Commercial Press


The Commercial Press is the first modern publishing organisation in China. The Commercial Press is known for its academic publishing and translation work in humanities and social sciences, as well as the Xinhua Dictionary.

History

In 1897, 26-year-old Xia Ruifang and three of his friends founded The Commercial Press in Shanghai. All four were Protestant Christians who received their training at the American Presbyterian Mission Press. The group soon received financial backing and began publishing books, such as Bibles.
From 1903 to 1914, The Commercial Press operated as a joint venture with Kinkōdō, one of the largest Japanese textbook publishers. Through the joint venture, The Commercial Press obtained the latest printing technology as well as lantern slides and cinema.
From 1903, Zhang Yuanji, reacting to China's moves towards a new curriculum, created several textbook and translation series, and from 1904 onwards he launched popular periodicals, such as Dongfang Zazhi, Jiaoyu zazhi, Xiaoshuo Zazhi, Xuesheng Zazhi and Funü Zazhi.
The Republic of China succeeded the Qing in 1912. In January 1914, the founder of The Commercial Press, Xia Ruifang, was stabbed to death.
The Commercial Press acquired film studio equipment and camera from a failed American-owned business in Nanjing in 1917. The Commercial Press's film production focused on documentaries. The Commercial Press explicitly sought to domestically produce films as a substitute for foreign imports, which The Commercial Press described as "flippant and mendacious, very harmful to the maintenance of customs and popular sentiment. 'Foreign films' frequently satirize inferior conditions in our society, thus providing material for derision."
In 1932, The Commercial Press was bombed by the Imperial Japanese Army during the January 28 Incident. The bombing destroyed its headquarters in Zhabei, Shanghai, and its attached Oriental Library and its collection of more than 500,000 books, including tens of thousands of rare books. Also destroyed in the bombing were Commercial Press's management offices, warehouses, and four printing presses. The bombing destroyed 80% of its assets in total.

People's Republic of China

In 1949, The Commercial Press' operations were relocated away from China after the People's Liberation Army entered Shanghai. In 1954, The Commercial Press' headquarters was moved from Shanghai to Beijing, shifting its focus to academic works published in the West. In 1993, the separate Commercial Press companies in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia established a joint venture, becoming The Commercial Press International Limited. In 2011, the Beijing office was became a limited liability company. When China publishing and Media Holdings Co., Ltd. was founded on 19 December 2011, the newly founded company became the parent company.
Today it is headquartered in Beijing and continues as an active publishing house of Chinese language learning materials including dictionaries, textbooks, pedagogical texts, and a cultural magazine called The World of Chinese.

Subsidiaries

Beijing

Subsidiaries of the Beijing branch: Chinese Editing Centre, Academic Editing Centre, English Editing Room, Foreign Language Editing Room, UNESCO Editing Centre, Online Publication Centre.
The Commercial Press International Co., Ltd. : Founded in 1993 by The Commercial Press branches in Beijing, Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur.
The World of English Inc. : Founded in 1981.
The World of Chinese Magazine

Former subsidiaries

  • Dongfang Tushuguan/Oriental Library : A library founded in 1925, and was later destroyed in 1932.
  • The Commercial Press Limited : Founded in 1914 in Hong Kong as a subsidiary of the Beijing TCP. In 1988-06-10, it was incorporated as The Commercial Press Limited. When Sino United Publishing Limited was established, it became a subsidiary of SUP.
  • The Commercial Press, Ltd. : In September 1947, TCP's Fuzhou branch manager Ye Youmei entered Taiwan to plan for the branch. In October 1947, TCP bought a wooden and brick house in 37 Chongqing South Road 1st Section for the planned Taiwan headquarter. In 1948, the Taiwan branch began operation. In 1949, the Taiwan branch became an independent entity under the demand from Taiwanese government, and the Chinese name was changed. In 1950-10-10, the company completed registration.
  • The Commercial Press Pte. Limited : Established in 1916 as the Beijing TCP's Singapore branch. As of 2016, it is a subsidiary of Sino United Publishing Limited.
  • K. L. Commercial Book Company Sdn. Bhd. : Established in 1956 as the Beijing TCP's Malaysia branch. In 1987, K. L. Commercial Book Company Sdn. Bhd. was registered as a limited liability company operating independently. As of 2016, it is a subsidiary of Sino United Publishing Limited.

    Publications