User:Generalissima/Publishing industry in China

History

Early 20th century

The reemergence of the Chinese Civil War continued a period of economic depression, which especially affected the publishing centers of Shanghai. The Kuomintang's grip over the region resulted in widespread censorship. Infrastructure disruptions restricted the import of paper and the distributions of books, leading production costs to dramatically exceed sales. Additionally, rampant inflation and other economic issues allowed potential consumers little disposable income. Publishers were forced to dramatic measures in order to avoid bankruptcy; the World Book Company rented out its main storefront and sold much of its equipment, while Zhonghua largely pivoted its operations towards printing currency, with only a limited amount of published material.

Publishing companies attempted to make inroads with the Communist Party, as its steadily gained ground against the Kuomintang. Some companies hired managers with party connections. Zhonghua hired Russian-language specialists and purchased many Soviet books and periodicals.

Early Communist era

Two days after the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1 October 1949, the Xinhua Bookstore held its national conference in Beijing. Mao Zedong met with various representatives of the company and established the General Publishing Administration (GPA), initially headed by Hu Yuzhi. The GPA organized itself over the following months, and placed Xinhua directly under its management in March 1950. The administration restricted the firm to distribution, splitting off its previous duties as a publisher and printer into the People's Publishing House and the Xinhua Printing House respectively. In 1953, management of newspapers and periodicals was delegated away from the GPA into the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications.

In January 1951, under GPA pressure, five major publishing houses (Zhonghua, Commercial Press, Sanlian Bookstore, Kaiming Bookstore, and Laiying Bookstore) united to form the China Book Distribution Company (CBDC), a state-managed distribution system shared between its members. Book distribution in China became limited to the CBDC and the Xinhua, eliminating alternatives but allowing publishers to avoid the cost of maintaining their own distribution systems. Zhonghua and the Commercial Press were given mandates by the GPA to specialize in particular subjects. Zhonghua moved editing operations to Beijing, allowing it greater access to government specialists and Soviet materials. The Commercial Press integrated the People's Base Book Company and specialized in scientific and reference books, in addition to children's literature.

A large number of state publishing houses were established in the early years of the People's Republic. These included generalist publishers such as the People's Literature Publishing House, Education Press, and China Youth Publishing House, alongside specialist presses such as the Sciences Press, Foreign Languages Press, and China Railway Publishing House. Private presses briefly flourished, especially in Shanghai; between 1950 and 1952, the number of private presses in the country more than doubled from 163 to 356, publishing a slight majority of new titles and about 10% of total books by sales. Private publishing was curtailed during the mid-1950s, with fully private publishing houses eliminated by 1956. In their place were the various state presses, with a minority of presses under private and state partnership. The publishing industry massively expanded its operations during this period, with over six times more books produced in 1956 than 1950. In addition to propaganda literature and socialist theory, publishing houses produced annotated versions of various Chinese classics and saw the translation of some Soviet literature into Chinese.

Copyright and intellectual property

Main article: Intellectual property in China

References

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Further reading

• Yun, Qidong (2018). China's Publishing Industry: From Mao to the Market. Elsevier. doi:10.1016/C2015-0-04293-9. ISBN 9780081010037.