PRINTING AS AN AGENT OF SOCIAL STABILITY: THE SOCIAL ORGANIZATION OF BOOK PRODUCTION IN CHINA DURING THE SUNG DYNASTY by David Wei Ze M.Phil, Stirling University, UK, 1991 Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in the School of Communication O David Wei Ze 1995 Simon Fraser University February 1995 All rights resewed. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. APPROVAL NAME David Ze DEGREE Ph.D. TITLE l'IIIN7'IN(; AS AN A(;ENrI' EXAMINING COMMITTEE: Chair Willi,im Ricli~irds PARTIAL, COPYRIGHT LICENSE 1 hcsehy grant to Simon Fr;rscr IJn~vcssitythe sight to lend my thesis. psc!ject or c~xtcrided essay (the title of which is shown hc.low) to users ofthc Simon Fsi~serClnivcss~ty Lihrasy, and to m;rkc p;u'tial or- single copies only i'os such users or in rcsp~isc.to a rcy~cstII'rom the lihsary ot' any otlics u~iivcssity.or other educational institut~on,on it\ own hcliali' or i'os one of' its user-s. I I'u~llics agr-ce that pcrrnission for niultiplc. copying ol'tliis tIiCsis 1.0s SCIIOIIISI~ 1x11-POSCS11i;ly he gsimteti hy nlc or the Dean ofGsnd11ate Studies. It is ~~ntlcsstoodthat copying 01. publication 01' this thesis for fi~ii~ncialpi11 shall not hc ;~llowcclwithout niy written permissio~i. ABSTRACT Through a case study of the history of printing in China during the Sung Dynasty (960- 1279), this dissertation explores the use and development of a communication technology and the social factors that influenced it. In imperial China, monopoly of knowledge production was a consistent state policy of ideological control over book production. When woodblock printing became widespread and movable type was invented in the Sung Dynasty, state control was strong enough to ensure that these technologies became new ways to produce standardized texts and, as a result, ways to extend state control over the dissemination of ideas in Chinese society. Even though favorable social conditions were in place for the development of printing in the Sung, such as the establishment of a civil society and the civil service examination system, urbanization, commercialization, and the growth of popular culture, the new civil environment did not change any of the fundamental political dynamics surrounding Printing. Furthermore, Chinese printed texts had strong oral residues, which encouraged a "restricted literacy" among the general public; this "restricted literacy" was oriented to memorization and reading aloud and neglectful of logical thinking. By a comparison with Europe at the time when printing was first introduced, this study argues that technological change may not necessarily bring social change. On the contrary, because the use of technology is subject to social dynamics and human agency, it can just as easily consolidate tradition as bring about change. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT My ideas and interests in the research of publishing history, which had their origin at Stirling University, could only develop as a dissertation with constant guidance and encouragement from Professor Rowland Lorimer, my senior supervisor. He read all the drafts of my dissertation and offered many detailed suggestions. He worked arduously in the shaping of the dissertation, and without whose patient and intelligent handling of problems of presentation it might well never have reached its final form. His dedication to the task, strict requirements on my work and friendship to me are priceless outcomes of this work. I would also like to express my gratitude to a number of people, especially Professor Paul Heyer and Professor Jan Walls, whose advice, help and ideas have been responsible for whatever may be of value in this dissertation. It goes without saying that many of the virtues which this dissertation may contain are due to others, and that what is wanting in judgment and style can be imputed only to myself. I also wish to thank my wife, Jean Jin, for her continued understanding and encouragement during my Ph.D program. The five sagely kings had no disciples, not because there were not virtuous men but because their philosophy was not recorded. The five kings had no successors, not because there were no qualified politicians but because their Policies were not recorded. Yij and T'ang's policies were less organized than the Chou's, not because they had less qualified political philosophers but because they did not have adequate records. CONTENTS Abstract iii Acknowledgement iv Quotation v Chapter 1 : The Question Raised 1 Chapter 2: Book Publishing Before the Sung Dynasty 29 Chapter 3: The Sociocultural Background for the Development of Printing in the Sung Chapter 4: Confucianism and the Civil Service Examination Chapter 5: State Book Production Chapter 6: The Banning of Books Chapter 7: Literati and Literati Culture Chapter 8: Civil Book Printing and Collecting Chapter 9: The "Chinese Dream" in Popular Literature Chapter 10: Oral Discourse in Print Literature Chapter 11 : A Comparison with the European