The Influence of Population and Imperial Examination on the Book Publishing Market in the Song Dynasty

Abstract

The population of the Song Dynasty increased on a larger scale than that of the previous dynasties, and the Song government reformed the imperial examination system. As a result, the size of participants in the imperial examination and educated populations expanded rapidly. The overall cultural level of the Song Dynasty had been greatly improved. Both the literati and the general public had specific reading skills. The demand for books was constantly increasing. With the popularization of woodblock printing, the Song people could meet the increasing social and cultural needs. Book consumption demand and book production tended to be coordinated. The first genuinely large-scale book publishing market was thus formed.

Keywords

Song Dynasty / population / participants of the imperial examination / consumption of books / publishing market

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