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L. CARRINGTON GOODRICH
published by numerous local and provincial schools under the direct supervision of the directors of these schools. Various government administrative officers also printed books; for example, the Offices of Tea and Salt in Chekiang published in 1151 the complete works of Wang An-shih. These government editions were distinguished by good quality of paper, elegant type, and also by a carefully checked text. They are therefore of high value.
A considerable number of books in this period were published privately. This was done for various reasons: as gifts to friends and relatives; by relatives for a scholar-author; for philosophic reasons; possibly even for sale and to make a profit.
Commerce in books flourished. In spite of the decree of 1180 forbidding non-government printing, bookstores continued to engage not only in the sale of books, but also in their printing, particularly in the province of Fukien and Chekiang, the political and cultural centres of China at the time. They put out such books as those on classics, history, medicine, lexicography, and the like; also a large number of text-books and review books for students going up for the examinations. Some of the latter were minute; they were called "kerchief case copies" and the students used to take them into the examination halls secretly. A special decree, issued during the period 1208-1224, forbade the printing of these books; but they continued to be issued nonetheless. From the point of view of quality, the commercial ones were very inferior to those put out by either the government or by private individuals.
No special permission was required for the publication of a work, and there was no censorship. No regulations existed restricting the rights to the publication of such-and-such a book. In certain cases, however, the government could forbid such publication. (After his death the books of Wang An-shih were for a time proscribed, and the Writings of the three Su were burned in 1103.)
The spread of books had a marked influence on the education of the general public. Likewise, the change in the shape of books—to accordion style from the scroll—helped the handling of books and their storage. Many schools were established, even in small localities. Confucianism began to lose its character as
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