The Governmental Management Over Block Printing In The Southern Song Dynasty

The article mainly Launches the research from three parts as follows: the situations of the governmental printing industry , the restriction on the context of the publications and the protective measures of the books'copyright in the Southern Song Dynasty. Then we can obtain a whole understanding about the governmental printing industry in the Southern Song Dynasty.The governmental printing industry in the Southern Song Dynasty was prosperous and the achievement was remarkable. All of the central organizations except the Secretariat, the National history courtyard, the Bureau of Zuo Lang Department, the De Shou Palace and the Imperial Physician Bureau can printing relatived professional books by Carving-version printing method. The main work was loaded by local governments. The centre can set up different Provincial officials, Minister treasuries and the schools of provinces or sub-prefectures to printing books. The main places concentrated on some economy and culture developed areas or some areas where the paper-making industry were very prosperous such as Zhejiang,Fujian,Jiangsu and Jiangxi.There were strict regulations on the contents of the books, and the writings of the oppositions, the books related to the frontier defence, the military affairs, the secrets of the country or the latest policies were forbidden to be publicated , so as the unofficial histories or the books blazoning forth heretical ideas, all of which done harm to the different areas of the feudal kaiserism. The criterions of the banned books were changed by the altering of the political climate especially when the struggles of parties and groups were very fierce. The main way of the government to control the contents of the books were by ruining the printing plates, calling to account, precensoring the contents or establishmenting incentive and supervisive system. Because the political situation was always changing, the restrictions on the book-publication were also changing, but on the condition of the developed printing, the widespread books could not be prohibited completely.For the rapid development of printing and paper making industry, many operaters bent themselves to making of the piratical books urged by the economical driving. The behavior of the pirating do harm to the writers' academic reputation and the printers' economic interest. Though the local governments had recognized the rationality to protect the writers' interest and they also accepted the apply for help if the composers or writers asked for, the protection was not regular for there were no universal law system about it.