The art of printing is considered one of the three most important Chinese contributions to human civilization. The invention of letterset printing marked the beginning of the Chinese publishing industry. For the last several decades, although hampered by domestic strife and foreign intrusions, Republic of China publishers and printers have been doing their best to hold to the tradition of their predecessors, based on the principle that only through more printed matter can knowledge be spread far and wide. Since the government moved its seat to Taiwan, it has spared no efforts toward building up a new free, democratic and prosperous nation. The publishing industry, for one, has done its part to contribute to the cause of freedom and prosperity. The printing industry is enjoying an unprecedented success and is still pushing forward. It provides ample "food" for the reading population, and also brings the nation to a new intellectual horizon.
To meet the increasing needs, nearly 2,000 printing shops have been improving their equipment, with many now in entirely automatic operation. Some of the larger printing shops have shortened the printing time and increased production by introducing new lines of equipment, such as electronic color separation apparatus, IBM computer typewriters, high speed automatic 4-color printing presses, photogravure cameras, proof printing and letter-casting equipment. Through mass production, the printing costs have dropped and the printing industry is capable of supplying more printed matter with greater variety and, most important, popular prices. Some of the larger printing shops even use closed-circuit television equipment, to keep abreast of what is going on in their shops. For quality control, they are using electronic precision density meters to insure that all printed matter is up to standard. For bookbinding, they have such stream-lined equipment as automatic folders, and ridge binding, sheet sorting, backbinding gluing and thread book sewing machines.
According to the latest report, there are 1,538 book publishers in Free China with an annual production of well over 10,000 items. These include such categories as music, fine arts, sculpture, sports, medicine and sanitation, cooking, fiction, essays, poetry, law, political science, motion pictures and drama, history, biography, philosophy, finance and revenue and economy. There are more than 1,505 periodicals, issued weekly, at ten-day intervals, biweekly, monthly, bimonthly, quarterly and annually. Most governmental offices and schools also issue printed matter for private circulation. In Free China, there is about one magzine for each 8,000 persons. This compares with one magazine for each 40,000 persons in Korea and with about one magazine for each 12,000 persons in England.
There is an old saying in China: "By learning, one can obtain a golden house and a beautiful woman in a book". This means that you might have everything you might imagine by becoming a scholar and studying hard. With changing times, this line of philosophy no longer stands firm. But one thing remains certain: Study still brings forth knowledge and knowledge means might. To arm an individual with knowledge enables him to cope with this changing world. Chinese believe that study is a virtue that no appropriate word can possibly describe. Against this background, it seems no wonder that bookstores, book centers and even sidewalk book stands are crowded with people day and night. Some people develop a habit of "roaming in bookstores" as a pastime during their leisure hours. Love for learning is a proud tradition as well as a powerful motive force responsible for the rapid growth of our publishing industry. With close cooperation between the publishing and printing industries and whole-hearted support for each other, cultural and educational circles of the Republic of China look to an encouraging future. It can be foretold that, the publishers will turn out more and better books for the knowledge-hungry population.
Book series displayed in a book stone
A sidewalk book stand also draws interest
