marking the beginning of his printing and publishing activities.In 1476,Caxton returned to England and set up the first printing factory near Westminster,London,to start printing and publishing activities.In 1477,Caxton printed and published the first book "The Dictes and Sayings of Philosophers" with a definite date in Britain.Caxton has been engaged in printing and publishing work from 1473 to 1491,printing and publishing more than100 books in his whole life.Exploring caxton's printing and publishing activities not only helps us to understand and grasp caxton's position and role in modern British history,but also helps us to deeply understand the rise of modern British printing and publishing industry,thus further understanding the modernization process of modern British printing and publishing industry.At present,there are many researchers abroad on the issue of printing and publishing activities in caxton,but there are no scholars in China who have carried out special studies on this issue.This paper attempts to study the printing and publishing activities in caxton by reading relevant original documents.The full text is mainly composed of introduction,main body and conclusion.Among them,the introduction part mainly explains the main issues studied in this paper,namely,the beginning of printing and publishing activities in caxton and its changing process.At the same time,it defines the key words and key terms involved in this article,such as caxton,printing and publishing activities and books.On the basis of sorting out and grasping the relevant research situation at home and abroad,this paper introduces the original documents related to this article,including the records of printed andpublished books in medieval England and the related documents of preface and postscript of printed and published books in caxton.In addition,the basic theoretical methods such as the methodology of Marxism,the methodology of economic-social history and the methodology of literature analysis applied in this article are also clarified.The main part of this article is divided into four chapters.The first chapter mainly discusses the social background of the rise of printing and publishing activities in caxton and its personal and family background and growth experience.The rise of the British Renaissance in the 15 th century and the invention and dissemination of modern printing and publishing technology promoted the development of printing and publishing activities in caxton.At the same time,caxton's experience from an apprentice to a Nebuchadnezzar businessman,the networking and accumulated business experience and wealth during this period laid a good foundation for his printing and publishing activities.The second chapter is mainly to sort out the dispute over the first printing publisher in modern Britain by means of relevant foreign research results,and to clarify caxton's historical position as the first printing publisher in Britain.The third chapter deeply understands and grasps caxton's printing and publishing activities in his whole life from the aspects of typeface printing,the number and classification of printed and published books,and mainly discusses the main contents of caxton's printing and publishing activities.The fourth chapter mainly attempts to evaluate the function and influence of printing and publishing activities in caxton.As a commercial activity,printing and publishing activities in caxton are primarily aimed at earning economic benefits.At the same time,due to the large number of English books printed and published by caxton,the standardization of English in early modern England was promoted.In addition,the rise of printing and publishing activities in caxton and the increase of books have expanded the book trade market.At the same time,it also promoted the formation of modern British printing and publishing management system.The conclusion part of this article mainly summarizes the printing and publishing activities in caxton and clarifies caxton's historical position as the first person inmodern British printing and publishing.Caxton's printing and publishing activities cannot be separated from the support of the Renaissance and modern printing and publishing technology,nor from his personal interest in the printing and publishing industry.Printing and publishing activities in caxton promoted the rise and modernization of modern British printing and publishing industry.At the same time,it promoted the transformation of modern British society from "manual era" to "printing era".