Print, Profit, and Perception: Ideas, Information and Knowledge in Chinese Societies, 1895-1949(28 China Studies)

Print, Profit, and Perception examines the dynamic cross-cultural exchanges occurring in China and Taiwan from the first Sino-Japanese War to the mid-twentieth century. Drawing examples from various genres, this interdisciplinary volume presents nine empirically grounded case studies on the growth in the production, dissemination and consumption of texts, which lay behind a dramatic expansion of knowledge. The chapters collectively address the co-existence of globalization and localization processes in the period. By taking into account intra-Asian cultural encounters and tracing the multiple competing forces encountered by many, this book offers a fresh and compelling take on how individuals and social groups participated in transnational conceptual flows. Contributors include: Paul Bailey, Che-chia Chang, Elizabeth Emrich, Tze-ki Hon, Max K.W. Huang, Mei-e Huang, Mike Shi-chi Lan, Pei-yin Lin, and Weipin Tsai.

About the Author :
Pei-yin Lin, Ph.D. (2001), School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, is an assistant professor at the University of Hong Kong. She has published many articles on modern Chinese literature and culture, with a focus on Taiwan. Weipin Tsai, Ph.D. ( 2004 ), University of Leeds, lectures in Modern Chinese History at Royal Holloway, University of London. Publications include a monograph and articles on Chinese modernisation, print culture, postal services and the Maritime Customs Service.

Review :
"Pei-yin Lin and Weipin Tsai deserve recognition for assembling a diverse and thought provoking collection of essays on the history of Chinese globalization and localization in the first half of the twentieth century. [...] the contributors to Print, Profit, and Perception cogently raise many important questions, fill in historical gaps, and open up new discursive space for early twentieth century Chinese historical and literary studies." Bert Scruggs, University of California, Irvine, MCLC "The book stands out from the rest by adopting a small-scale, niche approach to that complex period. Several core themes make it highly coherent, and the range of topics covered by its nine chapters account for its diversity and relevance to scholars with various research interests. [...] This volume is definitely worthy of consideration by scholars of modern Chinese intellectual, literary, and medical history, nationalism, global and regional cultural exchange, print and popular media, Taiwan or Japanese studies [...] it guarantees a challenging and entertaining reading experience, with new stories well integrated into a coherent frame narrative, illustrated with numerous reproductions of journal and newspaper covers, articles, advertisements, and woodblock art." Adina Zemanek, Jagiellonian University (International Journal of Taiwan Studies, 1, 2018)