From Communization to Commercialization: A Brief History of China's Publishing, 1949–1992

Understanding Chinese publishing history during the period of the People's Republic is not only essential for a full understanding of China's publishing industry, but it also helps us understand the overall transition of cultural production in China. This article, by offering a brief account of Chinese publishing history between 1949 and 1992, systematically demonstrates the inherent contradictions of the publishing industry during the Maoist period and also argues that, given the changes in the social and economic environment after the introduction of economic reforms, the transition to a commercialized publishing industry became inevitable.