Research On Books Publishing History In Song Dynasty

This thesis is aimed to give a systematical, comprehensive and profound research andinterpretation of the history on publishing industry in Song Dynasty, which reveals thesignificance on many levels including material, technique, society, politics, economy,education and culture. Based on the new environment and recent trend of history in themodern world, the essay adopted some theories and methods borrowed from quantitive history,book history, reading history, soul history, comparative history and cultural history, trying tomake a new academic caring and discussion on research objects both on macro and microlevel.The mass production of books and wide application of the engraving typographypromoted the publicity, collection, distinction, refinement of all past Chinese wisdom andcontributed a lot to the spiritual life and production of Song Dynasty, which opened door tocontinuing an overall understanding of our classics freely and subjectively, thus creating thediversity and new meaning on the spirits, thinking, culture and academy of Song Dynasty.Books dating from the Song Dynasty are showing the earthly aspects of life of Song Dynastyincluding production, knowledge, thinking and cultural resources, based on studying,educating, writing, communicating, employing, examining, administrating, hand-writing,carving, papermaking, ink making, printing, collating, corresponding, criticizing, selling,bequest, reading, singing and also producing fake books of the historical context of theordinary social life in that period, thus making itself a cultural history which contains thehistory of culture, spiritual production, technique, literature creation, typography, intellectuals,private lives also paper making and all these made a meaningful object of the colorful age ofthe early book printing.The printing industry of Song Dynasty, as one of the vital producers of culture in thisperiod, is not only the main part of that period, but also a contribution to the prosperity of thatage.The printing industry, as the fundamental and classic period of that age, represented thegolden period of the ancient Chinese engraving typography, whose contents included both theproduction of the text and factors, distribution and technique of production, such as paper, ink,hand-writing, carving and etching technique, printing technique, production workflow inworkshops, prices, the publishing of books, copyrights protection and also advertisements. The top3publishing system——government, private and bookshop publication, wasformed in Song Dynasty followed by the publishing system of some characterized bookcolleges and temples, which laid a fundamental publishing pattern of the ancient China andthis also gave rise to the whole society and nation, organization and individuals forming theawareness of publishing, thus making this industry one of those common social branches thatcould provide people with jobs. The whole set of publishing industrialized and significantchain starting from creation in literature to editing and printing, publishing and finally readingwas forming at that time and became the cultural existence and space of the society.The closely interactive relations emerged from the publication of government, folks,privates, bookshops, temples and Taoist temples have promoted and integrated mutually,showing (presenting) each other’s abundant publishing liveliness and together building up thewholly nationwide pattern in publication. All the social factors including country, politics,power, economy, awareness, culture, education and technique and printing books becamehandy messages using the newly formed carrier——the public media.Were it not for (Had it not been for) the mass production of the engraving books of theSong Dynasty, the real socialized public reading space couldn’t come into being. What wasimponderable was the significance in the forming of civilization and culture of the SongDynasty and the ancient China from then on.The engraving typography in Song Dynasty replaced the copy-patterns and gained thetop seats in book publishing, becoming the main pattern. On behalf of an advancedproductivity, the engraving typography led to an improvement in the production ofbook-publication. According to a statistic, the cost of engraving typography was9times lessthan that of copy pattern.What’s more, the commercial capabilities of Song Dynasty made for an extremely activeeconomic factor in the publishing industry, even the publication of the central governmentcouldn’t fade its evident commercial color.Divided into four parts, this paper is organized by the author from the changes of thepublishing productivity mainly focused on its ups and downs. These four periods are: thefoundation period from the beginning of Song Dynasty to the Zhen Zong Dynasty; thedeveloping period from Zhen Zong Dynasty to the North Song Dynasty; the recovering periodof South Song Dynasty and the prosperity period of the mid-late South Song Dynasty.The wide spread and application of the engraving typography on the publication of books is another revolution after the ‘standardizing of written language’ of the Qing Dynastyin Chinese feudal society, which changed the social environment of the media qualitativelyand made a big leap in the media productivity revolutionizedly and put the production andconsumption of intellectual information into a standardized age, thus profoundly changed thespiritual world of Song Dynasty and set up a new spiritual world in which people could livetheir basic mental life.Song Dynasty is an unprecedented outstanding in intensive distribution and Vectordifference. The prosperous media transcend the former generation. Highlights on BlockPrinting Books make the other media subsidiary. The widespread of carving board books isnot isolated yet has symbiotic resonance with other media. All the media commonly constitutea closely contacted network-based media ecological environment.As a new media, Block Printing Books not only make the imperial court get the powerfultools to spread Imperial culture, and also enables the intellectuals of Song Dynasty the magiccube of intellectual’s activeness, richness, profoundness in understanding creating, andspreading culture. All this coming from the magical communication functions of woodblockprinting. The folk strength hereby disseminates