Gutenberg in Shanghai : Chinese print capitalism, 1876-1937 / Christopher A. Reed.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Reed, Christopher A. (Christopher Alexander), 1954-

Series:

Contemporary Chinese studies.

Contemporary Chinese studies, 1206-9523

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Printing--China--Shanghai--History.

Printing.

Publishers and publishing--China--Shanghai--History.

Publishers and publishing.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (413 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

Gutengbao zai Shanghai

Place of Publication:

Vancouver : UBC Press, c2004.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In the mid-1910s, what historians call the "Golden Age of Chinese Capitalism" began, accompanied by a technological transformation that included the drastic expansion of China's "Gutenberg revolution." Gutenberg in Shanghai examines this process. It finds the origins of that revolution in the country's printing industries of the late imperial period and analyzes their subsequent development in the Republican era. This book, which relies on documents previously unavailable to both Western and Chinese researchers, demonstrates how Western technology and evolving traditional values resulted in the birth of a unique form of print capitalism whose influence on Chinese culture was far-reaching and irreversible. Its conclusion contests scholarly arguments that view China's technological development as slowed by culture, or that interpret Chinese modernity as mere cultural continuity. A vital reevaluation of Chinese modernity, Gutenberg in Shanghai will be enthusiastically received by scholars of Chinese history and by specialists in cultural studies, political science, sociology, the history of the book, and the anthropology of science and technology.

Contents:

""Contents""; ""Illustrations""; ""Acknowledgments""; ""Introduction""; ""1 Gutenberg's Descendants: Transferring Industrialized Printing Technology to China, 1807-1930""; ""2 Janus-Faced Pioneers: The Golden Age of Shanghai's Lithographic Printer-Publishers, 1876-1905""; ""3 Sooty Sons of Vulcan: Forging Shanghai's Printing Machinery, 1895-1937""; ""4 The Hub of the Wheel: Commerce, Technology, and Organizational Innovation in Shanghai's New-Style Publishing World, 1876-c. 1911""

""5 The Three Legs of the Tripod: Commercial Press, Zhonghua Books, and World Books, 1912-37""""Conclusion""; ""Appendix: A Bird's-Eye View of 1930's Shanghai's Fuzhou Road/Wenhuajie District""; ""Glossary of Chinese Terms, Titles, and Names""; ""Notes""; ""Selected Asian-Language Bibliography""; ""Selected Western-Language Bibliography""; ""Index"";

Notes:

Chinese title on cover: Gutengbao zai Shanghai : ...

Chinese title romanized in Pin-yin: Gutengbao zai Shanghai : ...

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-283-13117-X

0-7748-5186-4

9786613131171

OCLC:

76898578