Book duplicator: “Yongshu”
Before the invention of engraving printing technique, all the books were manual copied, the process was both a continuation of book production and a manifestation mode of book circulation. In Han dynasty there were persons taking book copying as occupation, who were call “Yongshu” in history. The government at the time, set a special post for book copying, employed a great many of “Yongshu” to copy books.
The “Yongshu” at the time, with a comfortable salary, could at least manage to support the family. During the copying process, the “Yongshu” read a lot and accumulate knowledge for fame and officialdom. Look through history record, such big-timers among the numerous “Yongshu” are by no means rare. The famous general Ban Chao (32–102 A.D.), one of numerous “Yongshu” in the Eastern Han Dynasty, was poor when he was young. Therefore, he had to frequently go to the government organizations for book copying to support his aged mother. Once when copying books, he suddenly cast away his writing brush, sighing, a great man should fight on the battlefield to build his fame and officialdom, how could he wrong himself to undertake the long-term book copying? With his great effort, Ban Chao really became a famous general. This is the noted allusion “Giving up civilian pursuits to join the army? in Chinese history.
The book copying by numerous “Yongshu,” promoting book reproduction at the time, contributed significantly to the spread of cultural knowledge. Not for self-study but on the purpose of making living, it is a publishing phenomenon of manual duplicating work, which makes no essential distinction from the subsequent publishers.
Bookstore with printing works in the printing age
During the printing age, book distribution and circulation in China enjoyed a tremendous growth. Thanks to the spread of printing technique, the printing books, with lavish varieties, various norms, huge quantity and excellent quality, swarmed into society and became main selling-books in book market. Drawn by the sound profit, More civil and official people or agencies devoted into book production and trade,which further facilitated the booming of book trade.
In the printing age, Bookstore with printing works run by the civil booksellers played the main part in book trade. As a multi-role of editorial office, printing works and bookstore, bookstore with printing works, seeking profit, printing books as commodity and selling books in market, bored three terms of missions including engraving, printing and selling business. Its primary mission and purpose were rapidly selling books in large quantities. With the emergence of more bookstores with printing works, came the competition in the business. Therefore, business promotion was high on the owners’ agenda in businesses of every variety: As to the better-selling book, one after another following suit; Therewith, numerous versions of the same book appearing in the same market at the nearly same time; a great increase in advertisement helping to obtain advantage; In addition, some booksellers travelling about with selling-books, some even doing book trade in minority areas or abroad, all these, to a certain extent, promoted the extensive spread of Chinese books and culture.
At that time, not only the civil professional booksellers but also many scholars, government officials and average people involved into book trade in succession. The Confucian philosopher, Zhu Xi in the Song Dynasty (1130–1200) once printed Confucian classics and wrote books for selling, who, with high quality, varieties of books, frequently enjoyed the doorstep selling.
The prosperity of book trade helped to shape the national book market: Therewith, Xiangguo Temple in Kaifeng city in the Northern Song Dynasty, Three Hills Street in Nanjing city in Ming Dynasty and Liulichang in Beijing city in Qing Dynasty, with a tremendous, prosperous book market, became a famed national book trading center in China at the time.