Xia Ruifang, founder of the Commercial Press

The Commercial Press was established in 1897 and is the oldest modern publishing institution in China. It is also known as the twin star of modern Chinese culture along with Peking University.

The Commercial Press is mainly responsible for compiling and printing new textbooks for primary and secondary schools. It was founded in Shanghai in 1897 with the founders Xia Ruifang, Bao Xian 'en, Bao Chengchang, Gao Fengchi, etc. It was originally a small printing workshop operated by a partnership. In 1901, it was changed to a joint-stock limited company, and its capital increased to 50,000 yuan. Zhang Yuanji took a stake and presided over the compilation work. In 1903, a printing office, a compilation office and a distribution office were established, which were changed to a joint venture between China and Japan, with a capital of 100,000 yuan each, and introduced advanced Japanese printing technology. The following year, the "Latest Chinese Textbook" was published and published, and it became popular across the country within a few months. Since then, he has successively compiled and printed textbooks such as self-cultivation, arithmetic, history and geography, and English, set up teacher training workshops, affiliated primary schools, Yangzheng kindergartens and correspondence schools, and published various Chinese and foreign language reference books, publications and academic works. In 1907, the printing factory and the new location of the compilation and compilation office were built on Baoshan Road, Zhabei, Shanghai. In 1909, the library where the compilation and compilation institute collected ancient rare books and reference books was named Hanfen Building, and later renamed the Oriental Library and opened to the public. At the beginning of 1914, Japanese shares were retired, its capital increased to 1.5 million yuan, and the number of employees reached 750, making it the largest publishing company integrating editing, printing and distribution in the country. During the "January and 28th" War of Resistance against Shanghai in 1932, the General Affairs Department, Compilation and Translation Office, General Printing Factory, and Oriental Library were burned by the Japanese army. Subsequently, the company was partially restored. On the eve of the Anti-Japanese War, a printing factory was built in Changsha and stored books and machines were evacuated to Hong Kong and Southwest China. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, the General Management Office moved to Changsha, later to Chongqing, and moved back to Shanghai after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War.

In the fifty-three years before the founding of the People's Republic of China, in addition to compiling and printing textbooks as its main business, it also published large reference books such as "Ci Yuan", "Dictionary of Ancient and Modern Chinese Place Names", "Dictionary of Chinese Names", "Dictionary of Chinese Medical Names", "Oriental Magazine", "Novel Monthly" and other important publications. It also published large-scale ancient books such as "Four Series", "Integrated Primary Compilation of Cong Book", "Continued Ancient Yi Series", "Twenty-Four Histories of Hundred Concealed Books", and published famous foreign novels and academic works translated by Yan Fu, Lin Shu and others. During its heyday, it had printing branches in Beijing and Hong Kong, and successively set up branches all over the country and 83 places such as Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. It was quite famous at home and abroad.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Commercial Press moved to Beijing. After 1958, the scope of publication was adjusted in accordance with the provisions of the national publishing policy. Now it mainly compiles and publishes foreign academic works in philosophy and social sciences, compiles and publishes Chinese and foreign language reference books, research works, teaching materials, popular reading materials, etc., and publishes periodicals such as "Chinese Language", "Dialect", and "English World", which have a good influence and reputation among readers. For a century, it has taken it as its own responsibility to open up people's wisdom and Changming education, tried its best to inherit Chinese culture, actively disseminated new knowledge overseas, and became "a very important cultural and educational institution". It is "a national excellent publishing house".

The Commercial Press has 25 departments and holds a joint venture publishing institution, Commercial Press International Co., Ltd. There are 260 working employees.

The Commercial Press publishes more than 700 books, audio-visual products, etc. annually. Over the past 100 years, more than 40,000 books and periodicals of various types have been published. Representative publications include "Ciyuan","Modern Chinese Dictionary","Xinhua Dictionary","New Era Chinese-English Dictionary","Oxford Advanced English-Chinese Dictionary","Guxun Collection","Siku Quanshu"(photocopying Wenjin Ge edition),"Chinese Translation of World Academic Classics Series"(400 kinds),"Biographies of World Celebrities"(40 kinds),"Chinese Cultural History Knowledge Series"(100 kinds),"Commercial Press Library"(50 kinds),"English World","China Academic" magazine, etc. Many brand books and periodicals have successively won the National Book Award, National Dictionary Award and National Journal Award.

Top view of the Commercial Press

Shanghai Commercial Press was bombed by Japanese troops during the Republic of China

Member of the first executive committee of the trade union of the Commercial Press Publishing House

The Commercial Press Trade Union's "Conditions for Resumption of Work" and Shen Yanbing

The Commercial Press "Selected Printing and Donation"