Author(s)

Ting Zhang

School of Marxism, Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, Shanghai, China.

This paper investigates the historical path of the disappearance of private publishing industry in Shanghai during 1949-1956. Despite its importance in understanding the historical origins of the control of the Communist Party of China (CPC) over publishing industry, the socialist transformation process of Shanghai’s private publishing industry has not been fully studied from a generically historical perspective. Starting from the depressive situations of Shanghai’s private publishing industry before the establishment of PRC, this paper explores the supportive and regulative policies of the CPC Shanghai authorities after the founding of People’s Republic of China (PRC). It also analyzes the large-scale socialist transformation procedures after the proposal of the General Line of Transition Period. It argues that the transition from supportive policies to restrictive ones was not abrupt but rather gradual and continuous and the frequent adjustments of policies demonstrate an adaptive nature based on the concrete historical situations. It also argues this transformation process led to relevant consequences, including the successful establishment of the state-run publishing industry, the re-distribution of the publishing businesses over the country, the intensification of the tendency of the politicization of the publishing industry and other subtle impacts on the culture, economy, and other aspects of China’s society in the next several decades.

1949-1956, Publishing Industry, Socialist Transformation, Shanghai, Nationalization

Zhang, T. (2020) Depression, Encouragement, Restriction and Nationalization: The Socialist Transformation of Private Publishing Industry in Shanghai, 1949-1956. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 8, 161-181. doi: 10.4236/jss.2020.86014.