The Private Publishing Institutions And The Modernization Of Chinese Copyright In The Late Qing Dynasty

In China's Tang and Song dynasties,there were already some forms of copyright protection such as brand records and postscripts,but it was not until the enactment of the copyright law “Daqing Copyright Law” in 1910 that Chinese copyrights officially entered the modern institutional stage from the ancient official concession ban..The late Qing Dynasty was a major turning point in the history of copyright development in China,and it was also the transition phase of Chinese publishing history.Private publishing organizations gradually established their dominant position in the modern publishing industry.The establishment of the earlier Commercial Press and Civilization Press was a typical example.Faced with the severe piracy situation at that time,they had direct appeals for copyright protection;in addition,principals Zhang Yuanji and Lian Quan received Western-style education and learned about modern Western copyright thought.And try to apply it to publishing practice.This article combines the trace of the copyright culture of China and the West and the background of the transformation of the publishing industry in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China.With the Commercial Press and the Civilization Press as the main subjects of concern,the historical materials research method was used to collect and collect relevant information on newspapers,archives,and letters.Copyright practice between 1897(the time when the Commercial Press was established)and 1910(the time of the Daqing Copyright Law).Based on this,the paper analyzes the significance of the copyright practice of private publishing institutions in the late Qing Dynasty for the development of Chinese copyright modernization.In the final analysis,it was concluded that various efforts made by private publishing agencies represented by the Commercial Press and the Civilization Press in copyright practice include the dissemination of modern copyright thoughts,the proposition of copyright legislation,the signing of publishing contracts,the fight against piracy,etc.It plays a pivotal role in the modernization of Chinese copyright: First,the unremitting efforts of the Commercial Press to disseminate Western copyright thoughts laid the ideological foundation for the transformation of copyright protection from the bud to the institutionalization,and Zhang Yuanji and Lianquan and other publishers were involved in copyright legislation.The practice directly promotes the birth of the Chinese copyright system.Second,along with the rise of private publishing institutions,the first batch of professional editors and authors in modern China emerged.The copyright issue of the author has been given unprecedented attention,especially the Commercial Press has signed a publishing contract.Institutional attempts to stipulate the relationship between the author and the publisher in the form of a contract.China's copyright began to highlight the author's standard.Finally,the industry alliance formed by private publishing agencies became an intermediate force for resolving copyright disputes before the issuance of copyright laws.Protection from ancient to near Change to provide practical basis.