1911, 
Revolution not only overthrew the Qing Dynasty, but also gave birth to the folk printing industry that adapted to democratic republican thought. Lu Feikui, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , On January 1, 1912, Lu Feikui and others raised funds to establish Zhonghua Book Company in Shanghai, and organized its own printing. Its main business was to compile new primary and secondary school textbooks. It first published the newly compiled "Chinese Textbooks", and quickly developed into the second largest private publishing in China.
When Zhonghua Book Company was first established, it only rented three stores in the east of Fuzhou Road (i.e. , Sima Road, ) in the British Concession in Shanghai, and the printing office was located in Huifuli, north of Fuzhou Road.
Figure 1: The actual test of Shanghai City Concession in 1910, Huifuli is located on the north of Fuzhou Road. The Shanghai Chengxiang Concession map, which was tested in
1910, is only southwest of the intersection of Fuzhou Road, and Henan Road, , that is, the "Commercial Press Distribution Office" marked in the west of Qipan Street. Huifuli is located on the north side of Fuzhou Road, and there was no Zhonghua Book Company at that time.
1913, the editorial office of Zhonghua Book Company was established, and Lu Feikui was appointed as the director (later known as the manager). Subsequently, the head office moved to No. AB29, East Broadway Road, U.S. Concession (now East Daming Road, ) on the north bank of the Huangpu River, and rented a house next to it, including four offices: editing, business, business and printing. Afterwards, the editorial office moved to 8 East Broadway Road, .
Figure 2: Map of Shanghai in 1913 (US) marked "East Broadway".
Figure 3: The latest Shanghai map from 1913 to 1914 (Japan), marked "Broadway (Broadway)".
1915, Shanghai Zhonghua Book Company was changed to a joint stock company, and a self-built printing office was established, and a distribution office was added. The Zhonghua Book Company head office was located at the pitching court opposite the chapel on the south side of Nanjing East Road, the British Concession (now the intersection of Henan Road and Nanjing East Road, ).
The following year, the capital of Shanghai Zhonghua Book Company increased to 1.6 million yuan, with more than 1,000 employees. After Commercial Press, it became the second publishing company in China that integrates editing, printing and distribution. The distribution offices of the two publishing houses were both located on Fuzhou Road, which is close to Shanghai's book sales. Although they were both on Henan Road, they were not in the same place. People at that time said that "competence" was the so-called "competition".
Figure 4.1: In October 1918, Nido Bookstore released the latest Shanghai map, and Henan Road is only marked as Commercial Press.
From the Shanghai city map published before 1916, you can find that there is still an open space in the southwest corner of the intersection of Fuzhou Road and Henan Road that has not been used. Zhonghua Book Company has purchased a newly built 5-story building here, with 10 stores. In 1916, the Shanghai Zhonghua Book Company General Distribution Office moved south from the former site at the southwest corner of Nanjing Road to the newly built 5-story building on Qipan Street (now southwest of Fuzhou Road and Henan Road Crossroads), and began to be adjacent to Commercial Press.
Figure 5: Photo of the new location of the main store of Shanghai Zhonghua Bookstore Co., Ltd.
In the same year, Shanghai Zhonghua Bookstore built a printing factory at the entrance of , Hatong Road, (now Tongren Road) No. 192 Jing'ansi Road (now Nanjing West Road). In addition to the printing office, the main office and editorial office are also located here. The total factory covers an area of more than 40 mu, ranking first among all printing factories in Shanghai at that time.
However, the historical scene of the two publishing houses flying together on Shanghai Qipan Street has not been reflected in the Shanghai city map for several years. For example, in October 1918, Commercial Press published the "Search Shanghai Concession Division", but did not mark the Zhonghua Bookstore in the "Search British Concession Division (Middle District of Public Concession)", but only marked the "Zhonghua Bookstore General Factory" on the west side of Hatong Road in the "Search Shanghai Public Concession West and Zhabei Submission Map"
Figure 6: In October 1918, Commercial Press published the "Search Shanghai Public Concession West and Zhabei Submission Map", and Hatong Road in the West District of the Public Concession has been marked the "Zhonghua Bookstore General Factory".
Figure 7: In October 1918, Commercial Press published the "Phase Testing of the West District of Shanghai Public Concession and Zhabei Branch Map", and Hatong Road, the West District of the Public Concession has been marked as "Zhonghua Book Company General Factory".
It was not until Shanghai Commercial Press printed the "Revised Pocket Shanghai New Map" in 1922, and the locations of Zhonghua Bookstore and Shanghai Commercial Press were marked for the first time on Qipan Street, Henan Road, within the map of the British and French Concession in Shanghai.