folk culture. Different levels of culture form a“chorus”, filled with resistance and harmony, regulation and protest. All in all, words of SongDynasty, whether of imperial power or palace, of officials or the scribes, of businessman orfolks, all bloom in print media——free conductivity.Review the human media history; it is actually the media history of science andtechnology. Each significant technological progress will drive the media a big innovation.Block Printing Books are not only the most valuable and influential but also the dominant oneamongst all media in Song Dynasty.A book publication in itself is a notable mark of “modern Song”, which is a symbol ofprogress not only in science, but also in media, even in culture and civilization. Prosperousbook publication in Song Dynasty facilitate the integration generalized cultural significance,from civil service system, the imperial examination system, education, technology, culture, tocurrency, commerce, social organization, etc. The culture and meaning produce a new modeof mainstream, which is unprecedented, starting from then until1840The Opium War, whenwestern learning was introduced into China.The liberation and freedom of private ownership of land, tenancy system, the laborers’human rights in Song Dynasty, new qualitative and prosperity of cities, broadly speaking, commercial agriculture, well developed commerce, monetization, liberation of culture andmental world, suspecting the ancient mixed with freedom in thinking, exploration andconsideration of nature, All this accumulation of matter energy and mental energy not onlyprovide the necessary material of production and technology, but present a subject to literarycreation, labor and consumption. To sum up, it contains all meanings for modern times,features of culture.Book publications in Song Dynasty are the core of the subject in question. As it is theresult of mutual evolution of Song technology, thoughts and academic culture, etc. Thecultural elements of ideology in Song Dynasty are inheritance from book publications. Eitherfrom media history or book functions, Block Printing Books bear the significance ofdissemination of books has notable cultural meaning. Although Block Printing Books, aphysical form, is of course a culture, so does every link of the production (writing, editing,communication, version survey, proofreading handwriting, design, imprint, reading, spreading,and feedback). For example, as a branch of Study of Song, new Confucianism of SongDynasty, either main works of New Theory, or those of Study of Shu, esp. of science, are allpublished and widely spread in mode of productionThe book publishing business (esp. printing business) of Song Dynasty is one of thesymbols of the Truth Philosophy in Song Dynasty, In particular, one of the symbols ofPhysics. The book publishing business of Song Dynasty is in itself not only elements of Songstudies, but highly valuable in producing creating, spreading the connotation of Song Study,thereafter the function of media constructing the denotation of Song Study.At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, all of the Emperors, with special status assupreme ruler, fully realized the technical superiority and advanced publishing values ofengraving printing. With the supreme media literacy, and political sensitivity they timelycontrol the national publication of books, a new and powerful media tools and its power. Withthe imperial publishing industry, they published The Buddhist Scripture, Official HistoryBooks, and basically established Block Printing Books mainstream publishing mode,bestowed it with the complete political form, supreme power, and the greatest demonstrationnationwide. Taizu (founder), King, and Zhenzong, the three generations, were just the layingperiod of imperial publishing industry. The end of the Song Dynasty was even more brilliant.The Imperial College directly embody the spirit ruler of feudal autocracy and imperialconsciousness, the authority of the state publishing agency, the king’s publishing agency or royal publishing agency. As administrative department, it represents national publishingpolicy and publication will, the central administration and model of government Song.Within its legal framework, Song Dynasty executes management with application of thestate power, legal and civil coordination power to piracy and other violations. It alreadyestablished Copyright protection, legal complaints, cases handling in conformity withCopyright protection program, such as legal provisions, judgment and execution, and civilcoordination.The book publishing business (esp. printing business) as a new industry——culturalindustry, a new and important economic growth point make contribution to the gross nationalproduct and national revenue that can not be ignored.The book publishing business in Song Dynasty makes systematic, historical contributionto commercialization and politicalization of publication of books, national publicationmanagement system and practice, civil liberty of the press, publishing rights and copyrightprotection, publishing system and the category of publication.The book publishing industry in Song Dynasty plays a positive role in promoting socialdevelopment in Song Dynasty. Politically, it strengthens the feudal autocracy system,conducive to the consolidation of national unity. Economically, a new handicraft productiondepartment comes into being and thus promotes the associated printing material industry.Culturally, it inherits the excellent traditional culture and promotes cultural exchange anddissemination, activates cultural atmosphere, promotes the prosperity of culture in SongDynasty. Culturally, it constructs a complete song civilization. In Education, it greatlypromotes the popularization of knowledge, consolidates the imperial examination system,benefits talent selection and training, and forms a social learning environment.There are two historical limitations to book publishing industry in Song Dynasty: one isthe shortage in Natural science publishing, the other is the shortage in innovation ofpublishing technology, for over300years, no real innovation in engraving technology. BiSheng’s invention of movable type printing is only “A flash of light”. This problem continueduntil modern western mechanic movable type printing introduced into China and putengraving technology die in its bed.