晚明的书籍、书商和出版

Books, Booksellers and Publishing in Late Ming Dynasty

晚明是中国出版史上极为引人注目的时期。从文献记载和现存实物来看,无论出版业的规模,还是印本内容及传播范围的广泛程度,都是前所未有的。这时期最活跃的出版机构无疑是商业书坊。与官府刻书相比,私人刻书在出版策略、经营成本和宣传方式上都更体现出优势。徽州书商是其中的典型代表,在进入南京、苏州等中心城市的出版市场时,他们并不满足于销售产品,而是更热衷于融入代表上层精英文化的江南文人圈。近代以来关于徽州及晚明书业的研究,往往习惯于固化的地域界分式比较,而忽视了书籍出版系统的流动性和各社会阶层之间的互动。本文的讨论试图将关注点扩延至江南的主要刻书地区,进而探讨书籍与商业、城市风习和士人文化的关系。

The late Ming Dynasty is very eye-catching in China’s publishing history.According to literature and relics,this period was unprecedented in terms of the size of the publishing industry,the content of printed books and the extent of dissemination.The most active publishers were undoubtedly commercial bookshops.Compared with the government-sponsored publishers,private publishers had more advanced publishing strategy,was more cost-effective and introduced better ways of publicity.Huizhou booksellers were typical representatives.When entering the publishing market of central cities such as Nanjing and Suzhou,they were not content with selling products only,but were keener to integrate into the literati circle of Jiannan(the south of the Yangtze River)which represented the elite culture of the upper class.The research on the book industry of Huizhou and the late Ming Dynasty since modern times often focuses on the solidified comparison by geography,while ignoring the mobility in the book publishing system and the interaction between different social classes.The discussion in this paper attempts to extend the focus to the main book printing areas in Jiangnan,and to explore the relationship between books and business,urban customs and scholar culture.