Figure 8: In 1922, Shanghai Commercial Press printed the "Revised Pocket Shanghai New Map" in Shanghai, British and French Concession Division. Only the Commercial Press Distribution Office is located on Qipan Street, the intersection of Fuzhou Road and Henan Road.
The Shanghai city map compiled by Shanghai Zhonghua Book Company itself was marked on the third edition of "Recent Map of Shanghai Quanbu", which was published in February 1925, at the Qipan Street at the intersection of Fuzhou Road and Henan Road. At the same time, the "Zhonghua Book Company General Factory" was marked on the west side of the Hatong Road in Jing'an.
Figure 9: The third edition of "Recent Map of Shanghai All Ports" by Shanghai Zhonghua Book Company in February 1925. Qipan Street at the intersection of Fuzhou Road and Henan Road is marked with "Zhonghua Bookstore" and "Commercial Library" side by side, and "Zhonghua Bookstore General Factory" is marked with "Zhonghua Bookstore General Factory" on the west side of Hatong Road, Jing'an.
Figure 10: The third edition of "Recent Map of Shanghai All Ports" by Shanghai Zhonghua Book Company in February 1925. Qipan Street at the intersection of Fuzhou Road and Henan Road is marked with "Zhonghua Bookstore" and "Commercial Library" side by side, and "Zhonghua Bookstore General Factory" is marked with "Zhonghua Bookstore General Factory" on the west side of Hatong Road, Jing'an.
Figure 11: The third edition of "Recent Shanghai Map" by Shanghai Zhonghua Book Company in February 1925. Qipan Street at the intersection of Fuzhou Road and Henan Road is marked with "Zhonghua Bookstore" and "Commercial Library" side by side, and "Zhonghua Bookstore General Factory" is marked with "Zhonghua Bookstore General Factory" on the west side of Hatong Road, Jing'an.
In December 1925, Shanghai Zhonghua Book Company published the "Latest Shanghai All Port Map" (first edition), which marked the "Zhonghua Book Company" in the British Concession, namely the Central District of Public Concession , and the "China Book Company General Factory" was marked on the Hatong Road in the West District of the Public Concession, and the mark on the map was clearer and clearer.
Figure 12: The first edition of Shanghai Zhonghua Bookstore's "Latest Shanghai Full Port Map" in December 1925, marking the Zhonghua Bookstore at the intersection of Fuzhou Road and Henan Road (Quspan Street) and the Zhonghua Bookstore General Factory on Hatong Road.
Figure 13: The first edition of Shanghai Zhonghua Book Company's "Latest Shanghai Full Port Map" in December 1925, marking the Zhonghua Book Company at the intersection of Fuzhou Road and Henan Road (Quspan Street) and the Zhonghua Book Company General Factory on Hatong Road.
Figure 14: The first edition of Shanghai Zhonghua Bookstore's "Latest Shanghai Full Port Map" in December 1925, marking the Zhonghua Bookstore at the intersection of Fuzhou Road and Henan Road (Quspan Street) and the Zhonghua Bookstore General Factory on Hatong Road.
Overall people know that with the birth of Zhonghua Book Company, Zhonghua Book Company published a batch of new textbooks with patriotic content, which refreshed the world and became popular all over the country. Not only did it quickly win the market for textbooks in the early years of the Republic of China, but Zhonghua Book Company has also established its position in the publishing industry in modern China. The textbooks of Zhonghua Book Company have made indelible contributions to the modernization of China's education. What is less well known is that in the early years of the Republic of China, Zhonghua Book Company also published and printed two new editions of map collections, one is the "Latest Map of Provinces of the Republic of China", and the other is the "World Transformation Map of Country Map" revised in three editions of map collections, with 32 pictures collected. Both albums are compiled by Ding Song. In 1921, the two map albums published by Zhonghua Book Company were printed at the printing office at No. 192 Jing'ansi Road, Shanghai.
In February 1921, Zhonghua Book Company published and distributed the "Latest Map of the Republic of China Province" compiled by Ding Wengui. This picture album shows that Dongsha Islands and Xisha Islands belong to China.
Figure 16: In February 1921, Zhonghua Book Company printed the copyright page of the "Latest Map of the Republic of China Province".
copyright page clearly records: the album was compiled by Ding Weng and reviewed by Lu Feikui and Dykedun. The printing location is the Printing Office No. 192 Jing'ansi Road, Shanghai, that is, the Zhonghua Bookstore General Factory on the west side of Hatong Road; the general distribution office is located in Shanghai Qipan Street, that is, the southwest corner of the intersection of Fuzhou Road and Henan Road. At that time, Lu Feikui was the manager of Zhonghua Book Company and Dykedun as the director of the editorial office, so the two of them reviewed and approved the issuance.
