变革近代中国的印刷力量

The Revolutionary Power of Print in Modern China

出版印刷不仅是内嵌于社会经济活动的有机构成,而且是形塑社会历史变革的推动力量。对于这一论断,西方书史学家业已做出了精彩阐释。受西方书史研究范式的影响,国内学者也越来越注意到出版印刷的深层文化意义及书籍的社会历史影响。依此逻辑,如何以书史研究视角看待出版印刷在近代中国社会转型中的作用与影响,便成为近代出版史研究者绕不开的核心宏大命题。本文围绕美国学者高哲一的新著展开讨论,以长时段的眼光重新审视出版印刷在近代社会急剧变革中扮演的历史角色。文章认为,在近代中国,出版印刷场域中的知识生产者、知识本身以及知识生产的制度性力量均发生了巨大变化。这三者既以各自的方式推动社会历史变革,同时又紧密扭结在一起形成合力,在近代中国释放出强大的变革力量。

The western book historians have proved that the industry of publishing and printing is not only an organic component of the society,but also a revolutionary force to shape our culture,history and society.Under the influence of the new research paradigm of western book history studies,the scholars at home have paid more attention to the profound cultural meanings of the printing activities and the social and history influences of the printed publications.In light of this paradigm,it has become an important big question for book historians to answer how did the printing press influence modern China.Based on Robert Culp’s new book,this article reexamines the role of the printing press that played in the long-term shifting process of modern China.It suggests that all of the knowledge producer,knowledge itself and its producing system had changed extremely during this period,which significantly transformed the modern China both separately and corporately.