1. Introduction / Joseph McDermott and Peter Burke -- 2. Bibliography, population, and statistics : a view from the west / David McKitterick -- 3. "Noncommercial" private publishing in late imperial China / Joseph McDermott -- 4. Distribution : the transmission of books in Europe and its colonies : contours, cautions, and global comparisons / James Raven -- 5. Empire of texts : book production, book distribution, and book culture in late imperial China / Cynthia Brokaw -- 6. The proliferation of reference books, 1450-1850 / Peter Burke, with Joseph McDermott -- 7. Books for women and women readers / Peter Kornicki -- 8. Epilogue / Joseph McDermott and Peter Burke -- East Asian and European book history : a short bibliographical essay.

"This volume provides the first comparative survey of the relations between the two most active book worlds in Eurasia between 1450 and 1850. Prominent scholars in book history explore different approaches to publishing, printing, and book culture. They discuss the extent of technology transfer and book distribution between the two regions and show how much book historians of East Asia and Europe can learn from one another by raising new questions, exploring remarkable similarities and differences in these regions' production, distribution, and consumption of books. The chapters in turn show different ways of writing transnational comparative history. Whereas recent problems confronting research on European books can instruct researchers on East Asian book production, so can the privileged role of noncommercial publications in the East Asian textual record highlight for historians of the European book the singular contribution of commercial printing and market demands to the making of the European printed record. Likewise, although production growth was accompanied in both regions by a wider distribution of books, woodblock technology's simplicity and mobility allowed for a shift in China of its production and distribution sites farther down the hierarchy of urban sites than was common in Europe. And, the different demands and consumption practices within these two regions' expanding markets led to different genre preferences and uses as well as to the growth of distinctive female readerships. A substantial introduction pulls the work together and the volume ends with an essay that considers how these historical developments shape the present book worlds of Eurasia."--back cover note.

Introduction -- 1. The Making of an Imprint in China, 1000 - 1800 -- 2. The Ascendance of the Imprint in China -- 3. Distribution of Books and Literati Culture -- 4. The Problem of Access in the World of Chinese Learning -- 5. Ameliorations and a Community of Learning -- 6. Literati Writings and the Case of Qian Jinren 錢進仁 -- Notes -- Bibliographical Notes on Studies Useful for the Writing of This Book -- Glossary -- Index.

"Joseph McDermott traces the history of the book in China from 1000 to 1800, illustrating the Chinese experience with books through comparisons to other civilizations, particularly those in Europe. He presents novel analyses of the changes in Chinese woodblock book-making over several centuries and a new view of the period in which the printed book replaced the manuscript. He also explores the distribution and marketing structure of books and the history of book collecting. This broad and comprehensive account of the development of printed Chinese culture from 1000 to 1800 is written for anyone interested in the history of the book. It also offers important new insights into book culture and its place in society for the student of Chinese history and culture"--OCLC #239488520

Local access dig.pdf. [McDermott-Social History Chinese Book.pdf]