Lee, Ka Kui, “The Commercial Press of Shanghai and Its Dissemination of Knowledge and Formation of Culture in the Modern China, 1897--1949: From the Perspective of the Book History” (2002)

Title : “The Commercial Press of Shanghai and Its Dissemination of Knowledge and Formation of Culture in the Modern China, 1897--1949: From the Perspective of the Book History”

Author(s) : Lee, Ka Kui

Year : 2002

Type : Dissertation

Subject : History

Keywords : culture;economy

University : Chinese University of Hong Kong

Language:Name : Chinese

Support : Print

Abstract : The Commercial Press of Shanghai is one of the most important publishing organizations in contemporary China. It has a history of more than ten decades. Since it has been founded in 1897, publishing has become its tool and advocacy of education its principle. While books and publishing are the media and mechanism of transmitting knowledge and culture, publishing companies act as a middleman of producing as well as spreading knowledge. As evident in Western history, publishing organizations were very often closely linked with the nurture and growth of intellectuals, together with the formation and transformation of reading atmosphere. in Chinese history, however, not much has been touched on regarding this subject. Therefore, this dissertation intends to look into the Commercial Press, a large publishing organization, from the perspective of the Western history scholars regarding the publishing history of books. The cultural function of the Commercial Press will be examined, and its influence on disseminating knowledge and molding culture in the contemporary era will also be analyzed. As to fully comprehend the cultural function of a publishing organization, ‘institution’, ‘people’ (including staff, readers and authors), ‘productivity’ (publications), ‘market’ and ‘influence’ are the crucial concepts. This study will make use of these concepts to examine the issues of: the transformation of the Commercial Press as an institution and its operational mechanism; the recruiting and leaving of its staff, its publishing orientation and direction; and how its publications mould and meet the social needs. The ultimate goal is to illustrate how a vital cultural entity like the Commercial Press exerts its influence on times, social atmosphere and people. It particularly highlights the establishment and emergence of the Commercial Press, which bear an invaluable cultural and historical significance, symbolize the first cultural restructuring after the Taiping Rebellion. Originated from below, the successful development of a big publishing business, like the Commercial Press, served to create the favourable conditions and living space conducive to the growth of contemporary intellectual community. in order to cater for the needs of the readers and the market, this innovative publishing organization had introduced novel knowledge of various kinds. This has not only complemented the species that Chinese publications were devoid of, but also facilitated the shift of the contemporary reading trends. It can be argued that the political, educational and cultural developments since the Late Imperial China, including the Hundred Days' Reform Movement, the Introduction to New Thoughts, educational reforms, vernacular writing and the New Cultural Movement, the Library Movement and the Enlightenment, etc., are all closely related to the Commercial Press and other contemporary publishing organizations. Books bear the two-sided characteristics of being both ‘commodity’ and ‘culture’. Publishing organizations are, on the one hand, the products of times and, on the other hand, the important mechanism affecting the culture of times. If the cultural function of an ideal publisher is to enhance the cultural quality of a society, then the Commercial Press seems to have found the balance and the doctrine of the mean as demonstrated by its history throughout these 50 years.