In the "China Full Map", South China Sea marks "Dongsha Islands", and a picture of "Xisha Islands" is attached in the lower right corner, which depicts many islands and reefs in the Xisha Islands, marked "Tritun Island" (now Zhongjian Island ). The picture also draws the southern end of Leizhou Peninsula and Hainan Island to indicate the location of the Xisha Islands in our country.
In the "Guangdong Province Map", the Dongsha Islands are marked with the English name "Parata I." and the "Dongsha Islands' Western Name Brados Island" is annotated with red characters; a special "Xisha Islands" map is attached, and the name "Xisha Islands (old name Qizhou Yang )" is marked with the Western name "Paracel" is also attached. Is." and the red letters are annotated "The West is called Barrassel Islands"; the figure depicts the shapes of 21 islands, reefs and reefs, and the names are marked: "Felixant Islands" (now Xuande Islands ), "Fuduro Islands" (now Ganquan Islands ), "Qiancai Islands" (now Treasure Islands ), "Tanjian Islands" (now Chenhang Islands ), "Dakoron Islands" (now East Islands ), "Foundu Islands" (now Huaguang Reefs ), and "Tritun Islands" (now Zhongjian Island). The above map design shows that the Dongsha Islands and the Xisha Islands are both part of the island group owned by China. At that time, Nansha Islands (now Zhongsha Islands ) and Tuansha Islands (now NT$1 Nansha Islands) had not yet completed field measurements by the Naval Seaway Survey Bureau of the Republic of China, nor had the location and name of the 136 islands, reefs, beaches and sand in the South China Sea. Therefore, the maps published by private publishing institutions have not clearly expressed the Zhongsha Islands and Nansha Islands in the South China Sea. It was not until the Naval Seaway Survey Bureau completed field surveys in the South China Sea and determined the location and name of the islands, reefs, beaches and sand in the South China Sea. In April 1935, the China Water and Land Map Review Committee divided the South China Sea Islands into four parts and published them in the "Check List of Chinese and English Place Names of Islands in the South China Sea". The China Water and Land Map Review Committee published the map publicly, which provided a basis for civil public publishing units to compile new maps that express the South China Sea islands.
In November 1921, Zhonghua Book Company issued a complete book of the revised three-page map collection "Map of the World Transformation Division" compiled by Ding Weng, and collected 32 pictures. The first edition was printed in February of the ninth year of the Republic of China (1920) and was released in March.
Figure 20: The cover of the "Map of the World Transformation Division" was printed in November 1921.
Figure 21: In November 1921, Zhonghua Book Company printed the "Map of World Transformation and Country" of copyright page .
This picture album consists of "The World Transformation Map" and the country map. In January 1920, the first edition of the "World Reform Map", which was compiled and proofread by Xu Weng and proofread by Ding Weng. It was compiled and drawn by the world situation identified by the " Peace of Versailles " signed in France after the end of World War I, that is, it was compiled and drawn according to the political and geographical spatial pattern of emerging countries, ceded areas, entrusted areas of the League of Nations, temporary occupation of the Allied coalition forces, places of self-determination and places of dispute. At the same time, it was accompanied by the old territory map of Austro-Hungary and the Balkans, the new situation map, the Derby boundary map, the Saar basin map, the Debo Xinjiang territory map, and the Arabian Peninsula map, explaining the main content of the Peace of Versailles in the form of a map. This time, the third edition was revised and compiled by Ding Song, including maps of various continents in the world, maps of China's provinces, maps of world transformation and country maps, as well as search tables for Chinese-English and English-Chinese place names, which are quite convenient for readers to read. In the early days of the Republic of China, the two map collections published by the Zhonghua Book Company from the starting point of suitable for secondary education played a good role in enhancing the geographical knowledge of the Chinese people at that time and their understanding of the country's territory and territory.
During this period, Zhonghua Book Company also printed other special maps. For example: In April 1925, compiled and painted by Ge Suicheng and Xu Qi, Zhonghua Book Company published the "Complete Picture of Hangzhou West Lake" with a scale of 1:15,000; in June 1929, Zhonghua Book Company printed a color version of "Complete Picture of Hangzhou West Lake" and a picture of Gushan. The terrain of the two versions of Hangzhou West Lake maps was represented by contour lines, which was a more scientific mapping technology than halo method .
