The Historical Geography of Book Markets
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THE HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF BOOK MARKETS IN CHINA: A CASE STUDY OF LIULICHANG BY FRANCIS LOK-WING YEE B.A. (Hons.), Simon Fraser University, 1980 \ THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Department of Geography) We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA September 1983 •'3(c) Francis Lok-wing Yee, 19 8 3 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of Geogaphhy The University of British Columbia 1956 Main Mall Vancouver, Canada V6T 1Y3 Date September, 1983 (3/81) Abstract Scholars have long recognized the significance of print• ing in the dissemination of knowledge, promotion of new ideas and consequently as a force of social and economic change. However, the critical role played by the bookshops in the development and diffusion of printing has rarely been studied. In both Europe and China, bookstores produced and distributed a wide range of publications including popular literature, religious works, practical manuals for the common people as well as literary works, Classics and standard texts for the scholars and students. Bookstores thus, on one hand, promoted popular literacy amongst the masses but also,"on the other hand, upheld the orthodox ideology by circulating the government- approved Classics and texts to the literate elites. In their long history of development, bookstores and book markets in China experienced changes not only geographically but also functionally. In the Song and Yuan periods, the concentration of urban population, together with the expansion ©f commercial and cultural activities, encouraged the growth of book production and marketing in regional metropolitan market centres. Kaifeng^,.. Hangzhou and Chengdu clearly emerged as the major regional book markets in this period. In the Ming and Qing periods, a relatively well-integrated national marketing system developed. Inter-regional book trade also expanded in this period with Beijing .at the uppermost end of the marketing hierarchy. The expansion of the book marketing system seems to be at least partially linked to the increasing importance attached to the civil service examination system. An overlap between the adminis• trative and commercial functions of the late imperial cities is clear in this case. It is one main thesis of this study that the origins and development of book markets in China not only reflected, but also contributed to the expansion of the traditional regional, inter-regional, and eventually empire-wide urban market economy of imperial China. Moreover, they became a principal medium for the rise and dominance of the scholar-official elites of imperial China, and—in this sense—played a major role in 1 shaping the character of the principal component of the urban social fabric of Confucian China. A study of book printing and marketing in imperial China is, in short, thus also a study in the changing role of the city and its dominant class —the urban gentry. And, whereas this becomes especially ... evident in urban cores of the late imperial period, it is no where more clear than in the singularly important case of the book markets of the imperial capital itself, Beijing, and in the main book market of old Beijing, Liulichang. - iii - Table of Content • Page Chapter I. Introduction 1 Chapter II. The Origins and Development of Book Markets 12 Chapter ITT. The Rise of Regional Book Markets 28 Chapter IV. The Book Markets in the Ming and Qing Periods 61. Chapter V. The Transformation of the Landscape of Beijing 10.7 and Liulichang Chapter VI. The Rise of Liulichang as the National Book 124 Market of China Chapter VII. Conclusion 161 Footnotes 168 Bibliography 184 Appendix 20 3 - iv - List of Figures Page Figure 1. The Distribution of Bookstores in the Song 2 7 and Jin Dynasties, 960-1279. Figure 2. The Distribution of Bookstores in the Yuan 60 Dynasty. Figure 3. The Distribution of Bookstores in the Ming 105 Period, 1368-1644. Figure 4. The Distribution of Bookstores in the Early 106 Qing Period, 1644-1850. Figure 5. The Transformation of Beijing from Liao to 109 Qing. Figure 6. The Jinkou Canal, Tonghui Canal and Liulichang .L.118 in the Yuan Period. Figure 7. Book Markets in Beijing in the Ming and Qing 131 Periods. - v - Acknowledgement I am deeply indebted to professor Marwyn Samuels, without whose guidance, help and excellent advice, I could u hardly have completed this thesis. I also own much to . • professor Terry McGee for his constructive and helpful criticisms. Both Ms. Sandy Wong and professor Terry McGee have provided their assistance in editing the manuscript, to this I deeply appreciated. Special thanks are due to Florence for her typing of this thesis. Finally, I take the responsibility for the materials and views presented in this thesis. - vi - Chapter I. Introduction The importance of printing and book distribution to the dissemination of knowledge, and as a force for intellectual, social, economic and political change in European history has long been recognized."'" The relatively rapid escalation in the volume of available printed books during the late fifteen• th and sixteenth centuries itself serves to indicate the enormous significance of the new technology of printing and the attendant book distribution/marketing systems of early modern Europe. Hence, for example, less than fifty years . i. after the development of movable type in the workshop of Johann Gutenberg of Mainz in 1454, over 10 million printed books were in circulation and by the end of the sixteenth century approxi- 2 mately 150-200 million printed book had been produced. This is even more impressive when we take into account the lessor:- than 100 million people in Europe in this period,.only a minority of whom could read. Clearly, the availability of such printed material played a central role in the diffusion of ideas among the literate elites — the clergy, university scholars and students etc., contributing to the circulation of theological and philosophical treatises, to the spread of Protestantism, and eventually to the success of Enlightenment thought and the sciences. At the same time, the high volume and proliferation of books also point to the development of a growing popular market for printed material among the semi- literate masses, especially guildsmen, artisans, merchants, - 1 - and others. In the process, the medium of printed books and pamphlets contributed to the diffusion of craft skills, new agricultural techniques, market information (merchant hand• books) , geographical data (guidebooks) and other practical information. Similarly, the proliferation of printed material also eventually contributed to the spread of literacy itself — a veritable self-generating market of books and ':U other printed materials. The modern history and geography of Europe thus owe' much of its technological impetus to the invention of movable type, and to the development of book distribution and marketing systems including book shops, fairs, and libraries. Indeed, bookshops were particularly instrumental to the process not only because they served as a principal means of distribution, but also because they themselves often served as printers and binderies. Furthermore, the role of bookshops in the printing, binding, and marketing of books ultimately inferred various economies of scale. The costs of production and marketing of printed materials, including not only capital outlays for the production of various qualities of movable type, but also such other inputs as the quality of paper, binding materials, and so on would, of course, be reflected in the cost of books, as well as in the volumes of production and in the extent of distribution. With the expansion of literacy and the growth of popular literature, the demand - for- -low-priced, commercial editions rapidly - 2 - increased in many parts of the European continent. In China, when printing was first developed in the Tang dynasty (Ai'.D. 618-907) , the bookshops produced all the printed books. Government publishing did not develop until the Five Dynasties (A.D.906-960). Even in the Song period (A.D. 960-1279) when government publishing was further expanded, commercial publication still dominated the book market. While government publishing concentrated on the Confucian classics and literary works, bookstores produced a.'large proportion of their books for the use of the common people. Different editions of merchant manuals, books on farming, medicine, weaving and legal documents were published for practical use by people in different occupations. Moreover, bookshops also published a large number of popular novels, plays, songs, stories and religious works. Indeedi, the earliest printed books were produced by book• stores to meet the enormous religious^ demand by the common people for a large number of devotional works, charms, reli- .. gious images and stories. The earliest surviving book of today, the DiamondSutra, was probably printed by a bookshop in "Sichuan. In the Five Dynasties, a large number of calendars, glossaries, books on yinyang and divination texts were produced and distributed in Sichuan and the lower Yangtze area. These popular works which were so important in the daily life and religious fervor of the people, were largely ignored if not - 3 - suppressed by the ruling class. Without the bookshops' production and distribution of these popular books, the semi- literate people would be severely affected, even children's elementary texts and many practical works could not have been produced.