Research On The Book Fair In The Late Qing Dynasty And The Republic Of China(1862-1937)

Book fairs are a platform for book display and sales,a major mode of publishing and distribution,and have been booming in recent years,receiving the attention of many scholars.As early as 1862,China’s books appeared in overseas expositions,which was the first time the book industry participated in overseas expositions in modern times,and although it did not form a scale,it was also a big step forward for China’s book industry exhibitions in the historical context of that time.Along with the special social environment of the late Qing Dynasty and Republic of China,the book industry has increasingly become an important industry in the fair.As the book exhibition at that time did not form the main body of independent exhibition,the book industry to participate in overseas expositions has become the beginning of China’s modern book exhibition.Until the full outbreak of war in 1937,various fairs and exhibitions in China came to an end,accompanied by a relative stagnation of book industry exhibitions.This study will systematically collect and organize the relevant historical materials of the late Qing and Republican periods under the care of historical perspective,and historically examine the development form of book fairs and their functional derivation in the late Qing and Republican periods,with a view to analyzing the dual impact of book fairs on society and the publishing industry at that time.During the late Qing and Republican periods,book fairs took three different forms,each of which echoed the social background and development needs of the time.Firstly,in the global wave,the exposition business emerged in the world,and in order to show the image of China as a "cultural nation",the book industry became an important industry for China’s participation in overseas expositions,forming the first form of book exhibitions at that time,and through the analysis of the background and characteristics of its participation,explaining its role in showing the image of the country;Secondly,the national consciousness began to awaken during the Republican period,and the call for the rise of the nation grew,and national exhibitions came into being under this environment,while giving rise to the second form of book fairs in this period,i.e.,participating in national exhibitions as cultural national goods,becoming the main force of national propaganda and participating in the construction of nationalism;finally,with the development of society and the influence of Western learning in the east,the state began to pay attention to Finally,with the development of society and the influence of Western learning,the state began to pay attention to the issue of national education and set up museums and libraries under the reason of protecting cultural relics and carrying out education to display canonical books to the nation,a special form of book exhibition in the late Qing Dynasty and Republic of China,the main purpose of which was to promote Chinese culture and promote social education.The book fair in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China also had a certain influence and significance on the publishing industry and society at that time.The influence of the book fair is mainly reflected in two aspects.First,it promotes the modernization transformation of the publishing industry,enables private publishing institutions to fully develop and drives the progress of publishing technology;second,it promoted the development and progress of the society at that time,and had a certain impact on revitalizing the national economy,transforming the image of China and opening up the wisdom of the people.In addition,the significance of book fairs in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China is also reflected in two aspects.First,it enriches the development of early book fairs and finds that the development of book fairs in China is a process of continuation and expansion.Second,it promotes the two-way interaction between the book fair and the publishing industry.On the one hand,the book fair was born in the book industry and was influenced by the development of the publishing industry.On the other hand,the book fair is the intermediary of the publishing industry,participates in the construction of the publishing industry,and always maintains a symbiotic relationship with the publishing industry.