In 1935, Zhonghua Book Company built a new printing factory at No. 469 Macau Road, Shanghai, with the head office and editorial office located here. Purchase advanced printing equipment , which not only prints books, but also prints maps, stamps, cigarette boxes, government securities, banknotes, public bonds, etc., so that the printing business will be more developed.As of the end of 1937, the Shanghai city map printed by various publishers gradually changed from being marked "Zhonghua Bookstore" and "Commercial Press" in parallel to being marked "Commercial Press" to being marked only by "Commercial Press" and "China Bookstore General Factory" in Hatong Road, the west district of the public concession, and has not yet distinguished the old factory on Hatong Road and the new factory on Macau Road, indicating that the compilation of maps cannot keep up with the changes in the actual situation.
Figure 23: "Actually Measured Shanghai Detailed Map" of Shanghai Oriental Geology Society in 1933, "Zhonghua Bookstore" and "Commercial Press" coexist.
Figure 24: In 1934, the "New Shanghai Test Detailed Picture" was printed by the Wuchang Yaxindi Academy. Qipan Street only marked "Commercial Press Distribution Office" and did not have the Zhonghua Book Company.
On July 7, 1937, the nationwide War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression broke out and Shanghai fell in November. Lu Feikui went to Hong Kong and established the Hong Kong office of Zhonghua Bookstore in Kowloon to control important matters in the overall situation; in Shanghai, the executive director Shu Xincheng and others were in charge of daily affairs, and the old Jing'an Temple factory's money printing department was transferred to the Hong Kong branch, and the printing factory located on Macau Road in the public concession was manager of American businessman A.F. Watson, who maintained business in the name of "American Business Yongning Company". On July 9, 1941, Lu Feikui died of illness in Kowloon, Hong Kong. Li Shuming succeeded as general manager, and Wu Shutong served as manager in Shanghai. With the outbreak of Pacific War , the Yongning Company was blocked after the Japanese army occupied Shanghai Concession . Hong Kong was also occupied by the Japanese invaders, and the leadership core of Zhonghua Book Company moved inward one after another. In February 1942, the General Administration Office was established in Chongqing. During this period, the main business is to print textbooks and edit and publish various books and magazines. From 1937 to 1945, the words "Zhonghua Book Company General Factory" were not marked on the Shanghai urban maps printed by publishers from Chinese and foreign countries.
In September 1945, after the victory of Anti-Japanese War , the General Management Office of Zhonghua Book Company moved back to Shanghai and resumed the publishing business of printed textbooks, books, magazines and maps. In November 1946, Zhonghua Book Company issued the first edition of "The Latest Shanghai Map" compiled and edited by Xu Rensheng and Ge Suicheng. This Shanghai city map also marked the "Old Zhonghua Book Company Factory" on Tongren Road, Nanjing West Road and the "New Zhonghua Book Company Factory" on Macau Road. This may be the last mark left by Zhonghua Book Company on Shanghai map before the founding of New China.
Figure 25: In November 1946, Zhonghua Book Company printed the first edition of "The Latest Shanghai Map", marking the old factory and the new factory.
Figure 26: In November 1946, Zhonghua Book Company printed the first edition of "The Latest Shanghai Map", marking the old factory and the new factory.
On October 1, 1949, the People's Republic of China was founded. In May 1954, Zhonghua Book Company implemented a public-private partnership, and the head office moved to Beijing, and worked at No. 10, Dongzhuhutong, Beijing (Spring of 1957-Autumn of 1961). At the same time, the Shanghai Office of Zhonghua Book Company was left in Shanghai. It was reorganized into the Shanghai Editorial Office of Zhonghua Book Company in 1958. The site of the "Zhonghua Book Company New Factory" on Macau Road was changed to the China Printing Factory. It is now " China 1912 Creative Industrial Park ", and the factory building has become the Chinese Elite Apartment Hotel . In the same year, the State Council Ancient Books Organization and Publishing Planning Group was established. Zhonghua Book Company was designated as the group's office and became a professional publisher that organizes and publishes ancient Chinese and modern literature, history, philosophy, language and text books, and related academic works and popular reading materials. For more than 60 years, it has undertaken many basic projects for national ancient book sorting.
In the 1980s, the office of Zhonghua Book Company was located at No. 36 Wangfujing Street, Beijing, in a gray decorated building, not far from National Press and Publication Administration located west of Dongsi South Street, Beijing. Coincidentally, Zhonghua Book Company was once again in the same building as Commercial Press.
Figure 27: The location of Zhonghua Bookstore in Dengshikou Wangfu Street, Beijing map in 1994.
On July 8, 1998, Zhonghua Bookstore Co., Ltd. was established, headquartered at No. 38, Taipingqiao Xili, Fengtai District, Beijing. In 2012, Zhonghua Book Company celebrated its 100th anniversary and held a series of celebrations.
2022 coincides with the 100th anniversary of the founding of Zhonghua Book Company. I specially wrote a short article using a map to record the footprints of Zhonghua Book Company.
(some pictures in the article have not been published)