Situation Chapter 12: Summary and Conclusion: Printing as a Sociocultural Product Bibliography CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION: THE QUESTION RAISED The study of printing as the first means of mass communication has received more and more attention in recent years. In the West, the coming of the printing press is regarded as a dividing line between the medieval and modern ages. In McLuhan and Eisenstein's Paradigms, the printing press brought forward a new mentality - typographical man - and the new mentality gave rise to a series of social transformations. According to Eisenstein (1980) and McLuhan (1962), science and technology started to enjoy rapid development because printing linked individual scientists to an integrated body of research and researchers could build up their knowledge-production on the basis of previous endeavours. Cross-indexing, which was made possible by the Production of identical copies in quantity from the printing press, substantially widened Scientists' visions for their inventions and designs by providing an easy access for reference to other people's works. Double-entry bookkeeping greatly facilitated business operations and the development of trade on a sophisticated level was the prelude to the development of capitalism. Through investment, risk-taking and profit generation, Publishers as one group among the earliest capitalists helped to bring entrepreneurship into society. All these elements laid the foundation for industrialization in Europe by the eighteenth century. Politically, the printing press broke through the knowledge monopoly Of the Church and started to spread democratic ideals. Luther's Reformation was a direct Chapter I 1 result of the use of the printing press. When the voices of various political forces found their outlet through the printed word, a representative system in parliament was made Possible. Scholarly printers acted as the bridge between scholars, workers and readers and successfully emancipated philosophy from the ivory tower of universities. The traditional relationship between artists, patrons and the public also changed with the coming of the press. Print enabled artists to publish their own works for a profit in the marketplace and financially they could expect to stand on their own rather than relying on patrons. In their pursuit of market value, artists began to have the freedom for the development of their own originality and thus, individualism emerged. Culturally, the printing press promoted literature in vernacular languages and encouraged the growth of popular culture. Folk stories, lyrics, songs, etc. were recorded and spread in print form and became the repertoire of a whole cultural tradition. Gradually People's mentality changed from the 'holy" to the secular, from superstition to rational thinking, from closed to open, from worship of the old to a yearning for the new, from Observed to adventurous, and from the tolerance of the status quo to a commitment to Social change. AS a result, Europe witnessed fundamental social, economic, political and cultural transformations from the seventeenth century forward. When we trace its roots, the printing press provided a technological foundation for a beginning of the emancipation Of consciousness. CHINESE APPROACH IN PUBLISHING STUDIES The glorification of printing is equally celebrated in China, but the emphasis is on printing Chapter 1 -- the hardware and skills -- rather than on social organization and its consequences. Chinese printing existed at least six hundred years earlier than in Europe, but it seemed to have nothing to do with modernization as the European press did. Compared with McLuhan and Eisenstein's fascinating lists of the social changes in Europe brought about by the printing press, the image of Chinese printing was gloomy. In Europe, the coming of the printing press was like a timely rain in a drought and it spread throughout the continent in fifty years. In China, the story was different. At first, printing was restricted to marginal areas in Ssu-chluan and was neglected by the ruling elite. We still do not know when block printing was first used. At its beginning it was suppressed - we know that civil printing existed in the T'ang Dynasty (689-987) largely from imperial orders banning it. In the Sung Dynasty (987-1268), printing experienced a rapid development, but the use of the technique was not followed with an age of fundamental social changes. In contrast to Europe, Chinese printing was employed to strengthen centralized control and unorthodox voices were further silenced. Vernacular -- the dialects of various regions -- were marginalized to a greater extent than before its invention and printing helped establish the classical style as the only formal discourse. Even movable type - the Symbol of modernization in Europe - was rarely used and we have no more than thirty Words of the use of movable type from the Sung to the Ch'ing dynasties (1644-1911).